Could you really run your own show?
I'm speaking of self employment of course. Have you ever considered it?
I think we all have at one time or another, it's always struck me as one of those situations where the benefits are endless, you could list them all day, but the potential downside is just as enormous. I don't think it's a decision that could be decided with a pros and cons list.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that it could prove incredibly stressful, fraught with problems and at times a series of seemingly endless obstacles.
So why then is it the perceived pinnacle of achievement in the dreams and aspirations of so many apparently sane people? Is it that they are masochistic martyrs who like nothing more than a little self flagellation with a heavily needled spruce branch?
No I don't think so!
I believe it's that on the flip side the numerous positives can far outweigh the negatives. The plethora of benefits include being at the helm of your own ship with a feeling of controlling your own destiny for once in your life, knowing that if things go well you could retire many years sometimes even decades earlier than in a "traditional" job often with a relative fortune in the bank.
It certainly sounds better than 50 years hard labour working for a boss that you don't like, for less than you are worth, cowing every time you are called into his office, penalised like a naughty schoolchild for being 5 minutes late and always wondering if your job will still exist 12 months down the line (or even next week).
Sounds like bliss doesn't it?
Working for yourself doesn't mean that you need to re-invent the wheel, you could just sell products or services the same as all the others on the market, hopefully with a little more creativity, customer service, choice or in a slighter better or more original way. That is the only "magic formula" that is required, it's not rocket science!
So why then will most people never in their entire lifetime take any steps towards starting their own business? This despite the fact that most will despise their job and feel undervalued, underpaid with no sense of personal freedom feeling unfulfilled for most of their natural lives...
FEAR!
Most people are paralysed with fear and consumed with nagging doubts and anxiety causing pins and needles across their entire body whilst imaging all of the terrible consequences and possibilities that are sure to befall them the second they turn over the open sign on day 1. They ask themselves, (all too often), what if it all goes wrong.
This is a legitimate concern of course and rushing into any endeavour without first setting out your stall in a way that is conducive to minimising mistakes and oversights is not the path to tread.
But if you Can approach a venture with good planning and have a "masterplan" this doesn't need to be perfect ideally it should be a fluidic adaptable framework that lets you know when you are heading off course. This plan should incorporate several numeric elements, the numbers may be profit, loss, waste, running costs, sales targets, actual sales results because when the numbers are not stacking up it is easy to spot which part of the operation is veering off from your plan. If this can be done whilst personally, (in the early days), keeping a tight rein on factors such as budget, marketing and maximization of sales instead of handing it over too early to outsourced, highly paid "professionals", whilst wandering dazed and blinkered around your own business repeating the mantra "everything is fine" over and over in your mind you can vastly increase your chances for success. If you are willing to read books written by those who went before you, and take courses or classes to develop the necessary skills required you will be incredibly well placed to succeed.
But conversely if you are seriously contemplating branching out on your own and trying to make those dreams into reality, do not overstate the perceived risks just to get yourself "off the hook".
I would like to illustrate the point with a story about a good friend of mine, (I saw that!...Don't you roll your eyes at the prospect of one of my stories)
My friends name is d...actually we'll call him Joe for the purposes of the story just in case he gives me a left hook when he recognises himself in print. He is likeable, enthusiastic and reasonably hard working. He delivers takeaways and he does a little work in the restaurant when orders are slow. The thing is Joe has an awesome knowledge of a specific type of action figure and knows an amazing way of quickly customising them, thus making them effectively highly collectible "one offs" some of his friends have asked him to make them for their kids and they absolutely love them and pay him well.
The problem is that for at least 8 or 9 years now every time I see him he relates this tale of the business he's going to start one day "real soon". It sounds amazingly well thought out, he has foreseen many of the problems that will creep up on him in the early days and resolved them before even starting. He knows who his customers will be and how and where to make contact with them. He also knows how to start with minimal finance.
So recently when I dropped in to visit him, I made a decision to ask as tactfully as I could, what was holding him back from pursuing his dream. Initially he was a little defensive but after we had talked for a while he admitted that he was terrified of "losing everything", if his venture went "belly up". I was quite surprised at this because his situation is fairly similar to my own in that hie doesn't actually have a great deal to lose. What I mean by that is, his car isn't worth anything and his house is rented so neither can be repossessed to pay off any business debts incurred and his existing debts are so massive in relation to his wage that he is sinking further and further into poverty with every passing day. I explained this to him and he agreed that the risks that he was perceiving didn't really exist.
But the potential to transform his life if things went well was MASSIVE!
He confided that focusing on what he could gain rather than (the imagined) scenario of what he could lose helped him get some perspective on his life and he is now actively pursuing his dream. It also helped me to re-asses what has been holding me back because as i mentioned our situations are not dissimilar.
Does this describe your own situation? Are you terrified of the fall if you reach too high?
I have spent many a long night planning many business only to "bottle it" when contemplating the massive risks involved only to realise at this point in my life that I'M ALREADY STARTING OUT AT ROCK BOTTOM. If I had only worked this out before, I DON'T HAVE ANYWHERE TO FALL TO, worst case scenario is that I will end up almost exactly where I am starting from. In a sense that is incredibly liberating, because the business I am about to embark on now appears to be virtually risk free. But more importantly than this, another question has occupied the space front and centre in my mind...
What if I don't try?... What do I stand to lose?
And I can tell you quite categorically that the implications and possibilities of this are infinitely more terrifying than any I had previously understood.
Perspective can kill fear in one fell swoop, if you can be objective enough to FULLY investigate both sides of the coin.
If self employment or starting your own business is something that you are dreaming about, spend some serious time this week investigating if you are setup for success or are you pouring cold water onto the hot coals of your desire by worrying about all sorts of eventualities that probably won't even materialise
Thanks for sticking with me through another mammoth post, your company and friendship are greatly appreciated on this epic journey. Nobody likes travelling alone.
Steven ; )
I'm speaking of self employment of course. Have you ever considered it?
I think we all have at one time or another, it's always struck me as one of those situations where the benefits are endless, you could list them all day, but the potential downside is just as enormous. I don't think it's a decision that could be decided with a pros and cons list.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that it could prove incredibly stressful, fraught with problems and at times a series of seemingly endless obstacles.
So why then is it the perceived pinnacle of achievement in the dreams and aspirations of so many apparently sane people? Is it that they are masochistic martyrs who like nothing more than a little self flagellation with a heavily needled spruce branch?
No I don't think so!
I believe it's that on the flip side the numerous positives can far outweigh the negatives. The plethora of benefits include being at the helm of your own ship with a feeling of controlling your own destiny for once in your life, knowing that if things go well you could retire many years sometimes even decades earlier than in a "traditional" job often with a relative fortune in the bank.
It certainly sounds better than 50 years hard labour working for a boss that you don't like, for less than you are worth, cowing every time you are called into his office, penalised like a naughty schoolchild for being 5 minutes late and always wondering if your job will still exist 12 months down the line (or even next week).
Sounds like bliss doesn't it?
Working for yourself doesn't mean that you need to re-invent the wheel, you could just sell products or services the same as all the others on the market, hopefully with a little more creativity, customer service, choice or in a slighter better or more original way. That is the only "magic formula" that is required, it's not rocket science!
So why then will most people never in their entire lifetime take any steps towards starting their own business? This despite the fact that most will despise their job and feel undervalued, underpaid with no sense of personal freedom feeling unfulfilled for most of their natural lives...
FEAR!
Most people are paralysed with fear and consumed with nagging doubts and anxiety causing pins and needles across their entire body whilst imaging all of the terrible consequences and possibilities that are sure to befall them the second they turn over the open sign on day 1. They ask themselves, (all too often), what if it all goes wrong.
This is a legitimate concern of course and rushing into any endeavour without first setting out your stall in a way that is conducive to minimising mistakes and oversights is not the path to tread.
But if you Can approach a venture with good planning and have a "masterplan" this doesn't need to be perfect ideally it should be a fluidic adaptable framework that lets you know when you are heading off course. This plan should incorporate several numeric elements, the numbers may be profit, loss, waste, running costs, sales targets, actual sales results because when the numbers are not stacking up it is easy to spot which part of the operation is veering off from your plan. If this can be done whilst personally, (in the early days), keeping a tight rein on factors such as budget, marketing and maximization of sales instead of handing it over too early to outsourced, highly paid "professionals", whilst wandering dazed and blinkered around your own business repeating the mantra "everything is fine" over and over in your mind you can vastly increase your chances for success. If you are willing to read books written by those who went before you, and take courses or classes to develop the necessary skills required you will be incredibly well placed to succeed.
But conversely if you are seriously contemplating branching out on your own and trying to make those dreams into reality, do not overstate the perceived risks just to get yourself "off the hook".
I would like to illustrate the point with a story about a good friend of mine, (I saw that!...Don't you roll your eyes at the prospect of one of my stories)
My friends name is d...actually we'll call him Joe for the purposes of the story just in case he gives me a left hook when he recognises himself in print. He is likeable, enthusiastic and reasonably hard working. He delivers takeaways and he does a little work in the restaurant when orders are slow. The thing is Joe has an awesome knowledge of a specific type of action figure and knows an amazing way of quickly customising them, thus making them effectively highly collectible "one offs" some of his friends have asked him to make them for their kids and they absolutely love them and pay him well.
The problem is that for at least 8 or 9 years now every time I see him he relates this tale of the business he's going to start one day "real soon". It sounds amazingly well thought out, he has foreseen many of the problems that will creep up on him in the early days and resolved them before even starting. He knows who his customers will be and how and where to make contact with them. He also knows how to start with minimal finance.
So recently when I dropped in to visit him, I made a decision to ask as tactfully as I could, what was holding him back from pursuing his dream. Initially he was a little defensive but after we had talked for a while he admitted that he was terrified of "losing everything", if his venture went "belly up". I was quite surprised at this because his situation is fairly similar to my own in that hie doesn't actually have a great deal to lose. What I mean by that is, his car isn't worth anything and his house is rented so neither can be repossessed to pay off any business debts incurred and his existing debts are so massive in relation to his wage that he is sinking further and further into poverty with every passing day. I explained this to him and he agreed that the risks that he was perceiving didn't really exist.
But the potential to transform his life if things went well was MASSIVE!
He confided that focusing on what he could gain rather than (the imagined) scenario of what he could lose helped him get some perspective on his life and he is now actively pursuing his dream. It also helped me to re-asses what has been holding me back because as i mentioned our situations are not dissimilar.
Does this describe your own situation? Are you terrified of the fall if you reach too high?
I have spent many a long night planning many business only to "bottle it" when contemplating the massive risks involved only to realise at this point in my life that I'M ALREADY STARTING OUT AT ROCK BOTTOM. If I had only worked this out before, I DON'T HAVE ANYWHERE TO FALL TO, worst case scenario is that I will end up almost exactly where I am starting from. In a sense that is incredibly liberating, because the business I am about to embark on now appears to be virtually risk free. But more importantly than this, another question has occupied the space front and centre in my mind...
What if I don't try?... What do I stand to lose?
And I can tell you quite categorically that the implications and possibilities of this are infinitely more terrifying than any I had previously understood.
Perspective can kill fear in one fell swoop, if you can be objective enough to FULLY investigate both sides of the coin.
If self employment or starting your own business is something that you are dreaming about, spend some serious time this week investigating if you are setup for success or are you pouring cold water onto the hot coals of your desire by worrying about all sorts of eventualities that probably won't even materialise
Thanks for sticking with me through another mammoth post, your company and friendship are greatly appreciated on this epic journey. Nobody likes travelling alone.
Steven ; )
It would appear to me that you are becoming more and more relaxed with this blog. I like the succinct, natural flow to this latest post. I would guess that you are really getting to the heart of what you desire to talk about and share with others. I say this only as some of your earlier posts seemed a little forced, and I also know the reason for that... Caring for your family and the general maitanance of the family home (without the luxury of a maid service), is rightly a top priority and a time intensive priority at that. I am well aware that the time you have to write these posts comes in the wee hours, when you should be enjoying your rightful bounty in the land of Nod, and instead of accepting that well deserved sleep you log in and attempt to capture those dreams and pull them out into reality with the express desire to share them with your loved ones. Well Steven I belive your work is starting to pay off, I can see the focus, the formation of a master plan, the delicate disection of a huge idea into bite size bits (BYTE size BIT's). I wish the best of fortune with your endevours and look forward to more epic posts as you struggle to decide how best to spend the vast amouts of cash that your work creates.
ReplyDeletePeace and Love
Darren