We all fall into two categories. We work for a company (or someone). Or we work for ourselves. The former is typically viewed as a ‘job’. The latter is typically viewed as a ‘business’. There are many pros and cons to jobs and businesses. This post will focus on working for yourself and offer some tips to make sure you maximize the pros.
Expectations
Too many times, I’ve heard business owners after a couple of years, vent about the stress of their business. “It’s all I can think about. I wake up in the middle of the night stressing over X & Y.” This is totally natural. Starting a business usually consumes your time energy and thoughts. This post is to make sure you can properly enjoy the upside of putting up with all that stress: freedom.
The first question you need to ask yourself is what are you trying to accomplish? If you want a job minus the boss, this post isn’t for you. But if you want to create a business that works whether you are there are not, there are some important steps you can take.
Tips To Building a Business
- Identify the labor and what it costs. When you start off, you will be doing pretty much everything. If you have the money, pay yourself the going rate for that work. If you don’t, getting to the point where the business generates enough to pay for the labor should be your number 1 priority.* (make sure you have separate bank accounts business / personal)
*most startups don’t have the incoming revenue to afford the labor so don’t stress over this - Decide how much YOU want to be involved in the future. If I want to build a business codyfedell.com is probably not the best brand to go with. That’s not a brand that people are interested in buying if the owner is no longer involved.
- Imagine what life would be like when your business is successful years down the road and you wanted to go on vacation for two weeks. What processes would you need in place? Phone & internet responses, customer support, classes etc. These things will help you lay the groundwork from day 1 which is always easier*
*see the irony of pain
The truth is it’s much easier to build a job. Building a business that can not only continue on but grow while you are not there takes effort, planning, and discipline. If you need any help as always you can reach me at 903-781-1437 ☎️
