The Good, the Bad and the Profit of Being Your Own Boss

Being an entrepreneur has its pros and cons. Running a business and being your own boss sure has its benefits. However, roses have thorns. A proper understanding of an entrepreneur’s life would help you prepare for the positive and negative aspects of running a business. While running a business affords you a sense of happiness and fulfillment, stress and pressure are also significant parts of the package. Its a packaged deal of freedom and control, mixed with long hours and compulsory dedication.

Benefits of being an Entrepreneur

You are the boss.

This is a rather obvious benefit of being an entrepreneur. In fact, it is one of the major reasons why being an entrepreneur is so fulfilling and attractive. You are in control, the captain of the ship calling the shots and making things happen. Your thoughts and decisions make real impacts. It is way better than submitting suggestions to a middle manager who ignores them or takes credit for them. Every move you make effects real impact and change.

You Are in Charge of  Your Earning and Finances

Another major advantage of being an entrepreneur is that you determine how much you earn. You have the power to improve your earnings. How much you make isn’t left to the mercy of your boss or some obscure company policy. How much you make is based on the effort you put into your business and how much you decide to pay yourself. Of course, you must be careful not to suck your business dry. Nevertheless, financial independence is a major source of joy for all entrepreneurs.

Flexible Working Hours

Another major advantage of being your own boss is flexible working hours. You get to decide when and how long you work. You can organize your schedule, so you work at the time you are most effective. For instance, if you are a night owl, you can organize your schedule so that you sleep during the day and work through the night. This is impossible in a corporate 9-5 job.

Flexible Working Condition

As an entrepreneur, you get to determine and influence the environment in which you work. This ranges from equipment, co-workers, furniture, office location, etc. You get to create the perfect conditions for you and your business to grow by surrounding yourself with the right people and the right ambiance.

Job Security

Being an entrepreneur means you can’t get fired. The fear and pressure of getting that scary letter from your boss don’t exist. Your drive to work hard is purely based on achieving your goal and taking your business to the highest peak possible. Your motivation is positive enthusiasm to meet your full potential.

The Joy of Building Something Real

The joy of creating and nurturing a business is so overwhelming and fulfilling. Building your business from the ground up brick by brick, client by client, project by project, and sale by sale is bound to fill you with a sense of achievement. There is a special and joyous pride that comes with being the owner and builder of a successful business. That feeling is worth more than silver or gold.

Cons of Being an Entrepreneur

Your clients and team are your employers.
As an entrepreneur, you are your own boss. However, you are still accountable to a lot of people. You are accountable to your clients and customers. You are also in a lot of ways accountable to your teammates whose careers are in your hands. If you want to run a successful business and lead an efficient team, you have to relate with everyone with guided respect and care. To be a good entrepreneur, you have to be answerable to your clients, customers, and employees. Treating them with respect and thriving for their joy and satisfaction is a necessary ingredient for success.

Long Hours, Pressure, and Stress

Being an entrepreneur requires impossible hours. Sometimes you had wish there were more than twenty-four hours in a day. Success in entrepreneurship usually requires dedication, consistency, and determination. Everything hangs on your shoulders. There is no pressure or fear of getting fired. However, the task of keeping your business running and growing is enough to keep you busy and under intense pressure.

Financial Insecurity

One secret that most people tend to miss is that with financial independence comes financial insecurity. Earning a salary gives you a steady stream of income, making it easy for you to plan for the future. However, as an entrepreneur, your earning is reliant on the success of your business as well as the market and economic cycles. In essence, you don’t know for a fact how much you or your business would earn. Plans and projections are very important; however, they are not guarantees. The business world is very fluid, and so is the financial state of an entrepreneur. To stay in business and avoid brokenness, you would need to have good financial discipline and money management skills.

Conclusion

Most times, entrepreneurship is presented in a single light. Super dark or super bright. However, entrepreneurship is a spectrum, and getting a clear picture would require careful consideration of all pros and cons. In truth, some features of entrepreneurship double as pros and cons. It all comes down to how well you manage your business. The good news is the pros outweigh the cons by a very wide margin.

Building the Perfect Team

Why is it that some businesses have the the perfect team and others can’t seem to keep the team together? Many CEOs want the perfect formula for the perfect team. And truth is there is no definite design to building the perfect team. But leadership, communication, business resources and collaboration are core components. The perfect team goes a long way in deciding the direction and the growth rate of your business for a building entrepreneur.

Business Direction

First, let’s consider the business direction. People who you choose to join your team will have a reasonable influence on your decisions. The perfect team member is invested in their role and your business. They are open to both understanding and collaborating with their team members. As such your business direction is fuel by essentials of a perfect team. On the contrary, a bad team can lead you down a wrong path, leaving you lost in your business searching for sales. However, a good team would work tirelessly to show you new and better ways to take your business to where it needs to be. Therefore, choosing the perfect team is important.

Business Growth

Next is business growth. The reliability and proficiency of your team determines how fast your business grows. When you assert group norms that allow your team to work efficiently, you create standards by which they work. When you are trying to build a business to great heights and expand at an exponential rate, the ability to think outside the box is very valuable. And that can not happen without a strong foundation. No CEO wants a team of drones but rather a team of diligent innovators and freethinkers.

In conclusion, building the perfect team shouldn’t be based solely on their education and certification. Qualification is good, however, some other factors need to be considered. The goal is to build a team that isn’t just competent but also in sync with your business vision and values. Getting the perfect team isn’t an easy task as a mere interview might not reveal all the qualities you are looking for in a team member. However, with patience and due diligence, you can create your perfect squad.

Onboarding Tips: Team Integration Made Easy

The process of integrating new staff into the everyday workings of your business can be a bit tricky. With your employees managing their roles and responsibilities that keep your business running smoothly, new team members can begin to feel lost and alone. Here are a few tips on how to integrate your new team without disrupting the day to day running of your business.

Simplify Onboarding

The first day for any new team member is usually a roller coaster. The first day is often an uneven balance of retaining information, remaining professional and asking the “right” questions. A new employee can get a bit intimidated by all of the information, processes and people. The best way to avoid this is to make all necessary information available to your new employee before they begin their first day of work. Merely telling them about their position isn’t enough to ensure that your recruits hit the ground running.

Your recruits need to have a detailed understanding of their roles and responsibilities. This includes sharing information about their direct report, team members, benefits, work expectations and more. Don’t throw your new team member into their work without sharing more about where they are working and who they are working with. I like to use a digital onboarding system that notifies me when documents are opened, reviewed, completed and/or signed. The convenience of completing this via email also provides an opportunity to review at your leisure. Before the work day, of course. This way recruits resume their first day feeling ready and confident to get some work done.

Create a Mentor-Mentee Program

A simple way to help your new new team adjust to their new work environment is to set them up with a mentor, their “go to person”. This can be the business owner, their direct report or a senior team member. Two or more mentors is not a bad idea as it allows your team member to choose a mentor who resonates with them.

 The main goal is to ensure the new team member feels free to ask questions and make clarification without being judged. Creating a good working atmosphere goes a long way in ensuring that your new employees are effective and enjoy a good work experience.

Leverage the Internet

The internet provides a lot of programs to educate, train and certify your team. It basically creates a virtual office for you and your workforce. For instance productivity software is at the top of the list of these programs. Instead of waiting for your recruit to submit misguided results, keep track of their work to ensure you can correct their mistakes before they make them.

Conclusion

The first few weeks of your new employee’s work experience is essential. Proper handling of these integration and adjustment period is very crucial in the progress of your team. Your ability to retain the best employees ensures the greatest results. The best way to create an effective onboarding process is to invest the time in the planning and creating of the system.