If you’ve been thinking of starting your own business for some time but never got around to it, now might be a good time to launch. For one thing, a brand-new year is just around the corner. Perhaps it’s time for a fresh start. For another, COVID-19 business loans are available from many lenders to encourage entrepreneurs to rebuild the economy.
One reason you might not have begun your business was that you were not sure whether or not you should leave the security of your 9-to-5 job. Although not much fun, it paid the bills. But here’s the thing: You never know how big your business idea can grow.
Take Joy, for example. Joy isn’t the name of a person, but the name of an interactive photo frame, a spontaneous idea that occurred to Alan Chan because he and his wife loved taking family photos. The business, which started from scratch, has now attracted $2.5 million in seed capital from several investors, including The Chernin Group (TCG).
Next time you have a creative idea, take it seriously. That whimsical, spontaneous idea could be worth millions.
When you take a look at the following three good reasons why you should start your own business, you won’t be able to wait to make the leap into your new life as an entrepreneur:
1. Follow Your Passion
When asked for business advice during press interviews, Steve Jobs recommended people do work they loved. He showed by example what a difference it makes to do work that you love. When you work on things that interest you, you’re doing more than working—you’re also adding meaning and purpose to your life. Most working people live in a state of quiet desperation, even if they make a good living. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Since you’re probably going to spend most of your life working, you might as well find something enjoyable to do.
2. No Cap on Your Income
As an employee, you can only earn what your employer decides you’re worth. But when you’re running your own business, you get to determine how much you’re worth. When you pursue this line of reasoning long enough, you’ll come to discover that there is no cap on your income and you’ll also discover a direct correlation between raising your self-esteem and increasing your levels of productivity and profitability. You’re also more likely to make money when you’re doing work that you love because you’ll persist when things get tough and persist when you need to learn the skills that will take you to the next level.
3. Set Your Own Schedule
Once you get a taste of the freedom to do what you like when you like, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start your new business sooner. It’s liberating to break free from the stress of following a fixed schedule determined by someone else who did not have your best interest at heart. Of course, setting your own business schedule doesn’t mean that you’ll be more likely to give yourself more time off. On the contrary, you might even work longer and harder than if someone had hired you to do the job. What setting your own schedule really means is that you’ll have the freedom to choose. You can change your schedule whenever you need to suit your lifestyle.
To sum up, when you start your own business, things might work out better than you had expected. As you do work that you love, you’ll discover how wonderful it feels to make more money than you thought possible and how liberating it feels to work when you want and how much you want.
