You may need to hear this about as bad as a fish needs tennis shoes, but some of you may need that last push to get you to plunge into entrepreneurship.
If you're reading this, you've at least THOUGHT about quitting your job.
WARNING
I am a huge supporter of living the best life physically possible and to me, jobs rarely provide the gratification that we all crave.
I am going to try and convince anyone who is on the fence as to whether or not they want to leave their 9-5 j@b (it's a bad word to me and I try not to use bad words here very often) to take the plunge.
If this scares you, stop reading now!
I'm not afraid to tell you to quit your job if you absolutely hate it.
"But Nate," you may say, "what if someone quits their job and ruins their life because they don't have what it takes to make it on their own?"
If someone hates their job, the fear should really be, "what if someone lives their entire life working for someone else, doing something they hate."
Yes, many people will fail on their own. If you have responsibilities to your family, understandably, you need to tread carefully.
Unfortunately, many would-be entrepreneurs never make the leap to working for themselves because they have this as a crutch. They never feel like it is "safe" for them to leave their work so they don't try.
Listen, your job is not safe anyway! The risk is that you do nothing at all and rely on your job to be there forever. Hell, even if it is there forever, you don't like it right?
If you love your job, stop reading this. Seriously.
The point is to be happy in your work, if you already are, you have won. If you haven't found this work yet, you should be searching for it daily.
So, if you don't love your job but are not yet completely sold on the entrepreneur lifestyle, let me provide you with a little more food for thought. There are so many reasons why working for yourself is preferable to working for someone else.
1. Work When Your Most Inspired and Productive
If I am inspired at 2 PM to create, I work, if not, I still probably do, but I know I don’t have to if I don’t want.
The difference is that there is no one breathing down my neck forcing me to create when I have no motivation.
The only pressures I feel are the ones I put on myself. Those are positive pressure that I love. I work because I l0ve the results of my work, not the fact that I am permitted to continue clocking in each day.
Most employees are working for that, the ability to keep working.
You would be amazed how much better some people perform when they aren’t being told to do something. Others, however, may require more direction.
Ask yourself...
Do you have what it takes to provide yourself with the pressure required to succeed?
2. Be Location Independent
There are over 2.5 billion people who access the internet each day.
Billion, with a “B”.
To tie yourself down to a location because of a job you hate and a house you can’t afford is like slapping everyone who lived before the Internet across the face.
You can literally live anywhere with an Internet connection, so I hope you give this serious consideration.
At the very least, travel a lot if you feel so inclined, you will wish you had later in life.
Ask yourself...
Do you want to live where you do now? Do you have the flexibility to travel like you want or are you rooted where you are now because of a job? How about your family, do you get to see them? All of them, not just the ones that live nearby?
3. Build Real Security
Please, don’t stay at your job because it makes you feel secure.
Spoiler alert: no job is safe anymore.
Did you sleep through 2008?
If we learned anything from the recession, it was that you can be a fantastic employee and lose your job faster than you can say “predatory lending.”
Don’t be a victim, be one of the people who finds opportunities in difficult times because they have the ability to react and counter the negative economic environment around them.
Ask yourself...
How much time do you spend worrying about job security? Do you lose sleep over the fear of your company going overseas or disappearing altogether?
What would you do if you were laid off? Would you be able to walk into another position with comparable pay and benefits?
How is your company doing right now? Are they innovators or are the showing the signs of a company on the way out?
4. Spend More Time with Your Loved Ones
That is why we work anyway right?
Sure, you will still have to work as much as you did before and probably even more at times. The difference though is that you aren’t shackled to a particular time window.
There will likely be things that need to still be done by deadlines or at certain times, but you can control that much more now.
If your kids have ball games at 4 PM on a weekday, be there on time instead of barely catching the last at bat or worse, missing the game entirely. You now can work any hours you want, in whatever increments you want.
Ask yourself ...
- Does your current job allow you the flexibility to do things you want with the ones you love?
- Do you miss out on important life events because of work?
5. Get Paid for What You Put In
At my past managerial jobs, I performed at high levels so that I wouldn’t get chewed out or fired.
That is sad isn't it?
I worked hard just so I wouldn’t get in trouble. Now I work hard because it is gratifying and makes me more money.
Some of you may already be paid in commissions or for performance, but how much of the earnings you generate for your company is paid directly to you? Is it 100% Probably not.
Ask yourself...
- Do you feel you get paid what you deserve? Be honest with yourself here.
- How much would you make if you were paid what you feel you truly deserve? Is it a lot more than you make now?
- If you are worth more than you are paid, why do you do it and do you sell yourself short in other areas of life?
6. Destroy Your Resume and Stop Chasing Credentials
Your impressions will be based around the value you can provide.
People don't care what your degree is in, how many years of related experience you have or any of that crap.
There is no HR department charm, no hoops to jump through, just you and the quality of your product or service.
Ask yourself...
Do you feel your resume is holding you back from jobs you are completely capable of?
If you were an entrepreneur, would you do things that others would have to have hired you for if you worked for a company?
For example, I make money in a lot of various ways, one of them is copywriting. I have no formal copywriting experience. I do, however, possess the skills of copywriting that I taught myself. It is likely though that if I applied for a job as a copywriter, I would be overlooked by someone who has more formal training and experience with a "real" company/
7. Do Work That Excites You
You're only limiting factors will be "does it make money."
Ask yourself...
- Are you excited to go to work or are you excited to leave work?
- Do you have hobbies that you love but rarely get to do? Could they be monetized?
8. Become Wealthy Sooner Rather Than Later
You don't hear of many 20 somethings who became millionaires by working their way up the corporate ladder.
Entrepreneurship CAN allow you to make money now and not wait for someone to tell you that you've earned it.
At my regular job, I knew what I would make each year, give or take a few thousand dollars for bonuses that were out of my control.
As an entrepreneur, I have had ideas in the morning, monetized them by the same evening and made several thousand dollars in the process. Each day is interesting and unique. It can be as eventful and exciting as you choose to make it.
Ask yourself...
- Are you perfectly content with how much you are making?
- Do you dream of being wealthy? If so, what are you doing to make that happen? If you stay where you are now, how long will this take you?
9. Become a Job Maker
Nothing feels as good as sharing your success and bringing loved ones aboard (maybe).
Ask yourself...
- Do you actively hire and fire people in your company at your current job? How does it feel to hire people you like? How about firing them?
- Do you have family members and friends you know would be an asset to your team and who would be better off working for you?
10. Utilize Your God Given Talents
Odds are, you have a lot of skills that you are not utilizing at your current job.
It's in your company's best interest to keep employees where they are. Specialization breeds efficiency.
Entrepreneurship allows you to focus on your strengths. Any of your strengths. If it is a talent you have and you can make your business better with it, you can utilize it.
Even if your job utilizes your talents, entrepreneurship will most likely let you use more of them. You can wear many hats.
Due to desperation and job scarcity, many people take jobs that they are not the best fit for. They are either below them or above them, they just take them because they are grabbing for anything.
Ask yourself...
- Are you good at your job or do you just get by because it isn't a perfect fit given your unique skill set?
- What talents do you use at your current job?
- What is your most valuable talent? Do you use it at your current job?
- What talents do you not use at your job?
11. Get Paid Indefinitely for Work You've Done in the Past
When you stop going to work, you stop getting paid, when you have an informational product, you get paid with little additional effort aside of marketing.
Ask yourself...
Do you have work that is still working for you? Have you made something at work that pays you residually and requires no additional input?
How about you? Are you ready to quit your job? What is holding you back? Comment below and I will answer any questions you have!