Being in love is great. Being in love with your business, when you’re an entrepreneur, is even better. Waking up each morning knowing you are getting to do exactly what you love is more than most people could ever say about any “job” they have had. Although there are days when tossing in your hat seems like a viable option, remembering how much you love your “job” can quickly snap an entrepreneur out of that mentality. Different business owners also have different reason why they love their business. It might be the products or the customers they deal with, or it could even be the fact that they are the ones in charge of it all. The reasons are as varied as the businesses themselves.
We asked some entrepreneurs what they loved about “being their own boss.”
#1 – Personal Growth
This year marks my fourth anniversary as a full-time entrepreneur. Transitioning from receiving a paycheck every two weeks to working to ensure you can pay yourself is not without discomfort. What I thought I would love the most about being an entrepreneur is the personal freedom. However, what I really love about being an entrepreneur is the personal growth. I have learned to be creative in ways I never thought I could before. I am more mentally resilient, and better at working with other to find solutions. It's rewarding to see the work I am doing as the CEO of MentalHappy is making an impact, but I love how being an entrepreneur has made me a better version of myself.
Thanks to Tamar Lucien, MentalHappy
#2- Exercise of creativity and service to others
After serving the first part of my career as an active duty Air Force officer, the reason I love being an entrepreneur is because it gives me chance to exercise a lot of creativity, but I'm also able to keep the idea of serving others at the forefront of what I do. It's truly been the best of both worlds. Today, not only do I get to coach over 9,000 women on how to start and grow successful businesses, but I was also able to fulfill a life long bucket list item this summer by writing my own book!
Thanks to JenGriswold, Mission Milpreneur
#3- Opportunity to be put
I love being an entrepreneur because it gives me an opportunity to be put in tough and uncomfortable situations on a repeated basis which in turn allows me to grow in my business knowledge and experiences, expand my skillets, and be challenged!
Thanks to Braydon Moreno, Robo
#4- Several reasons
I love being an entrepreneur for several reasons: flexibility and unlimited income potential ranking towards the top. I also love creating new products and initiatives and being able to pivot my business as the industry changes or I feel like pursuing something different. Lastly, I love being an entrepreneur, because I can choose how to spend my time – be it investing in others, investing in myself or investing in my family – it's totally my call!
Thanks to GinaHorkey, Horkey HandBook
#5- Learning and Sharing Information
Hands down my two favorite things about being an entrepreneur are constantly learning new things and mentoring those who are newer to the business owner world. Over the past decade and a half of running my current business, I've started six other ventures, and just about everything I know and implement has changed, shifted, or begun. Learning new skills, technologies, communication styles, networking tactics, sales strategies, and other things is crucial to your success in a business. Along with learning, sharing that information with others is just as important to my happiness as an business owner. I love mentoring college students and new business owners, as well as helping existing entrepreneurs learn better ways to manage their company. Learning and mentoring go hand-in-hand and I love what I do because of it
Thanks to Nicole Royer, Start-Up with Nicole
#6- Freedom
I've been an entrepreneur for 13 years and I'm proud to say I'm unemployable! Entrepreneurship to me is the freedom to pursue my passions, to do what I want when I want, to work with people I like and trust, and to learn new things and be challenged on a daily basis. Don't get me wrong…I probably work twice as hard and long as most with a J-O-B, but I love being in control of my destiny. Win or lose, succeed or fail, I am in the driver's seat. The *best *part is being able to build a brand that positively impacts not only our team but also support hundreds of women in building their entrepreneurial dreams through our workspace and incubator. I became an entrepreneur to gain more purpose and fulfillment in my life and have found just that.
Thanks to FelenaHanson, Hera Hub
#7- Having a vision
I love having a vision for what something could be and working to make it a reality. I truly enjoy seeing what is in my head come to life and to me there is no better job in the world than charting your own course and making an idea become something tangible.
Thanks to Carlos Hidalgo, VisumCX
#8- Contribute and Learn
Wei-Shin- To me, being an entrepreneur is about contributing a new idea to society. It's easy to be a business person, like running a lawn mowing service or opening another McDonalds, following a defined rule book. It's far less easy and takes more creativity and guts to write the rules, introducing a completely new niche of headphones designed for sleeping to the world. That's why I love being an entrepreneur – we are adding to the repertoire of the world's available products potentially helping millions of people sleep better. It's, in my small way, how I help save the world.
Jason- I love constantly learning new things to help me design and deploy effective processes in the business. Being an entrepreneur also means that I get to meet lots of new and wonderful people, all while developing new products. Most importantly, I get to have a positive impact on the community
Thanks to Dr. Wei-Shin Lai and Jason Wolfe, AcousticSheep LLC
#9- Attacking opportunities and creating a difference
Once we were able to see our product in action and watch the consumer response it was GAME TIME. I feel so liberated that I can attack opportunities and truly do what I was made to do, create a difference. Passion and belief in your business will allow you to work the 100+ hours you need to get it off the ground while allowing you to celebrate all the little victories along the way. There is no better place to see accountability in action then in running your own company as there are no teams that are pointing fingers just you looking at the bottom line. It’s both exciting and scary!
Thanks to Erik Elfstrum, pureLYFT
#10- Recognizing issues and finding solutions
My entrepreneurial journey started with a poorly functioning phone system at a Utah County software firm. The options for upgrading were far too expensive and overly complicated, so my fellow Jive co-founders and I – being the over-confident software guys that we were – decided to just build one ourselves. The solution we came up with eliminated the analog, site-based phone system and replaced it with a digital, cloud-based system. This not only worked better, it cost less, and it sparked interest in our consulting clients who were also underwhelmed with their phone systems. We worked for three years, for free, to get our business off the ground, but today we have more than 500 employees and continue to grow and improve. What I love about entrepreneurs is that, like us, they recognize an issue, and seek to find a better answer and solution.
Thanks to John Pope, Jive Communications
#11- Solving Problems
I love solving problems that there are no templates for. The challenge that comes with evolving, adapting and simplifying products for the modern era is what drives me as an entrepreneur. For example, the company I co-founded in 2016 is revolutionizing the next generation of photo booths, a technology that has been widely loved for decades but hadn't been reimagined to meet the demands of the digital age. Knowing that I may be creating something that has the potential to redefine how a generation captures and shares their experiences is my biggest motivator.
Thanks to Mark Hennings, Simple Booth
#12- Giving Back
For me, hard work and discipline is what keeps me going. I feel a responsibility to give back, not only by helping my family, but also by creating a stronger, more vibrant community. Thrilled that I am afforded the opportunity to give back.
Thanks to Miguel Pilgram, Pilgram Group
#13- Unpredictability
The unpredictability is what I love about being an entrepreneur. There’s never a dull moment, you’re constantly keeping an eye out for opportunities, looking for ways to improve, and solving the challenges that you’re faced with. Whilst often it can be stressful, there’s a real sense of accomplishment that comes with this. I’d liken it to a rollercoaster – at times you’re apprehensive, you’re not sure what’s around the corner, but the journey is always thrilling.
Thanks to Charles Cridland, YourParkingSpace
#14- Freedom
I love having the freedom to create the kind of company culture that I want. At my agency, from the very beginning, I wanted my team to feel comfortable and happy, which is why I offer flexitime, a relaxed dress code and plenty of opportunities for team bonding activities. Not only is this great for company morale, it gives you the chance to make your workplace into a small nuclear family that can play just as hard as they work. When the hard work is done, it's just as great for you, the boss, to know that there's something fun and rewarding to look forward to as it is for the employees.
Thanks to Steve Pritchard, It Works
#15- Designing and transforming ideas into reality
I started Megaventory when I wanted to address a problem of my own. My diving equipment e-shop was about to extend to multiple locations. But there weren't any affordable systems to manage inventory and orders many locations. So, I decided to create my own! This is the reason why I love to be an entrepreneur: I can design my own ideas and transform them into reality. Every idea, dream or need can turn into a successful business with the right amount of creativity and courage.
Thanks to Kostis Mamassis, Megaventory
#16- Dedication to a cause I believe in
Everyone, one way or another, needs to understand the law. Unfortunately, most people only have a vague comprehension of their legal obligations and this puts them at risk of getting into (sadly avoidable) legal issues. This is so unfair, and I created Linkilaw to help people protect themselves from expensive legal disputes and empower them to use the legal systems to their advantage. Being an entrepreneur gives me a sense of purpose. What I love the most about being an entrepreneur is knowing that I wake up in the morning knowing that I am dedicated to a cause that I believe in. No doubt, it's very difficult some days, but to me, and many others like myself, it's worth it.
Thanks to Alexandra Isenegger, Linkilaw
#17- Innovation
I love the fact that I can be innovative and outside of the box. Instead of being forced into the big corporate environment with set hours and vacation dates, I have the ability to make changes based on my beliefs and what I learn over time.
Thanks to AJ Saleem, Suprex Tutors Houston
#18- Taking Responsibility
What I love about being an entrepreneur is the ability to take responsibility for making your ideas into a reality. When I began a global charity to serve the economically excluded, I found no existing organisation that was doing the same. Having no template or beaten path, entrepreneurship was the only answer. 7 years later, hundreds of beneficiaries have been empowered as they themselves become entrepreneurs who take charge of their lives and make their visions into reality.
Thanks to Shyam K. Iyer, SKI Charities
#19- Freedom, creativity and constant change
I enjoy being entrepreneur for the freedom and creativity that are available, but also for the constant change and the discovery of new things. Most people have anxiety with thoughts of change, however, I have trained myself to thrive on it. After all, change is the only constant. Change requires you to learn new skills and have new thoughts. It brings you to the edge of your limitations – and that's where you discover so much about yourself and your business. That edge is where real growth happens. It's this discovery of ever-changing edges that keeps running a business interesting.
Thanks to Sabina King, Veppo
#20- Flexibility
I've been an entrepreneur for a year now and there is absolutely no going back to traditional employment. I relish the flexibility to push hard during late nights or early mornings, then nap in the middle of the day when needed. I love that no one can tell me how to spend my time or how to do my job. And I especially enjoy how there is no ceiling: the fruits of my hard work will continue to reward me as long as I'm providing value to others. There is no salary cap, I just have to learn to serve more customers or provide even more value to my clients.
Thanks to Eagan Heath, Splendid Beast