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- Three things
You get what you put in. Ultimately as an entrepreneur, you are responsible for every facet of the company, and the results of what you envision, plan and put into action are very clearly linked (fortunately or unfortunately) back to you 2. You do it your own way. You are not like everyone else and you don't have to do things the same was others do. Even though everyone in the industry is behaving a certain way, you have the ability (some would even argue the duty) to think about how you can improve and do things differently than the competition. 3. You are your own boss (within the organization. – Whilst there are some days where I wish someone could tell me what to do, ultimately I enjoy and want to be in charge of making the right decisions. Not having a ‘boss' does not mean a lack of accountability. Being the boss means that accountability shifts from reporting to someone ‘internal' to being responsible to your clients & your staff. BTW, in no way does that make life any easier!
Thanks to Stirling Cox, LunaNav!
#2- Realizing that I can do whatever I believe is the best path
I am still a newbie entrepreneur, about to celebrate my first year being full-time in my creative consulting business. What I love more and more every day is realizing that I can do whatever I believe is the best path forward on any given task, project, idea. I can trust my gut instinct and move ahead to take action and bring something to life without being tied down by endless discussions, meetings, opinions. This discovery has been liberating, and I feel so fortunate to be able to own my future.
Thanks to Alycia Yerves, Alycia Yerves Creative!
#3- Being paid for being true to myself
Being an entrepreneur involves taking some big risks, to be sure. But entrepreneurship provides an avenue to pursue my passion and chart my own path while making a meaningful difference. To me, achieving the true success story means being paid for being true to myself; to be able to contribute my talents, ideas and ultimately, abundance to the community. This is the dream that propelled me to launch my business just a year ago. My hope is to inspire young people to be innovative pioneers because, as an entrepreneur, the possibilities are endless. And while the path is interspersed with challenges and setbacks, there are also opportunities for learning, growth and self-fulfillment. Entrepreneurship is a life’s journey I wouldn’t have want to miss!
Thanks to Lisa Bast, Waggin' Trails, LLC/WoofPack!
#4- Being a problem-solver
To me, being an entrepreneur means being a problem-solver. To go from analyzing the flaws in the current ways of doing things to then building a product that fixes them is hugely rewarding. When you focus on solving a problem, you know you can make a real difference in people’s lives. Problem solving also brings a lot of personal development. It's not easy to go from nothing to something, but if you keep trying even when you fail you will become a much more useful and adaptive person.
Thanks to Karn Saroya, Cover!
#5- Creativity
An entrepreneur is essentially an innovator who constantly comes up with something new. I like most of all to generate new ideas and then introduce them into my business. Every idea gives me a big charge of energy – after all, it can improve my business. And that's why I enjoy the moments when a new idea comes to my mind. I have been pragmatic about ideas for a long time – for me, any idea is a hypothesis that needs to be checked. If the hypothesis is confirmed, then the idea was correct, if not – I was wrong. I love, by the way, make mistakes first – before competitors – you can learn a lot of new things and run to goals much faster. By the way, I have my favorite activities, during which I come up with the most ideas. I think everyone has something of their own. Here I have it – a bike and walking a walk in quiet places.
Thanks to Alexander Sergeev, Hygger!
#6- Control of my destiny
Entrepreneurism is not just about creation, but as well freedom. One of the most appealing attributes of giving birth to a privately held company is that it gave me control of my destiny. I could allocate resources where I felt best suited, whether that was time or money. Of course I am making wise investments of both and evaluating options all the time, but as an entrepreneur I have a license to develop my business as I see fit. Being held accountable for its success or failure is a heady challenge, but fit well with my can-do spirit, creative nature and type A personality.
Thanks to Janine Iannarelli, Par Avion Ltd!
#7- Unlimited ability to build
I’m a systems and numbers guy, so being able to build, restructure, and create an autonomous system of business with unlimited earning potential for myself, my company and my employees is something I love. Being able to recognize patterns, track metrics, see what’s performing and not performing; if we realize something’s not working, or needs to go another direction, being able to make that call, without having to run this by “the powers that be” – is awesome. Being an entrepreneur you’re the captain of the ship, and you can take it into uncharted waters, not just the safety of the known. What other businesses have done, or what’s safe in your market that your competitor’s doing, that’s not what delegates your course, you are. The autonomy of being an entrepreneur is priceless.
Thanks to Eric Hobbs, Technology Associates!
#8- Acquiring New Skills and Creating Solutions
Although I’ve been an entrepreneur for approximately 20 years, every day I am faced with new opportunities; which often come with a set of new challenges. As a lifelong learner and someone that loves the journey of entrepreneurship, acquiring new skills sets and problem solving is an aspect of it that I love! Whether it's strategy, problem-solving, staying on top of social media, finding your target market or utilizing data, each day is a new experience for the entrepreneur! My advice is to make it enjoyable, rewarding as possible, continue to learn and be open to new experiences and opportunities. Carpe diem my friends!
Thanks to Anna Foster, A Maven's World!
#9- A number of reasons
As the countdown to making the trip to the proverbial pasture went into overtime, the thought of doing nothing was dark and overwhelming. After having spent over 40 years as an Industrial Engineer, working for companies in starting up, moving, consolidating, improving efficiencies and such, it occurred to me that perhaps I could do things like that for myself. Having spent 20 years in the hobby of making beer, wine and mead, a light went on – a distillery. This has been the ultimate use of personal drive, experience, and creativity, pushing it all to places I'd never thought myself capable of. Best of all my wife has been the other half of this effort, which we expect will live on long after us.
Thanks to Paul Allen, Hope Springs Distillery!
#10- Motivation is never a problem
I love what I do. Even on days when I may be feeling down or working with a challenging client I know I am working for me. I know the value I create is for me and my family and I enjoy the benefits of that value, whether it be financial or in lifestyle choices. That motivation helps me get better at what I do. Learning and working on the business isn't an effort, it is an opportunity. The best is when I am with clients who get something out of our time together and put it to good use.
Thanks to Wally Adamchik, FireStarter Speaking and Consulting!
#11- The daily challenge to get better
I grew up playing basketball and got a full ride to play ball at LIU Post. I equate being an entrepreneur to being the captain of an athletic team. Everyday you show up before everyone else and leave after everyone else. You lead by example and help your team get better everyday. Some days are going to be better then others but the constant desire to improve is what excites me. And when you see those improvements happening over time that's when it becomes even more exciting. The ideas and plans you put in place month's ago are now coming to fruition, and now its time to plan for the next move! I love it!
Thanks to Kellen Scantlebury, Fit Club Physical Therapy & Sports Performance!
#12- Engaging my brain
I love that running my own business allows me to engage a completely different part of my brain – the creative side, where ideas pop frequently, and I can follow them without any red tape. I'm a lawyer at a large, international law firm, where I work on a 60% schedule. And in the other 40% of my professional work week, I run my own company called Mindful Return – to help new parents navigate the transition back to work after parental leave. In my legal job, I get to help clients with my analytical reasoning skills. But in my own business, my creative side gets to flourish.
Thanks to Lori Mihalich-Levin, Mindful Return, LLC!
#13- The ability to practice sheer grit
I know it sounds crazy, but I love the little sleep, the feeling that I have more to do than is humanly possible to get done, and knowing that my efforts can help drive the WebPunch team and vision. I love interacting with clients and helping them solve problems. Grit is what drives me and I am hoping that grit will take me to WebPunch’s final destination.
Thanks to Ginger Jones, WebPunch!
#14- Freedom of the hours I keep
Hands down the single thing that I like most about being an entrepreneur is the freedom of the hours I keep. Don't get me wrong. I still work long and hard. I sometimes work weekends. I sometime work night. However I chose when and, that is a beautiful feeling.
Thanks to Don Wede, Heartland Funding Inc.!
#15- Growing the company
As an entrepreneur, I’ve most enjoyed creating and upholding a company with a strong and steady culture that is unique to the tech world. From day one, it’s been crazy and unbelievably rewarding taking Canopy from my basement to building and leading a world-class team in just four short years.
Thanks to Kurt Avarell, Canopy!
#16- Act of rebellion
I love to be an entrepreneur because it is an act of rebellion against what would otherwise be a predictable fate. We all have a predictable destination if we just follow the path set by our profession or a regular job. Being an entrepreneur goes against all this to make a path of our own, sometimes against the advice of family and friends.
Thanks to Sergio C. Rossi, Ecotech Labs USA, LLC!
#17- Personal satisfaction
I enjoy being a business owner because it gives me a great deal of personal satisfaction. To take a business and build it from the ground up while helping consumers and employees better their lives, gives me genuine satisfaction. It’s not always easy, and you are never “off work” so to speak, but I think most business owners and entrepreneurs feel a sense of satisfaction that keeps them motivated to succeed.
Thanks to Randy Wolfe, QuoteMyMedicare!
#18- Developing an idea into something new
Being an entrepreneur is being someone who was willing to take the road less traveled. It is not something that everybody does, for a variety of reasons. The nature of business is that it can be very up and down in terms of trials and tribulations and successes. The stresses are greater, but so are the rewards. While there are plenty of people who get into business purely for the financial rewards, I find a great creative satisfaction in knowing you took something that existed in your head, and gave birth to it into the world, because the fact is no one can do what you're doing exactly the way you do it. And those times when you hear from a client, or a customer, that you did something that brought them happiness, or solved a problem for them, or made their life easier in a way–those are the truest examples of success, and I place great value on that.
Thanks to Victoria Kichuk, Cocoa Beantown!
#19-You Get to Choose
I think every employee thinks they know better than their boss. I know I sure did when I started work out of college. I had all these ideas of how we could improve things and get things done. Looking back some of the ideas were foolish but some had merit. Being an Entrepreneur you get to choose what you and others invest your time and money in. You have the power to make real changes within the company and the world. When a great idea is proposed you can steer the company towards it. You don't have to be just another cog in the machine.
Thanks to James Edwards, Spektrum Glasses Ltd!
#20- Pursuing a vision and watching a talented team develop
What I enjoy most about being an entrepreneur is the freedom to pursue a goal or vision and then do so with a talented team. Entrepreneurship while scary at times, because of the personal sense of responsibility to customers and employees, is exhilarating because it has no constraints and limitless options. There’s no greater reward than seeing the business progress in pursuit of a vision and watching a talented team develop and grow in size.
Thanks to Carlos Castelán, The Navio Group!