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 reasons 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” and here is what they have to say.
#1- Freedom
The thing I love most about being an entrepreneur is freedom. Freedom to spend my time how I want, the freedom to create my own schedule, and the freedom to work towards goals with no ceiling. As a mom of four young children, creating my own business makes it possible for me to spend time with them, see them grow, and care for them, all while making a great income doing something I love. Of course, being an entrepreneur also comes with its fair share of challenges.
Thanks to Marisa Tolsma, BumblebeeApothecary!
#2- Passion
Being a business owner and entrepreneur is a life of passion, challenges, and making a difference. I love it! Starting with my employees, I am blessed to hire people who share my vision of helping others. Assisting my customers and patients, and providing employment opportunities in the community, motivates me every day to do better and better. I thrive on the daily challenges that come from being able to solve problems that produce positive and successful results. Living my best life!!
Thanks to Dr. Shannon Davis, PT, DPT!
#3- Opportunities
What I love most about being an entrepreneur is the distinct opportunity and constant inspiration to lead and keep high-growth world-class talents to do good while doing business. Being in a dynamic team that spans different locations, time zones, cultures, sectors, and markets, it is both my pride and privilege to work alongside generous individuals who strive to do better work each day and in the end, donate various resources of their own to the communities they serve and support.
Thanks to Matt Bowman, Thrive Agency!
#4- Spontaneity
What I love about being an entrepreneur, especially in this recent times is spontaneity. With the constant change in the market, there’s bound to be a change in the way we do things in our companies, and while some categories of people may find it disturbing, I actually find it interesting and a great medium to get me all creative with dealing with the newer issues, expanding my pool of experience and knowledge so that when encountered with strange unheard problems, I am forced to think outside the box in order to solve them.
Thanks to Charmaine Chan, IceSword!
#5- Unique ideas and experiments
I absolutely love being able to create my own path. Being an entrepreneur can be extremely stressful as you navigate so much white space, but it is so much more fulfilling than working on tasks and projects that I do not feel connected to. I love having the ability to come up with unique ideas and experiments and execute them. Seeing results firsthand from something that I came up with, completely from scratch, is extremely fulfilling. I really enjoy inspiring others to join me in this journey and continue building this venture with my amazing team.
Thanks to Shelley Gupta, BāKIT Box!
#6- Creating a difference
Being a part of the editing industry is about creating a difference in the world. I consider myself privileged to be an editor and content improver. It has allowed me to enlighten everyone about cars. From my childhood days, I was fond of cars, and then it became my passion. My inspiration for cars has helped me share my knowledge with the world. I feel that there are a lot of people facing difficulties in purchasing their ideal car, so I take the responsibility to make sure to assist them in choosing their dream car.
Thanks to Michael Liam Miller, Luxury Cars A2Z!
#7- Continually growing
I love being an entrepreneur because I am continually growing, and my responsibilities evolve – I never get too comfortable. Even though I studied economics at school, at Bucha Bio, I started on the lab bench as a scientific lead, then transitioned to sales, marketing, and raising capital full time. Every day, I meet with the most innovative brands, materials scientists, engineers, designers and artists, business people, and investors.
Thanks to Zimri T. Hinshaw, Bucha Bio!
#8- Thinking out of the box
Being an entrepreneur and business owner helped me become a better individual. I was able to create campaigns, design challenging concepts, and build connections with businesses that share our mission and vision. All of these attributes helped me develop as a leader and an entrepreneur. What I enjoy the most is inspiring others to be the best they can be in their career or personal life. When you’re passionate about what you do, it shows in your work and attitude.
Thanks to Catherine vanVonno, 20Four7VA!
#9- Having control
What I love the most about being an entrepreneur is having control of my time and being able to work from anywhere in the world. I spent over 15 years in corporate America where I learned a lot but also spent many hours stressed during a family function or doctor's appointment because of the demands of the business. Being able to work late one night to take a few hours off the next day to relax or run errands is a blessing. All while knowing that my clients are being taken care of.
Thanks to Silvana Massolo, The Bloom Agency!
#10- A representation that anything is possible
Besides the control and flexibility I have over my life, finances, and well-being, I love that I am a representation that anything is possible. Too often in our community, we are told what we cannot do and what we should do instead. I stepped out on faith, and in just 15 short years, I've been able to open doors for myself, my family, and my employees, growing my company to a multi-million dollar Inc. 5000 organization and creating upscale travel experiences for high-performing black women like myself globally.
Thanks to Shanterria Early, Shanterria Early!
#11- Variety
Entrepreneurship allows me to indulge in a variety of interests, not just one task. In college, I bounced from digital marketing to finance to others on my path to becoming an entrepreneur. Learning all these different skills as a result of advice that a successful entrepreneur wears a lot of hats, and is inherently well-rounded. I love rolling up my sleeves on all the skills it takes to grow a business, rather than devote a career to pursuing a specialization in only one.
Thanks to Oliver Zak, Mad Rabbit!
#12- Security
What I love the most about being an entrepreneur is knowing that I'm building my own dream and security for the long run and not someone else's. I get to spend my time doing what I love, working with business owners by coaching and supporting them, and I can see in real-time the benefits of the work I do. Some people thrive on working as part of a large company structure and for others that don't work as well for them. Being an entrepreneur isn't for everyone, you have to be self-driven and hold yourself accountable.
Thanks to Calan Breckon, Coaching with Calan!
#13- Sense of autonomy
One of the biggest reasons for leaving a well-paid job to start my business was that I wanted to get back the sense of autonomy and lose the feeling of being a faceless cog in the machine. I love the feeling of independence and the sense of control over my life it gives me. I get a huge amount of satisfaction from helping my clients follow their dreams, and seeing the impact that our work together has on their lives. I enjoy, being able to work hours that suit me, and caring for my dogs has made all the hard work and struggles to get where I am now worth it.
Thanks to Louise Beattie, Forge & Flourish!
#14- Satisfying and rewarding
Entrepreneurship might be grinding, but it is a rewarding journey. Successful entrepreneurs see the fears involved in starting a new business but without fears, there is no reward. Being an entrepreneur is not simple as you said, much of teaching life skills to be obtained, likely, producing creativity and having a wide knowledge of markets and economics since many competitors arousing. The barriers are always in your way to assess your potential as an entrepreneur but this makes it more rewarding when things are done well.
Thanks to Dmitriy Bobriakov, Solwiser!
#15- The Trifecta Effect
The question shouldn’t be what I love about being an entrepreneur, it should be what I don’t love, and the answer is nothing. I love everything about an entrepreneur. I love the fact that it’s allowed me to embrace the thing that I’m best at and that I now make a good living doing it. I love the fact that it’s helped me to discover who I really am and I love that being an entrepreneur has allowed me to become the best version of myself. What do I love about being an entrepreneur? I love absolutely everything about it.
Thanks to Adam Enfroy, AdamEnfroy!
#16- Sense of purpose
Always having a sense of purpose is probably the biggest thing I love about being an entrepreneur. Although you can get this from a job you love, it’s a different sensation when you have a purpose from something you built from the ground up. I have put so much of my time, effort, and money into creating something that I envisioned for myself so many years ago. Because of this, I get a major sense of accomplishment and the feeling that I am a part of something that helps consumers, as they appreciate the business I provide.
Thanks to Dayna Jackson, Wholesale Sparkle!
#17- Dedication
My dedication to ABL is what I love about being an entrepreneur — always be learning! I'm always looking for new ways to do things, and get other perspectives on business, life, management, and finance. I refuse to fall into complacency, become a dinosaur, or get left behind in my industry. Advancing technology excites me. I love researching new technology and seeing how it can be used to improve our company and our services.
Thanks to Felix Kunze, DirectMail2.0!
#18- Master of my destiny
The thing that I love most about being an entrepreneur is being the master of my own destiny. I’m the architect of my own professional life, I don’t have to take orders from anyone else, I can set my own rules and follow my own agenda, which suits my personality perfectly as I’ve never really been very good at sticking to the established manual or falling in line with the ideas of people who have been promoted far beyond their level of competency.
Thanks to Rob Greene, Price of Meat!
#19- Constant innovation
Personally, what I love the most about being an entrepreneur is constant innovation. Creating your own business requires you to constantly adapt to changes, as the business world evolves, and it’s all about bringing something new, that a target audience will be interested in. I find myself having to creatively find new solutions to problems every day, and there’s something exciting about walking a path of unknown and new scenarios. This also offers me a lot more flexibility, which is incredibly valuable for making work both enjoyable and successful.
Thanks to Shane Paarman, awesomestuff365!
#20- Being the creator
There are two types of people out there: consumers and creators. Consumers adjust their lives to what's already available. They go to the store and pick a good enough solution to their problem, even if it's only going to solve 50% of it. Consumers accept the world as it is. Creators, on the other hand, do not accept the world as it is. They don't take no for an answer. When the creator cannot find the solution to their problem, he or she builds it. Entrepreneurs belong to creators, and that's what I love about entrepreneurship the most.
Thanks to Solomon Thimothy, Clickx!
#21- Agility
I don’t solely rely on market research and spend a lot of time talking to my customers. Those conversations fuel my passion for keeping going but, most importantly—provide a massive array of helpful feedback. The beauty of entrepreneurship is that I can start implementing the learnings the next hour after acquiring them, without slides-making and executive committee meetings. That also means that I handle all the consequences of my decisions, which is excellent, as it gives me even more valuable learnings.
Thanks to Daniel Hedegaard, Coolparcel!
#22- Challenge and satisfaction
What I love about being an entrepreneur is the challenge and satisfaction of achieving my goals. There are endless opportunities to come when you’re an entrepreneur. You have the opportunity to break out of the office routine and have your own flexible schedule. By starting your own company, you’ll be able to have constant growth and development. There are endless possibilities when you’re an entrepreneur, you won’t know exactly how the day will go and every day is a learning experience.
Thanks to Cory Greenhough, Fridge Freezer Direct UK!
#23- Schedule your work as per your requirements
I can work wherever I choose and don't need anyone's permission. I generally work from the office or home, but I can work around my schedule. I frequently worked from home or in a coffee shop. I don't need a particular time or location. I must operate under strict deadlines and stick to a rigorous work schedule if I do the job. I can if I need to take the afternoon off for whatever reason. Entrepreneurship offers me the opportunity to choose what I want to accomplish, where I want to accomplish it, and when I want to accomplish it.
Thanks to Christopher Andrew, 420 expert advisers!
#24- Achieving big dreams
Being an entrepreneur is all about making big dreams and pipe dreams a reality and this is what I love most about it. I am constantly developing new skills and finding new ways to think outside the box to achieve the seemingly impossible. This has brought me a great deal of pride over the years and has also aided me in working on my insecurities. It used to be that I would sweat the small stuff, but now I have thicker skin and a can-do attitude to go with it.
Thanks to Matthew Debbage, Creditsafe Asia and Americas!
#25- Growth
What I love about being an entrepreneur is seeing an idea you've had to grow from a tiny seed into a blossoming flower that is thriving all on its own. I started my business, Digital Ethos, in 2016 from my bedroom and now we have over 50 full-time employees around the world and were named the UK's fastest growing marketing agency in 2020. One of the biggest rewards of being an entrepreneur is having created a workplace where you can see your employees reaching their full potential and making connections.
Thanks to Luke Tobin, Digital Ethos!
#26- Sense of fulfillment
The standard stock answer might be ‘being your own boss'- and don’t get me wrong that is great but for me, the best thing about being an entrepreneur is the sense of fulfillment that it provides me with. I look at the company we’ve built, and the hundreds if not thousands of people- candidates, clients, employees- whose lives have been shaped in some way by Atlantic Group, and know that I have made a positive impact on their lives.
Thanks to John Ricco, Atlantic Group!
#27- Developing my skills
Developing my skills to create a career, and a company, out of the things I enjoy the most. Problem-solving through data has always been a fascination of mine. I started my career in investment banking building financial models to predict the combined operational performance of acquired companies. Since then, I've learned and grown my abilities in data analysis. Now we help small businesses grow and solve problems with data-driven marketers and developers, showing them what is working and what is not.
Thanks to John Cheng, Baotris!
#28- Work with like-minded people
Being an entrepreneur has several advantages for me, one of which is the freedom to pick and select who I do business with. Life is too darn short to be freaked out by having annoying clients, and it's even shorter to hire staff that either doesn't deliver or is difficult to get along with. A successful professional relationship depends on finding the appropriate alliances, and as the big cheese, you get to make the decisions.
Thanks to Rahul Vij, WebSpero Solutions!
#29- Building things
It all comes down to a very basic fact: I love to build things. Founding and growing a business is a lot of work–Plan A Technologies is the third software company I've co-founded and built, so I know the challenges extremely well–but it still gives me immense satisfaction, even joy. If it didn't, I would have stopped after my first! Plan A is particularly rewarding because we supply digital solutions to help other businesses grow, so I get to enjoy watching clients expand too.
Thanks to Slav Kulik, Plan A Technologies!
#30- Taking risks
You can’t be a successful entrepreneur without taking any risks. And making wrong choices is a part of a process. Innovation and opportunity are tied to risk, and with constantly changing customer demands, you have to look for new possibilities. Of course, there are ways to lessen the level of failing. But sometimes, you just have to trust your intuition. There is nothing as exciting and rewarding as risking it all and succeeding. The adrenaline rush becomes addicting.
Thanks to Charles Cridland, YourParkingSpace!