A number of years ago I had an interesting conversation when I decided to set up a business. The person I was talking to was an older and wiser individual I greatly admired. As a mentor, I heeded any advice they offered. So, I found it intriging when they asked me the question"What was my motive for setting up the business?"
Sometimes we find ourselves in jobs we don’t like and we are eager to leave. There may be periods when we find ourselves redundant. So, we might think about starting a business purely out of panic or necessity.
I knew in my gut that I wanted to work for myself, to be my own boss and call the shots. Therefore it was really interesting when I was challenged to think more about what I really wanted from the business.
Make no mistake there are many great reasons why it’s worth working for yourself. But there can be long days, lonely times and risky decisions to make at various stages.
As I sat and pondered about what I wanted to achieve, I realised it’s important to work out what we ultimately want from the onset. There are several reasons to do it and it’s worth considering them as this decision will shape how we grow our business.
- Flexibity of your own hours – people who work for themselves get to decide the number of hours, days or weeks they wish to work.
- Something to sell on – often individuals start a company in order to sell it on. This can open up new opportunities, create finanical independence and build a future.
- Finanical gain and independence – entreprenuers like the idea that they get to decide how much they wish to earn, how they will achieve this and over their own timelines.
- Being your own boss – a lot of business owners like to be in the drivers seat. They like to be the person who takes the risks and makes the decisions.
- Pursue a passion – we may have a gift or a hobbie we absolutely love. So we develop a business around it. This way, we never work a day in our lives.
- Create something wonderful - we may have discovered a product or service we feel very passionate about. So much so, we want to bring it to the market and tell everyone about it.
- Taking on the challenge – some people love a challenge. They have an opportunity, or an idea and they just decide to go for it. This is ideal for a person who love to be kept on their toes.
- Build a nest egg for future generations – you chose to provide secure employment and even a lifestyle for you, your family and perhaps even a community for many years to come.
- Be the expert – you may wish to become an specialist and “Go-to-person” in your field. This brings a certain amount of prestige and guaranteed income in your sector.
- Create a profile and build a brand – more recently people are marketing themselves as the brand. Large followings create opportunities and then people get to chose what they do.
- Your own culture – sometimes we work in an organisation and we don’t like the way things are done. Being the boss means you chose the culture and enviroment you want for your employees.
- Belief and freedom in sales – its easier to sell what you believe in. Business owners get to decide the products and services they want to promote and sell - and even the customers too.
I left the meeting that day with one final piece of advice. This thought has stayed with me now for over 20 years and its as relevant now as it was back then.
“Remember there is no right or wrong reason for setting up a business. It’s definitely a personal decision and we may have multiple reasons. We may change our mind or even direction. But its important to always be true to yourself….and on the tough days, remember why you started the business in the first place”.