Story by:  ERICA NICOLE

Entrepreneurship is the new American (and global) dream. Everyone wants it but few are bold enough to do what it takes to make that dream a reality. At YFS Magazine we know how awesome it is to be an entrepreneur and endeavor to empower you to know the same.

 

But what is it that drives would-be entrepreneurs to strike out on their own? What were some of the world’s most successful founders, small business owners, and CEO’s thinking when they decided to unleash their genius into the world?

 

Here are twenty simple reasons why being your own boss (entrepreneurship, in general) is awesome.

 

As an entrepreneur you can:

 

1. Develop financial independence.

 

You are completely in charge of your earning potential. “Financial independence means different things to different people. To some, it means having the cash to buy what they want. To others, it means saving for retirement or a home. And for some folks, it simply means opening the bills without dread. Whatever your definition, it means you command your money and not the other way around. That’s a victory worth celebrating.”

 

2. Set your own schedule.

 

For the most part, as an entrepreneur you have greater command of your schedule. However, you will likely have many more demands on it as well. “Contrary to popular belief, you don’t come into the world with nothing but your naked self. You’re actually already in possession of one of your most important gifts: time.” What will you do with yours?

 

3. Bring your ideas to life.

 

Entrepreneurs bring ideas to life. “If you know that you will not find peace in your life until your vision becomes a reality, you are willing to invest valuable resources, and acquire new knowledge” it could be time to start your own business.

 

4. Have creative freedom.

 

A small business owners creativity is not defined or constricted by corporate red tape. Many entrepreneurs enjoy the creative freedom associated with calling their own shots. That freedom includes, “the freedom to create authentically, to create a life, job, relationships, and greater purpose that represents your deepest values and to create without fear, self recrimination, or judgments (external or internal),” according to Awakencreativity.com.

 

5. Release the fear of being fired; you won’t likely fire yourself.

 

The fear of being fired can make anyone’s workplace uncomfortable. However, as an entrepreneur it is highly unlikely that you will fire yourself. There is a “random quality that exists in layoffs and terminations; working overtime and generating significant revenue for your organization will not necessarily guarantee that you escape the axe.” But layoffs can be a good thing. There are plenty of entrepreneurs who have celebrated being let go — in fact, getting fired led them to entrepreneurial success.

 

6. Finally be challenged — in a good way.

 

Entrepreneurship is challenging and rewarding. As a startup and successful small business you will overcome operational and common issues including competition, funding, planning, and the list goes on. But challenges breed solutions and equip you with the potential to innovate and disrupt industries.

 

7. Build something that will last a lifetime; create a legacy.

 

What will be your life’s legacy? According to SUCCESS magazine your legacy is, “something you create during your life solely to benefit future generations…” Business philosopher and author Jim Rohn suggests that, “Those who came before leave us the world we live in. Those who will come after will have only what we leave them. We are stewards of this world, and we have a calling in our lives to leave it better than how we found it, even if it seems like such a small part.”

 

8. Work from home, your own commercial office space or anywhere in the world.

 

Working from home has become increasingly common — even more so for startups, home-based business owners, freelancers and solopreneurs. While “4.2 million workers did their jobs from home at least one day a week in the last decade, according to Census Bureau reports, entrepreneurs enjoy this luxury on a regular basis. Whether we choose to work from a home office, a leased office or the beaches of the world — we work hard to conduct business anywhere and everywhere on our own terms.

 

9. Gain personal fulfillment by pursuing your passion.

 

Entrepreneurs aren’t stuck in a career that they aren’t passionate about. Sadly, that is not the case for many employees who report into a thankless job, day-in and day-out. Small business owners are driven by the pursuit of their passions in life. Economist Larry Smith, in a TED Talk, asserts why some will fail to have a great career. Don’t let that be you. What’s your excuse for not following your passion?

 

10. Impact the lives of many through social entrepreneurship.

 

Social entrepreneurs identify a social problem and start a venture to solve it. The era of the social entrepreneur is here. The “role played by entrepreneurs in advancing positive social changes” is growing according to David Bornstein in a NY Times post. “I don’t mean businesspeople solving social ills, but people spreading new approaches — through nonprofits and businesses, or within government — to address problems more successfully than in the past.”

 

11. Hire employees and contribute to economic growth.

 

“The companies that have a greater impact on the U.S. economy are, in fact, the smallest. So while investors and the media may pay the most attention to those on Wall Street, it’s the small businesses on Main Street that are quietly playing an instrumental role in the U.S. economy, in terms of both employment and private (non-farm) gross domestic product,” according to CIT Group.

 

12. Call the shots and become a leader.

 

Starting a business will yield the opportunity for you to become a leader. “Peter Drucker famously stated that “management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Great leaders possess dazzling social intelligence, a zest for change, and above all, vision that allows them to set their sights on the “things” that truly merit attention.” If you were born to lead, entrepreneurship is the perfect way to start.

 

13. Become involved in all aspects of a company’s operations.

 

Many entrepreneurs enjoy being involved in various aspects of their business – from product design, marketing, sales, and branding to financial analysis, public relations, customer acquisition and more. Starting a business will give you the ultimate crash course in what it takes to build something from nothing and turn a profit.

 

14. Put a personal touch back into doing business.

 

Many entrepreneurs have cited the reason they started a business was to put the relationship factor back into business. As your company grows larger, many business owners neglect the human component — especially larger corporations.

 

15. Improve upon old ideas.

 

Entrepreneurs are complainers with solutions. Many in fact, aim to improve upon old ideas that no longer work in today’s business environment. It has been said that “There are only three original jokes and all the others have been derived from them. It’s why Hollywood remakes old movies. And the dearth of original ideas is why businesspeople sometimes pay other businesspeople to come up with a new concept for their own products or services,” according to an Entrepreneur magazine post.

 

16. Celebrate massive accomplishment.

 

Starting a business, turning a profit and surviving the journey along the way is a huge accomplishment. As an entrepreneur, you enjoy the feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment in knowing that you are offering a valuable product or service to your community. The satisfaction derived from achievement motivation–“the psychological drive to excel, a social form of motivation to perform at a high level of competence”–is like none other.

 

17. Provide a better quality of life for you and those you care about.

 

What does an improved quality of life mean for you and those you care about? Entrepreneurs who attain certain levels of financial success in business often help others with their financial needs on an individual level or through philanthropic ventures.

 

18. Build a business as an investment for yourself and future.

 

Consider your small business as an investment. Entrepreneurs not only reap the financial rewards of building a profitable company but they also gain tremendous insights into the most important investment of all — one’s self. An investment by nature, is putting something on the line. Entrepreneurs take a risk on themselves because they know “they’re worth it!”

 

19. Design the lifestyle that best suits you.

 

Are you a morning person? Do you prefer to work from remote locations around the world? Do you like to take trips often? One of the perks of entrepreneurship is the creative ability to design the lifestyle that best suits your desires.

 

20. Rule the world and improve upon your own personal power … mwahahaha!

 

Let’s be honest. When you build an empire from scratch and earn appreciation and gratitude along the way — it is empowering. Most people in this world want to harness their personal power and are unsure how — which results in a whole smorgasbord of misuse and negative expressions of perceived power.

 

Entrepreneurship can set you on the course for true personal power. “As described in “The Ethics of Interpersonal Relationships (2009),” there is a clear distinction between positive power–personal power–and negative power, which can take either a covert or overt form,” according to a post in Psychology Today. “Personal power is based on strength, confidence, and competence that individuals gradually acquire in the course of their development. It is self-assertion, and a natural, healthy striving for love, satisfaction and meaning in one’s interpersonal world.”

 

Why do you love being an entrepreneur? Let me know in the comments section below.

 

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