The first Monday of each month, I dust off a favorite post from the Bennis Inc Blog archives and give you another chance to enjoy the wit and wisdom that's been shared. Enjoy this month's treasure – and if it inspires you – be sure to share it with family and friends!
While there are many advantages to being your own boss, there are also certain things you may never experience again (for the most part). Depending upon how you look at it, this could be a win-win scenario. Either way, now over a decade into running my own business, I've realized that there are a few things I will likely never have as a business owner.
A Day Completely Free From Work
The upside to running my own business, I can work from anywhere. The downside, I can work from anywhere. For this reason, my work followers me anywhere I have internet access. And even without internet access, it's still on my mind. I'm not likely to ever go completely "offline" for more than a day, but that's because I prefer to stay on top of my work and grow my business. When you're passionate about what you do, you're not always craving that next vacation!
Limited Vacation Days
Speaking of vacation, I can time off whenever I feel like it and as often as I want to. It still holds true that my work will be something I carry with me, but I doubt anyone feels too sorry when I'm checking emails from the Bahamas. Being a business owner is about balance. I can take unlimited vacation days, but I'm still responsible for delivering what I promised to my clients. Time management is key.
A Tax Return
I gave up hope a long time ago that I would ever see a tax return. As a business owner, I pay not only at tax time, but I pay quarterly throughout the year leading up to it. It's important to point out that my clients don't withhold taxes in their payments, so it's strictly on me to make sure I am paying the fair and appropriate amount of taxes based on my income. Similar to having unlimited vacation days, I don't expect anyone to feel bad for my tax situation. After all, if I'm paying more it means I'm earning more. But I have to laugh at the commercials that suggest I use my tax return for this or that. It's been nearly a decade since the IRS wrote me a check.
Normal Work Hours
For better – and worse – I don't have set "normal" work hours. It works out for the most part that I'm in front of my computer between 9 and 4, but there will be times I'm taking a 8pm conference call or I'm online at 6am to clean up my inbox. On the upside, I can also go offline for a couple hours in the morning to get in a work out, or in the afternoon to catch a nap. I'm so far removed from the concept of a 9-5 job that I doubt I would last long in that work environment again.
A Fixed Income
As a business owner, my income is anything but fixed. I have a meager paycheck I receive each month from my business for tax purposes, but I also receive distributions throughout the year however I see fit. Every year and every month, my income is up to me. I have to constantly and consistently satisfy my current clients and keep my pipeline full of new clients. In a crazy scenario, every client could decide to discontinue their services and I would be left at square one. On the flip side (and the more common scenario), I take on additional clients each month and grow my income.
It's not common that many people can increase their monthly "salary" by a couple thousand dollars in a month by providing the same services they're already providing to others. For this reason and many others, I love owning a business, and owning my income.
Someone Else Controlling My Schedule
Because no single client owns 100% of my time, they do not have control of my schedule. I remember my life prior to entrepreneurship where I would have someone slap a meeting or conference call on my schedule and so long as it was during normal work hours I had no leverage to push back. I had to stop whatever I was doing to be there. Now, when a client requests a meeting, they provide me with several options and I have the ability to select what works best for me. If I can't make a meeting, my clients don't know if it's because of a work conflict or a hair appointment (or more commonly it doesn't work with my toddler's nap schedule). I control my own schedule and strategically plan my days to be efficient and convenient.
A Boring Day
As a business owner, there is no such thing as a boring day. Often the excitement comes from exceeding a client's expectation or receiving a great lead for new business. Other times, "excitement" is the rush of an emergency or crisis that you have to resolve. Even if I carve a free afternoon to go offline from work, I'm not strapped to my office. I can run errands, do something relaxing or spend time with my kids. Every day and every email is different. The hours fly by and I wouldn't ever want to return to the days of watching the clock!
Are you a business owner? Can you relate to some of the things I've mentioned or do you have an idea of your own to add? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment!
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