At some point in our life, we all have wanted independence from something. Most of us who start a business desire to be independent of corporations, someone else’s structure, and create our own way of doing business. At least on the surface, these are our reasons, and they sound good, they feel good to accomplish. If these are the only reason you are going into business, then you need to stop and think because all of the things listed above (though we might feel initially) take a long time to develop while earning the money you desire.
So the first thing you want to check in with is that you’re building a business to build a business, not just create freedom. It may sound a bit backward or anti-modern thinking, but please hear me out.
Saying you want independence and freedom can be a good and noble pursuit. It’s a great goal to want to build more free time to be able to work 20 hours a week. Make sure that you define what freedom looks like for you and not create a business because you want more time off or don’t want to deal with the boss. These are terrible reasons to go into business, and you’re setting yourself up for failure, frustration, and a lot of work you don’t necessarily have to do.
Ask yourself, what are your reasons for building this business? Do you have something you want to share with the world that will help someone else? Is it because you want to spend more time with your family?
What are your reasons…your why?
If your primary reason is more time off, then being an entrepreneur is not for you. Moreover, I say that not to discourage you but to encourage you. Creating sustainable income with a business takes work, and it could be a while before you start seeing a profit.
I know that many people teach, “your first 10k month”, but when you hear their backstory, it took them years to get to that point. Yes, you can buy their system, but those how are successful with it have already done the market research, and that particular system worked for their audience. I know from personal experience that unless you have a great idea and a market that’s ready for you, then that isn’t possible.
I’m all for being challenged on this. I’m all for someone proving me wrong. However, if you listen to any business expert or any entrepreneur that’s been in business a long time, they say the same thing.
“It took me ten years to be an overnight success,” Mark Cuban.
If you want something easy to do for more free time in your day, starting a business isn’t for you.
The second thing is to have the right foundation.
There is a lot of education and training on how to build a business. Everyone has a unique style and flavor, and they are teaching you what has worked for them. We want to learn from people who have been there, done that and have experience with what we’re trying to do. However, we also have to keep in mind that their style of business and their model of business may not necessarily work for us. This is mainly due to our personality, background, expertise, and the people that we are serving.
You have to think about many things when building a business, especially when you’re starting or making a significant change.
Foundations or business models can be:
- Service
- Product-based
- One-on-one
- Coaching
- Consulting
- business to business
- Group
- Online
- In-person
- Combination of all of the above?
I don’t want to overwhelm you with choices, but we can build a business in many varieties and ways. When we create a company that suits our personality, the more independence we will have and the more freedom we will gain. Building a business that is uniquely us and built on how we want to serve people, coupled with how we’re solving a problem, is the pinnacle of modern business and the path to real success.
The last thing in creating business independence is to trust in your leadership abilities. If we can lead ourselves, we can lead others.
I firmly believe that every person has the ability to lead others. It’s just a matter of whether it’s been activated, had the time, or had the experience to develop it.
When you trust in your leadership abilities, you can delegate more, make the right hires, and have confidence in your message. As you believe in your leadership and can communicate how you want things done, you create more freedom and independence to do what you want to do in your business. Things like planning content, creating that next big course, spending time working with your clients, or finding out what people need from your business.
There are all kinds of ways that, as CEOs, we can spend our time, and it isn’t being bogged down in the details and the admin of your business. How do you want to be spending your time? Who do you need to be to make that happen?
Take action now:
What area do you need to work on? What does freedom look like in your business? In your life?
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