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I wouldn’t trade my job for the world. I probably wouldn’t even trade it for a higher paying desk job. I don’t really believe that you can put a price on the freedom that being an entrepreneur allows. Each day I can wake up at any time I choose (normally 8:30). I eat a quick breakfast and head into the office and am checking email by about 8:45. Of course this daily routine can change depending on if I have a meeting set up or am out of town.  Here are a couple of the biggest reasons I love being an entrepreneur.

Security

I know that the traditional feeling is to work for someone else (company) and move you way up the ranks until you make management or get placed in charge of another project. I don’t like this type of system and highly recommend against it. Being an entrepreneur, I realize the goal for myself is to create a product or service that generates a decent income and then do it again. Eventually you have set up 4-5 different businesses all generating revenue. What would happen if one of those were to fail? Nothing really, you would be out some time and cash, but overall you would just pick up and move on to the next project. I have never really been concerned to fail in a business idea (which I have) simply because I know I can probably create a new and better product learning from my mistakes. If you and your businesses are diversified enough, there is little to worry about (other than the Internet going away).

Lifestyle

Before starting my journey of entrepreneurship, I never really grasped the idea of lifestyle design. In what other business can you take your work on the road with you as you criss-cross the world all the while knowing everything is going to be okay? Nowadays, with a smart cell phone, you can handle just about any situation that might arise while you are traveling. With Wordpress, I can set up weeks worth of future posts to publish on my blog the whole time I am gone. With email auto-responders and virtual assistants, I wouldn’t even have to go online for weeks at a time. I like traveling and doing outdoor activities and at any time I know I could run off for the weekend knowing that things will be just fine without my every involvement. We can choose what kind of lifestyle we want. If you want to make millions, by all means, do so, if you want the freedom to travel or spend as much time with your family as possible, all options are on the table. You pick and choose the lifestyle you want.

Opportunities

Opportunities come to everyone and at anytime. The best thing you can do is prepare and be able to capitalize on those opportunities when they arise. It is hard to seek out and suggest people try different opportunities when you don’t have the final say in what gets done. Being a self employed entrepreneur allows you to pursue and capitalize on different opportunities when they present themselves (including the forced presentation of opportunities). This is also where the security factor plays in because you are able to seek out completely different areas of business all the while pursuing the things you enjoy. Being able to seek out your own opportunities is like treasure hunting in a way because you never know what you are going to get. Ultimately, you will be able to hone in your opportunity-seeking abilities and will succeed more often than fail. Basically you become a business inventor.

Reward

Nothing could be more rewarding than doing the things you love while providing value to others and being justly rewarded for that value. How much fun is it to run your own business and set your own schedule vs. conforming to the will or others? At my last job I was a slave to the phone, so much so that even 30 seconds late could get you in trouble, including and not limited to the removal of incentives, not getting a raise, verbal / written warnings and possible termination if actions where habitual. I look back at that job and can’t even think of one thing I miss other than the people who worked there. As I add more value to the businesses I am employing (with my time) I can’t help but feel rewarded. Watching your handy-work in action and seeking the positive impact you have on your customer is a rewarding feeling to have. Subsequently, the more value you add to people and businesses, the more you are rewarded both in feeling and money.

Conclusion

This is by no means a complete list. Feel free to add your own thoughts about being an entrepreneur in the comment section. Remember to ask yourself while others are getting laid off in a slowing economy and being told everything is okay until the day the pink slip shows up, who is more secure? Security is best when provided by yourself. You can only control the things you have direct control over. If you don’t have control over your paycheck, what promise do you have it will be there tomorrow? Get excited knowing you can start making the change today that will guarantee security and the lifestyle you desire tomorrow, because today matters.

It has been awhile since I posted a video and thought I would start off with one of my favorites. Not only does the speech by Guy Kawasaki have some good humor, but it also has some great information for entrepreneurs and small businesses. I have probably watched this video last least 5 times and learn something new every time. I can’t emphasis enough how important it is to read books, attend conferences, watch videos and share with others when you are trying to grow and learn about your niche. I have heard it said before that if you read for 1 hour a day for seven years on one subject, you will be a leading expert on that subject. I am on the 14-year plan Enjoy the video.