It’s fun day Monday, so here we go with 10 reasons to start a business!
1. Because you love working half-days. And by half-days, I mean you get to pick which 12 hours to work each day.
2. You love that the buck stops with you. Of course, you also don’t love that often times you have no bucks in your bank account. Feast or famine is oftentimes a very real part of the early life of a business.
3. You can sleep in. By sleep in, I mean that after staying up until two or three in the morning working on a hot project or entertaining a client, you can set the alarm for 8 a.m. instead of 6 a.m.
4. You can stay up late. Well, actually you will often need to stay up late. During the day, you should be beating the bushes to find work, so that means at night – you guessed it – you’ll be doing the work.
5. Business lunches are tax deductible. Well, 50 percent of the lunch is tax deductible assuming you make a profit…
6. You can work from coffee shops. This is mainly so that you don’t go cuckoo working from home after you find yourself talking to the walls or any house pet that might happen to be around.
7. Glamorous business travel. You know all those cool conferences and meetings your boss and peers always got to attend? Now, you can too; if you can find a way to pay for them. And when you do find a way to pay for them, you won’t wonder why people sometimes take flights with two connections and stay in less than 4-star hotel properties.
8. You get to have a company car! It’s even a business deduction assuming you make a profit and are willing to do all the paperwork that goes along with the privilege.
9. 100 percent totally free healthcare. Well, not really. It’s a darn nice tax deduction if you structure it correctly. You’re just going to have to shell out a bunch of money every month in premiums. As a relatively healthy 47 year old, I’m spending about 2/3 of my monthly mortgage on health care. It’s a privilege I’m happy to have because I understand the real cost of the best health care in the world.
10. You set the company social media policy. Yes, that means you can say “poop,” “crap,” “pissed off” and even more colorful things in your blog posts on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. Of course, you also get to deal with the consequences of such behavior.
In general, (and all kidding aside) when you start a business you get to find out what it’s really like to take care of yourself and your family. Sometimes that may even come off as a tad bit selfish to others but perhaps the ten items above can explain a bit of that attitude many small business owners exhibit.
I think you’ve outdone yourself this time Jim. Awesome post. All to often I don’t think most folks think about some of these things, but you’ve found a great way to bring it to the forefront, and proven at the same time that even with a bit of humor and sarcasm you hit the nail on the head.
#1 is my personal favorite, and #3 & #4 oftentimes get me in trouble with my wife.. Well, okay, not “in trouble” per se, but she does worry that I try to work too much and too hard and reminds me to stop before the keyboard becomes permanently attached to my hands.
#1 is also my personal favorite – thus it’s #1 positioning. 🙂 #3 and #4 are just part of the deal. After reading Richard Branon’s Business Stripped Bare book it’s clear to me that even he at the age of 60 continues to burn the candle at both ends. Maybe it’s a curse but those of us that do this for any length of time are doing something we love and don’t really view it as work.
I really enjoyed number 10.. LOL I know A guy named Gary very famous online who probably has a few of those words authorized in his SM policy!
Too true – but even Gary apologizes for his language frequently.
I came to this post excited to read about what I’m so proud to be doing. I worked hard & am finally at a place where my business is stable, booming even. But as I read from 1 to 10 I was kind of ehhh’ed off….not to say it isn’t an excellent post & may be true for some (most??) business owners…but it comes off as quite cynical from where I’m sitting.
I think we are the type of people who are entrepreneurs because we want more, we work hard, we don’t settle. Yes, it’s hard work. We’re also giant egomonsters because we think (nope…we KNOW) we can do it better than anyone else. We rule. 🙂
Yes, it’s risky. But the rewards the work & the risk reap far outweighs the annoyances that come with the responsibility. Nothing in life is free or a piece of cake…hard work is like currency in our world. The harder you work, the smarter you think and you LEARN….then more & more benefits come your way–and it gets easier. I think if anyone who was thinking of starting a business read this they may think twice. Maybe if all of the above is true for your business, you’re doing it wrong. I know when I first started I was swamped, overwhelmed, working round the clock. I thought this was the suck. Working for the Bossman was SOooOOoOOO much easier. Then I learned from my hard days. I found ways to simplify things and make everything more efficient for not only myself but my clients. And I remembered why I was doing what I was doing.
Because for every one annoyance, long day, hiccup in being a business owner, there are 5 more things to pat myself on the back for.
Sara,
I was having fun with this post while being sarcastic to some extent. Not cynical. I have not worked for a paycheck in more than 16 years, so I hope it’s clear that I love what I do.
Of course I look for ways to systemize and simplify (I wrote about it last week). As our business grows and evolves we hit patches where it’s like a start up again and days turn into weeks and months of long hours and very hard work. Which as you point out is learning and you can’t be afraid of if you want to run the show.
I stand by all 10 of the points above and would gladly defend them individually. There’s 10 points up there and I’m sure I’ve never had a day in 16 years where all 10 hit on one day. I’m also sure I’ve never had a day where at least of few of the 10 points was not on my mind.
Most importantly – I’m so proud of you starting your own business. I’ve watched you do so over the last year and it’s amazing to watch others go through the process. With the hard work you’ve done and will continue to do the luck will find you 🙂
Jim
Don’t forget – 11. You can be around for your kids after school and in the holidays.
Great reminder of the family flexibility aspect. You my friend get it 🙂
I do love working 12 hour days…I love what I do…I love helping people find what they need and I love that, even if I have to work 12 hours and do it all myself, I only have to answer to ME. I love that when my husband has to travel to foreign countries for his job, I am always available for our kids…I love that I don’t have to worry if the school calls to tell me my kid is sick or I forgot to pack a lunch…I love being available to be the Girl Scout leader. I may not make much actual cash, but I decrease our tax liability and I’m able to put my family first. I don’t mind if I work til the day I drop dead with a pair of scissors in my hand because I LOVE what I do!
Sounds like you’ve got a great plan which works for your family and family should always come first.
That half day comment made me laugh (my dad had an employee who said that a lot).
And, I hear you about the health care. Gack!
Healthcare gives us all a headache (no pun intended). Just got an Rx yesterday and my co-pay last month was like $19. This month $22. I asked why the difference? Ha! blank stare. Then, that’s what the insurance company says.
Sad, funny and true all at the same time.
Good to connect today over on G+ and thanks for visiting the blog!
This is cake. Just trying running a non-profit.