Employee

Working for someone else is rife with disadvantages, not least of which include:

1. Waking up early in the morning at a specific time

So many people are not morning people – and having to wake up early at the same time every day brings with it feelings of grogginess, not to mention discontentment. Everyone has a peak time of day – and having the flexibility to work within that time is important to your productivity and successfully accomplishing your tasks and goals.

2. Urgency and Routine

Waking up in the morning is a big hassle for so many people – even movies and ads frequently show people shouting at their alarms or throwing it somewhere. The employment life is all about running through a daily routine with so much urgency… wake up early, get the kids ready and off to school, rush to the office for your 9 to 5, then dinner, bedtime, and do it all over again. Not only is it mundane, but everything is rushed and tied to the clock.

Our lives should not be celebrated in the two days of the week called the weekend – need proof? Check out your Facebook wall come 3 p.m. on a Friday…You will see some posts like thanks God it’s the weekend or I wish this weekend will never be over.

3. Lack of control and authority

As an employee, you often lack control over your own surroundings and situation and you certainly lack authority – unless you’re already at the top of the chain. In truth, as an entrepreneur, you cannot control what happens – but you can control how you react and how you position your organization moving forward. You can think outside of the box and make the changes where you see opportunity – whereas when you are an employee, your words often fall on deaf ears.

4. Job Insecurity

You are always under the threat of being laid-off, there is no guarantee that you are going to stay in the company for ever, many variables with the time get changes in any company, of course there is a higher percentage of staying in certain companies compared to others, if you want to secure a longer time of staying at certain company then you always have to be in the lead and always make the company feel that it’s a big loss for them if they lose you, that’s why you see the continuous battle between the employees on certain chairs and positions.

Still regardless how you try hard to secure your job still many things go wrong, sometimes the top management get changed, or a merger or JV happens in the company, or your lovely manager is fired and the new one hate you and wants to prove you wrong in anything to bring his own new team. Many managers when they first get hired they try to change anything to show their superiors that they are changing something regardless if its right or wrong, they take some stupid decisions just to show that there is some activity going on so you might be one of the victims of this change.

5. Fear and Struggles

after losing your job In the recent economy, employees have started to live their lives in fear of when that layoff is going to come. When it happens, you go through the routine of polishing your resume and applying to every job out there, attending interview after interview, and trying to figure out how to pay your bills. That uncertainty wreaks havoc on your life, self-esteem, and health.

Really, it’s easier to learn to be an entrepreneur – you learn to reinvent yourself, to build something from the ground up, and how to succeed on a larger scale.

6. Work Politics and Policies

At any company you join as employee, big or small, there are always a long list of policies in place to which you must adhere – never mind the office politics that somehow always seem to appear. You will experience many unfair decisions or see many wrong policies implemented and enacted that take so much time and effort to reverse or change. You will see some managers be more flexible with some employees than others and you will see unfair compensation. Being an employee is, quite simply, frustrating.

7. Limited Income Potential

When you are the employee, you are helping someone else to get richer while you have a limited income that  no matter how high you climb with the organization its still has a ceiling. Why limit yourself when you could better use your time to master your skills and grow your potential?

8. Limited Time

One big disadvantage of working for someone else is that you have limited time and flexibility in your schedule. You likely have vacation days (which may or may not be paid) and potentially even some sick days… but even with that, your schedule is likely pretty locked in unless you request time off in advance or call in ill. Even as an entry-level or mid-level employee, you will feel the pressures of living up to the company demands. You will fight with a menial paycheck to pay big expenses and fulfill your desire to spend time with friends and family… all within the limited time that you do have at home and off the clock.

9. Limited Mobility

Often times, people take jobs in locations that would not be their first pick – another disadvantage in today’s economy; you have to go where the jobs are. If you do want to relocate due to desire for a specific location or to be nearer to friends and/ or family, your options are limited. Even with large corporations, jobs are centered at a few key locations throughout the country – so your options typically lie in remaining at your current location or in finding new employment… neither is an ideal option.When you are self-employed, you can live where you want, do business when you want, and work how you want. If the weather is inclement, you work from home. If you need a vacation, you go. Entrepreneurship is the ticket to freedom in so many ways.

 

Efficient Entrepreneur

1. Freedom

Imagine a life where you can spend time with family and friends when you choose. Where you are not required to wake up to an early alarm every morning. Where you can take the time you need to do the things that you need. Your life as an entrepreneur brings you true freedom.

Many entrepreneurs thing the end goal is money – and while this is important, it is not the sole benefit. Even more important is recapturing the ability to be where you need to be when you need to be there. You can support the people in your life. Gain new skills and hone existing ones. The most important goal is your time. Most people are trying to do the transition from employee to entrepreneur because they are aiming to increase their income – however, if you work as a traditional entrepreneur, you will burn all of your waking hours trying to make more money. You will work harder than ever before – essentially, shifting from the employment rat race to the traditional entrepreneur rat race… it is not a happy equation.

To gain the freedom that can so easily be yours, you need to appreciate the potential of freedom and learn to achieve it appropriately.

2. Control

As an entrepreneur, your future is truly in your hands. You will, of course, make some mistakes – but if you learn from them, they are mistakes worth making and will help you to improve yourself and business practices. You will have the control to make the calls and will have control over your own future. That said, it is important that you carefully consider each decision point and that you know how to evaluate a decision from a business perspective, removing yourself and your feelings from that decision. Being in control of your own path is a remarkably great feeling: learn how to harness it.

3. Authority and Recognition

One of the most frustrating aspects of the corporate world is that, as an employee, your ideas and your work all go towards supporting someone else and their success. Often times, your contributions and innovations get buried – often resulting in someone higher up getting the credit and recognition for something that you have done.

When you are the inventor, you are in a position to better earn credit for your work. When you do something remarkable, you are the one who gets the recognition – not your boss or your boss’ boss: you.

4. Stronger Network

Networking is an important part of any professional career – but often times, you have to be someone before you meet “someone.” At networking events, everyone is looking for the big title – and what better title is there than “founder and owner?”

When you are an entrepreneur, you automatically have more clout and your potential to meet higher-ups increases. You will have an in to bigger events with bigger talent which will ultimately lead you to a larger, stronger network – which, in turn, will open many doors for you and your business.

5. Innovation

Innovation as an entrepreneur compared to innovation as an employee is an entirely different meaning of the word. As an employee, you innovate solutions or new ideas that will improve someone else’s product or service. Innovation as an entrepreneur means developing something truly new that will impact people’s lives. It is not just about making money: it is about adding true value.

6. Independency

Hand in hand with freedom comes independence. Being an entrepreneur allows you an opportunity to gain true confidence in your decisions and to take the reins of your own life and path forward. It is true independence: you are out there on your own and your destiny is your own to discover.

7. Bigger income

in the long run As an entrepreneur, your income potential has no ceiling. As an automated entrepreneur, you will move from project to project, beginning a new endeavor while your previous one is still running in an automated fashion. By running multiple work streams simultaneously – and smartly, you up your income potential incrementally.Initially, you will start small – and your monthly income will be small. But, as time goes on and your reach into new endeavors grows, so will your monthly income. Being a successful entrepreneur is about seeing the big picture beyond the immediate view – it is this long view that earns big returns.

8. Tax Benefits

Most countries around the globe have taxes – but as the entrepreneur and business owner, your work is taxed differently (at a lower rate) than standard employees. Additionally, you have options to write off business expenses in your taxes – there are a wealth of tax savings and benefits to explore.

9. Work with who you want to work with

As the company owner, you get to hire who you want to hire. You have the flexibility to hire your own team, selecting that truly fit the positions, personalities, and company culture that you seek.

10. Financial Freedom

One of the best benefits to being a successful entrepreneur is the financial freedom that you will attain if you do things the right (and automated) way. Financial freedom is truly a life-changing process – but it is not one that comes without its share of hard work and learning experiences.

11. Excitement

Perhaps one of the best things about being an entrepreneur is the excitement. Your life becomes an adventure – something that continually changes and brings with it new experiences. The risk lessens as you gain more practice and experience – so keep practicing and learning.

Take advantage of the freedom to explore, the freedom to live, and the freedom to build. Enjoy the potential of your time, your decisions, and your ideas. The excitement that comes with being an entrepreneur is so unique that you will never understand it until you try it.