Perhaps you’re thinking that this sounds like too much work, too much effort
to have an ‘easier’ life. Maybe you should just stay in your regular job, being
the employee and following your manager and wherever he or she wants to
go.

Think about what a ‘regular’ job means for you.

Success in your 9 to 5 job means that you have to follow a complicated set of
rules and office politics in order to get ahead. And while navigating this,
you’re following someone else’s goals and vision.

All you have to do is show up on time, put in the work, wear a suit, and meet
any and all deadlines. And then you’re a ‘success.’

Does this really sound like you’re making a life for yourself?

On the plus side, you do learn how to work with others in a team to reach
goals, as well as learn how to follow when you are led.

But that’s where being en entrepreneur becomes exciting. You don’t have
anyone’s rules to follow but your own. And while this is a dream for the
everyday business person, it also requires that you’re self-motivated and
reliable to your self and your goals.

You won’t learn everything (no one does) and you also can’t just depend on
being motivated. You need to have a clear plan and a clear system of goals
along with marketing skills, people skills, and patience.

But for the right person, this is an opportunity, rather than a challenge.
You have to be that constantly positive and driven person in order to make
your business work because YOU HAVE TO. If you don’t have business, you
don’t make money—plain and simple.

And this is where a lot of entrepreneurs fall flat—they are stuck in the
follower role. You can’t be like everyone else and succeed. You need to be
different and unique to your customer base. Otherwise, they have no reason
to do business with you.

What can you offer that no one else can?

Perhaps it’s just your personal touch or customer service that sets you apart.
Find that thing that makes you the first choice in people’s minds.

Think differently than everyone else. If someone is looking to buy a product,
make sure that the product is of the highest quality, but then also offer them
something in addition. What can you provide them that no one else can?

This is why you want to work for yourself.

You want to use your vision to create your own success, not someone else’s.

GET OUT OF THE LINE

It’s time to get out of the congo line and start your own dance now, but first,
you’re going to need to shake off the way that you used to think.

Think of your typical business day. You wake up to a screeching alarm after
hitting the snooze bar three times. You have to get up or you’ll be late and
have to answer to your boss.

You jump in the car and realize that your lateness has put you in the middle
of rush hour traffic (as well as everyone else that was running late today), so
you’re going to be late anyways.

No one is moving, horns are honking, and your radio is broken again. This
happens every single day.

You finally make it into work, a little frazzled, but in one piece. It only took
you fifteen minutes to find a spot and then another five to walk in the doors.
By the time you walk into your office, you have five messages and ten
voicemails and your secretary has called in sick again. She was helping you
with a project, but now you can’t find it anywhere. The meeting to present it
is in an hour.

You try to push off the meeting to prepare, but your boss insists that it has
to be done today, so you go in, make a half-hearted presentation, and then
have the pleasure of hearing everyone’s critiques and criticisms.

You head back to your desk, grab the antacids, and start working on the next
assignment. The day proceeds with more meetings, more interruptions, two
computer crashes, and another late night. The commute home is still
horrible and you walk in the door exhausted and ready to go to bed.
Only to wake up the next day and do it all over again.

To get out of this game, you’re going to need to be persistent about your
daily goals and the goals for your business. Whatever you want to do, you
are going to have to plan and structure your day to accomplish this.

However, without a boss in the way, you can create a day that is more
suitable to making your energy steady and your nerves calmer. You can get
up later, work at a less frenetic pace and take breaks as the day goes on.
To stop thinking like an employee, you’re going to have to start thinking
about the bigger picture and how you can grow your business into something
you can be proud of.

What’s your vision?