Every time someone tells me they envy the fact that I run my own show and work from home, I’m tempted to roll my eyes and make a sarcastic comment!
But I stop myself…
Business, in my opinion, has been over-glorified and oversimplified in many ways. Yet, a lot of people still dream of telling their bosses goodbye. They’re ready to set off for what is perceived as business heaven.
Over time, business is GREAT. For me, being able to work from home and synchronize my working hours with my children’s schedule is a huge bonus.
That having been said, is the business dream or work-from-home lifestyle as good as it’s been made to seem? Well…I’m still here, so there must be something good to say about it. But, it has also come at a cost.
Some of the biggest costs are things that you take for granted when in employment. Here are 5 of the things you’ll miss when you step out of employment and into business.
Some perks you’ll miss when you move into business
1. Regular monthly income and benefits
Say goodbye to a predictable and regular payslip and these additional perks that come with formal employment:
- Medical cover.
- Insurance.
- Retirement benefits.
- Sick off with pay.
- Medical cover.
- Paid leave with leave allowance.
There are other non-monetary benefits you receive from your employer. For example, it’s easy to forget that the stationery and tea you get in the office also come at a cost to your employer.
While no job is 100% secure, you know there’s some money coming in at the end of the month and your benefits are taken care of.
That is not the case with business. Any business has ups and downs and most businesses will not provide you with regular income until 3 years into the future.
In other words, the only predictable thing in business is the fact that business is unpredictable. Some months will be great and others will be terrible. And there will be others in between.
2. Regular working hours
No matter how busy your work is, there’s a point each working day when you stop being an employee and move into your life. This will not happen with business, especially when it’s in the startup stage.
When in business, your business becomes your life. You can’t stop checking email, receiving calls, taking orders… I’m even writing this post on a Saturday afternoon because the idea is too great not to share!
It’s not easy to turn business off. This is an even bigger challenge in the early days when you’re the sole employee. Even having a team will not help if your team is young and/or inexperienced.
I highly recommend that you start your business the way you want it to be. So if work-life balance is one of the reasons you want to move into self-employment, build that into your business from the get-go. You may not achieve it immediately, but you can work towards it as you grow your business.
3. Retirement, leave, and paid sick leave
This is one of the things that many business owners struggle with. While you may have control over your time, you cannot take time off when you want without repercussions.
And when you do take time off, you don’t get paid – unlike employees who get paid even when on sick leave. As for regular leave…that flies out of the door.
I remember how hard it was to take a weekend off work. The first time I took a week then a month off, it felt like I was abandoning my business!
The main challenge here is not just physical, but also the reality that unless you have a team that can work without you, you don’t make money when you’re not working. This makes many business owners put off taking time off work, even when they need to.
To add onto that, your retirement benefits are your responsibility. When employed, you never have to think much about this because the money is deducted from your salary before you receive the salary.
As a business owner, you are responsible for the money the moment you receive it.
Since many people are not used to planning for medical emergencies or retirement, chances are high that you’ll put planning for these off. The money then gets used for other more tangible or urgent business or personal needs.
4. Colleagues
Unless you work in a really toxic environment or you don’t socialize with your colleagues, you’ll miss your workmates when you quit your job. This will be worse if your social life currently revolves around your colleagues.
One shocker that hits many new business owners is when their former colleagues move on without them. They may promise you constant check-ins or to keep you in the loop, but that will fizzle out.
So, if you’re a social animal and the life of the office, you need to create a social life outside the office before you quit your job. Further, if you expect your former colleagues to become your regular customers or send you endless referrals, you’ll be setting yourself up for more disappointment.
Business is a lonely journey, especially for solopreneurs and startups. It’s also not possible to become friends with your business employees because…well, you are the boss.
Find entrepreneurs who are ahead of you and start hanging out with them before you quit your job. This will help you change your mindset from an employee one into an entrepreneurial one.
There is a huge difference between these two mindsets as you’ll soon find out.
5. Business will reduce your net worth
The reality of business is that it will take time before you earn as much as or even more than you earn as an employee. Another reality is that some people never reach this level in their business.
Secondly, the lack of a regular payslip also makes you lose out on opportunities for loans. You become a bad bet. Financial institutions prefer giving out money to people who have the ability to pay. Unfortunately, being in a young business kills this ability.
Also, if your business doesn’t pick up, you become a bad bet for friends and family and people start avoiding you.
Why start a business and move from employment then?
You may be wondering by now whether leaving employment for business is worth it. Here are the 3 reasons that have kept me in business.
First, owning a business that you love makes you a happier and more fulfilled person. It’s also more empowering when you simplify your business and create systems that grow the business without working yourself to the bone.
Second, if you create a strategy for your business and work on it consistently, you have the opportunity to increase your net worth in the long-term. It may be a slow ride, but you will get there by taking consistent and correct actions.
Third, changing people’s lives in a positive way and being able to do it on my terms and on my schedule is very fulfilling.
Of course, earlier on in the journey, there were days when I thought of getting back into employment. Most of these were days when there was little or no money coming in. I ended up doing contract work and even considered going back to my former job, as the opportunity was still open for some years.
This desire for employment died off when I deliberately burnt all my bridges and committed to making my business work. That’s not a light commitment, but it’s one that I now stand by every day of my life.
Are you ready to start a business?
The other day someone wanted to refer a potential client to me. This person had left their job and is thinking of getting into business.
My response was that I rarely work with people who have already quit their jobs before planning for or starting a business.
Why?
I’ve coached many professionals who want to get into business and followed most of them over the years to see how they’re faring.
This informal research revealed that many of those who quit and then start thinking of business don’t succeed in business. In contrast, most of those who plan and prepare for their exit from employment make it in business and don’t go back to employment.
The former most probably make a decision to quit at the spur of the moment or due to some hardship they’ve encountered in life or at work. The latter make a deliberate decision to get out of employment permanently and set the stage for their exit.
Where are you today?
If you’ve just left employment and haven’t made plans but think business is the place to be, I suggest that you work with a career coach to find out if you need to step fully out of employment or whether you need a job or career change.
If you’re sure business is the way for you or you have a business and want to move it to the next level, then let’s talk.
Book a Strategy Session where we’ll work together to:
1) Clarify your business vision.
2) Set your BIG business goals.
3) Map out your 3 main action steps for the next 12 months.
I’m brutally honest in these strategy sessions. If one of our programs is a good fit for you, I’ll offer it to you.
If I feel that you’re OK on your own, I’ll tell you and show you how to do it using the action plan we come up with.
If I feel that someone else can help you, I’ll direct you to them or help you identify the specific person or organization to reach out to.
So take a moment, book your Strategy Session today, and let’s get you started on your next level.
NOTE: Strategy sessions are not a substitute for a comprehensive coaching program. If you’ve had a session, then you already know your next step. Contact us and let’s move the conversation forward.
(Images courtesy of Unsplash)
