16 Benefits of an Entrepreneurial Lifestyle

If I hadn’t become an entrepreneur, I might have been doomed to remain a failing artist.

The moral? Don’t let hesitation hold you back!

Having taken my professional life by the scruff of the neck and dragged it into unknown, profitable territory, I look back now and wonder why I waited so long to start. Why anyone with the slightest aspiration of running their own business doesn’t just dive in and make a start is now a mystery to me.

People almost look at successful entrepreneurs like they are mythical creatures, but even the Musks, the Jobs and the Bransons of the world began somewhere. It doesn’t matter whether an entrepreneur is a mega-success, or has become financially comfortable like me, or is the owner of a small shop or stall; underneath all the hard work, we are all still the same people we were before we began our entrepreneurial and personal growth journeys. It’s just that we have become better versions of ourselves.

Is being an entrepreneur easy? No.

Does it require time, dedication, and hard work? Yes.

Would I do it all again? In a heartbeat.

Becoming an entrepreneur is one of the best things I’ve ever done with my life, so here are 16 ways that becoming an entrepreneur will shake up your professional life, challenge you, boost your personal growth and pay you back in dividends.

1. Fewer hours

When an entrepreneur is just starting their business, their work hours will generally go through the roof. I’m no fan of the hustle and the grind of working 16 hour days, but when your goal is to create a successful, sustainable, scalable company, early on there will be days when you’ll have to slog through while just grinning and bearing it.

However!

Once you have stabilised your business and increased your passive income, the workload can change quite drastically. As long as you work hard enough to not have to work hard, the amount of hours you’ll work is up to you. You can say farewell to all those years of feeling overworked and start working smart instead.

2. Improve your work/life balance

It’s such a shame that most people spend their time fitting their personal lives around their work hours, because it doesn’t have to be the case.

As an entrepreneur, you get to decide when to put your hours in. You can fit them around your family, your hobbies, and your interests, and you can work in the morning, the afternoon, the evening, or the night.

Or, you know, you could just remain employed and do as your boss tells you

3. Play to your passions

As an entrepreneur, you get to decide which field to work in, and tie your professional life to your passions.

Working in the same field as something you feel strongly about is not only a pleasure in itself, but will also keep you motivated. If you aren’t doing it already, imagine how satisfying it would be to go to work every day and feel like you are contributing to something you truly love!

4. Work for your own results

As an entrepreneur, the more you put into your working day, the more you get out of it.

Generating your own results is also a great way to keep yourself motivated. On those days when you feel uninspired or just don’t feel like working, if you remind yourself that every hour you spend on your company will contribute directly to your bottom line, you’ll find that spark of energy you need.

5. The money 

Unlike employees, as an entrepreneur the possibilities for making extra money are endless. As mentioned in the previous point, the more you put in, the more you take out, and as an entrepreneur you have the opportunity to seek out countless new ways of increasing your income.

Entrepreneurs also benefit from tax breaks due to owning and running a company, meaning more money goes straight into your pocket.

6. Learn more about yourself

Being an entrepreneur truly is a journey, and without the safety net of a boss telling you how to spend your time, that journey is going to teach you more about yourself than you can imagine. To succeed, you’re going to have to become an expert problem solver and learn more about your own life, the world of business, about taking risks and, once you begin taking on staff, about people management.

I firmly believe that becoming an entrepreneur will teach you more than any college course in the world.

7. Control your own destiny

Having your destiny in your own hands is an exciting prospect, and offers you a sense of freedom unmatched in any other career path. If you research the market and your own product, no one will have the power to stand in the way of you and your vision.

Create your own ideal company culture, your own targets, and your own product, and have things done your way.

8. Create something from nothing

Creating something stable and functional that makes a difference to people’s lives is an incredible opportunity. You may have come up with the initial idea while down the pub with your friends, or you may have already had it in your mind for years, but you have the opportunity to shape your personal vision into a solid, scalable endeavour.

Being creative is an important and satisfying part of business, as any artist, chef or author will tell you. The only difference between them and you, is that you get to plough all of that creative energy into something more likely to generate you lots of money.

9. Have your own dress code

It may sound like a small thing, but when you’re the boss, no one else tells you what to wear! If you feel like coming to work in a badass power suit – do it. On the other hand, if you’d prefer to head to the office in a pair of joggers and an “I ? New York” t-shirt, well that’s up to you, too.

It might not seem like a giant step forwards in terms of your personal growth or self-development, but never underestimate the power of having more freedom to live as you see fit.

10. Work anywhere you want

Some business owners become international entrepreneurs who need nothing more than an internet connection to work on the business. Others work from their own front rooms, and buy themselves a set of “business pyjamas”.

Becoming an entrepreneur doesn’t only let you escape office politics – if you want it to, it can help you to escape the office entirely.

11. Choose your own goals

You can decide what product you want to sell and what goals you are going to aim for, to develop both your business and your personal growth.

What enthuses you and fills you with determination – money? Social change? Reinventing a product? Adding value to society?

Whatever your answer, that should make up part of your business aims. Unlike when you work for another person’s company and serve their vision and work towards their goals, as an entrepreneur you can serve your own.

12. Become stronger

There is no doubt in my mind that by becoming an entrepreneur you will have the opportunity to become a stronger person as a result. The amount of trials, challenges and new experiences you will encounter will change you, and by persisting and finally triumphing over them, you will be instilled with a will to succeed and the ammunition to do so in any circumstance.

Being an entrepreneur will also help to smash through any introvert’s boundaries you may have and get yourself noticed.

13. New challenges every day

Facing new challenges every day means that you will not only become the best problem solver you can imagine, but you will also never be bored.

There are many jobs that require you to overcome a variety of problems. Combine this with the fact that you are working to better your own company and your own future, though, and the drive to succeed and improve your own situation will serve as fuel to triumph over those difficulties.

14. Meet inspiring, fascinating people

The entrepreneurial world is filled with incredible, insightful, inspiring people. As a fellow entrepreneur, these will serve as your contacts, your peers, your mentors and your potential partners.

Not only that – as you succeed more and more, you will become one of those inspiring, fascination people too.

15. Be an example to others

With all the extra life experience, knowledge, problem solving skills, income, flexibility, problem-solving skills and more, you can become a role model for others wanting to succeed as entrepreneurs and in life generally.

Perhaps more importantly, if or when you have children, you will become an example of success to them too. If they grow up seeing you either succeeding in your field or at least rolling with the punches and picking yourself up again after being knocked down, you will be teaching them important life lessons about endurance and the importance of living tenaciously.

16. Create a legacy

Owning a successful business is a powerful way to create an enduring legacy for your family. There are few ways to protect your family’s future than through the income of a growing business and the assets that can be attained as a result.

Challenge yourself, grow, and provide for your family’s future in the best imaginable way.

What do you see as being the top benefits of being an entrepreneur? Do you agree with my list? Let me know in the comments or on Facebook!

If you would like to learn more about how to get more done in less time, you can find my book Life Leverage here

If you would like to know more, question me, offer feedback or listen to The Disruptive Entrepreneur, or you can follow me here:

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Rob Moore