The Real Reason You Started Your Business (It's Not What Most Think)
Darrel Edwards
Director at West Midlands Business Advisors Ltd | Business Growth | Scaling | Mergers & Acquisitions
Let's be honest – you could have taken that corporate job. The one with the fancy title, company car, and guaranteed pension. But you didn't. Instead, you chose the entrepreneur's path. Ever wondered why?
The Freedom Factor
Recent surveys of business owners revealed something fascinating: When asked to define wealth, most didn't pick the £10 million mark. They didn't even choose "enough money to cover lifestyle expenses." Instead, the majority defined wealth as "the ability to do whatever you want, whenever you want to."
That's not just interesting – it's revolutionary.
What The Numbers Tell Us
The shift in thinking is clear. Pre-COVID, 42% of business owners defined wealth as complete freedom of choice. Post-COVID? That number jumped to 47%. Meanwhile, only 20% defined wealth as having £10 million in investable assets.
This isn't about chasing an arbitrary number. It's about what that number represents: the power to choose.
The Real Definition of Freedom
But what does this freedom actually look like? For most owners, it means:
●?Choosing how you spend your time
●?Deciding who you work with
●?Having work become a choice, not an obligation
●?Building something that works without your constant presence
The Fast Track to Freedom
Here's where it gets interesting. While you could spend decades saving diligently from a regular job, most successful entrepreneurs have found a faster route: building a valuable business.
But here's the catch – and it's a big one – growing your top line revenue isn't necessarily the answer. In fact, chasing growth might actually reduce your freedom in the short term. Why? Because growth usually needs funding, either through loans (hello, bank oversight) or investors (goodbye, autonomy).
The Smarter Path
Instead of focusing solely on growth, successful owners focus on building value. This means:
●?Creating systems that don't depend on you
●?Building recurring revenue streams
●?Developing unique market positions
领英推荐
●?Maintaining healthy cash flow
The Ultimate Question
Ask yourself: If you took three months off tomorrow, would your business: a) Continue running smoothly b) Struggle but survive c) Completely collapse
Your answer reveals how close you are to true freedom.
Your Next Steps
Start by defining what freedom means to you. Is it:
●?Time with family?
●?Ability to travel?
●?Choice of projects?
●?Financial security?
Then work backwards. What needs to change in your business to make that possible?
Remember, you didn't start your business just to create another job for yourself. You started it for freedom. The question is: Are you building it that way?
#BusinessFreedom #Entrepreneurship #BusinessValue #UKBusiness
This could be linked to a social post like:
"'While you can't buy happiness, you can buy freedom.'?
Fascinating stat: 47% of business owners define wealth not by a number, but by the freedom to choose how they spend their time.
What does freedom mean to you as a business owner?
Read the full ebook here: https://score.valuebuildersystem.com/landing/the-owners-metric-ebook-landing-page/c6c2074d-e546-41bd-a4ba-fa2d48c6165f to discover if you're really building a business that delivers the freedom you started it for.
Share your thoughts below!?
#BusinessFreedom #Entrepreneurship"
?? Workplace emotional culture specialist improving employee engagement, team & stakeholder connection & impact I Former British Army Officer (Psychological Operations) - so sense of humour guaranteed I Speaker I Ironman
4 周Thanks for sharing ??
Working with service based businesses looking to increase visibility | Green Hosting | Website Design & Maintenance | SEO | Social Media Management | Analytics | Book a discovery call today!
4 周I love this perspective! ?? Financial independence truly transforms our relationship with work, allowing us to pursue our passions. I'm excited to read the article for more insights
Director at West Midlands Business Advisors Ltd | Business Growth | Scaling | Mergers & Acquisitions
4 周Get our free guide to building real business value here: https://score.valuebuildersystem.com/landing/the-owners-metric-ebook-landing-page/c6c2074d-e546-41bd-a4ba-fa2d48c6165f