Do you think about being your own boss and going at it alone? I went into business for myself at the age of 29. I quit my job because I thought I was treated unfairly and rather than going to work for someone else I started my own business. Working for yourself can be very rewarding financially and personally when it’s successful, and very expensive and painful when it’s not.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that working for yourself is a way to escape your problems.
Fifty percent of all businesses fail within five years, and over 65% of all small businesses break even or lose money before they go bankrupt. 70% of all small businesses have no employees, with the owner responsible for everything. We call these people solopreneurs.
I started out a solopreneur, but now I’ve got about 50 employees. There are big differences between solopreneur Grant at age 29 and Uncle G as you know me today.
Solopreneur Grant: Had more tasks than hours.
Uncle G today: Has the ability to prioritize time because I can delegate.
Solopreneur Grant: Had the naive impression that I would work with a handful of clients and really concentrate my attention on them.
Uncle G today: Focuses on monumental quantities instead of just serving a handful of clients, which gives me the ability to spread the word about myself and my company to a constantly growing number of people.
Solopreneur Grant: Couldn’t take off because business would stop when I was gone.
Uncle G today: Can take constructive time off to spend time with family, re-charge, and plan for future projects.
Solopreneur Grant: Had no scale, little cash flow, and no market dominance.
Uncle G today: Is scaling, has cash flow, and beginning to dominate.
Solopreneur Grant: Thought people cost money.
Uncle G today: Knows that a lack of production and a failure to grow your business costs money.
I have never met anyone that made the transition from working for someone else to working for themselves and their pay went up. It took me three years in my first business to just get back to where I was when I left my previous job.
I thought I would be making more money in three months and it took 36 months.
Small businesses fail because they are unable to sell their products in volumes great enough and at margins big enough to continue to reinvest and sustain unexpected events. Could you have anticipated 9/11, Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Katrina, the economic collapse of 2008, or war with North Korea?
Three-quarters of all small businesses have zero employees which highlight the fact that people are resistant to delegating responsibility—they don’t trust others to do the same quality and level of work—but you have to grow your business to become and stay successful.
Any solopreneur needs to be prepared for objections, conflict and lost revenue if they stay small. Always remember that great companies have both volumes and margins.
Stay hungry, but don’t stay a solopreneur. Get your tickets to 10XGrowthCon today.
Be great,
GC
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