—
The thought crosses everyones’ mind at least twice a day when we encounter some routine workplace situation. The tedium leaves wishing our morning cup of coffee was made from beans of a stronger breed. We see that extremely beautiful and highly-polished muscle car flying down the road leading its driver to some really awesome destination (or so we imagine). It honks loudly like a flock of geese (or seagull) with every beep of the alarm clock, the honks growing louder for each ungodly hour you have to wake up before the sun makes its appearance:
“One day I’ll be working for myself and I’ll wake up whenever I please, drink goats milk all day long as I veg out in my extremely comfy beach chair looking out over the blue ocean after having worked 4 hours in the morning…”
I used to think these, and more colorful thoughts, each time I took a call during tax season when I was working as technical support. I would dream of the day I could set my own hours and wake up to greet the sun whenever I handed someone a bag of deliciously greasy fries. It wasn’t until I turned 30 that I began to get serious and do everything in my power to live the dream of firing the man.
I always entertained the idea of opening my own fitness center and with persistent effort and loads of trial and error, I finally made that dream concrete. I can say with confidence it was one of the best decisions I’ve made thus far. Once the initial thrill of opening and running my own personal training studio wore off, I quickly realized that in order to concretize my dreams and provide a comfortable lifestyle for my family, I would need either lots of studios bringing in money for me or more income streams. The second option seemed more interesting and do-able.
While I’m not quite at my goal yet, I have been blessed to live my life on my own terms and be able to take care of my family and enjoy the good things life has to offer. I learned a lot during my journey to self-employment. I’m still learning each day, sometimes pleasantly and other times abruptly.
Here’s a few pointers from my perspective and experience to help other men with the dream of working for themselves get started towards experiencing more independence:
1. Realize you will always be working for someone; the difference now is when you’re self-employed you have the liberty to do so on YOUR terms.
It took me years to comprehend this and the moment I did so, my business relationships experienced a new dimension of ease and pleasure. We all wish that we could tell so-and-so take their business elsewhere at some point or another. When you run your own business, you have the luxury to do so. Use this power wisely and never under the influence of alcohol.
2. Emotional management becomes just as important as financial management.
When you’re self employed, and you’re the only employee, you have to manage. You can’t afford to allow yourself to get lazy and “forget” to do all the little things you need to keep your business thriving. Things like smart advertising and checking in on your client base. Sure, everyone has points during their day when they feel a bit off and need to re-center themselves. As an entrepreneur you must to control of your emotions so you can give your customers the best possible experience every single time.
3. Develop the skills you have now and monetize them.
Take a moment to inventory all your skills and hobbies. Look at them as potential sources of income, then you’ll start to become excited at the prospect of firing the man. One of the keys to financial independence is to create multiple streams of income. I learned the hard way that putting all of my eggs in one basket not only creates an inordinate amount of anxiety; it pigeon holes your income potential and slows it down from a potential waterfall to a measly trickle and your left feeling more and more thirsty with each passing moment.
If you like to write, find ways in which you can earn an income through that medium. If you like to sew, find a way to knit your way to some extra income each month. When you begin to think of all your skills as tiny little people who help you earn money each month, you’ll gain a new respect for those hobbies and interests others think are weird.
4. Treat your time like money.
Once you find the means by which you’ll be earning money working as your own boss, time and money form a new corporation at which you are at the helm. This shift takes some focused effort to get used to as it is a vast departure from the traditional dynamic punching a time clock and receiving an hourly wage. You are now literally in control of how much money you earn. Unless you find a means to automate your particular income streams, you have to put forth effort daily to keep the machine running smoothly. Any breaks in the “action” mean a break in your income.
With the realization that time becomes money, you are now confronted with another aspect of self-employment. You have to ask yourself, “How much money do I want to make?” Of course, this question is easily answered when you have a vision of the lifestyle you want to experience. Because after all, you can’t buy things without money (unless you’re sovereign citizen and in that case you can use bartering as a means of payment… not really).
5. Create a mission statement for your business and a vision for your life.
I remember many years ago chatting with the professor of my interpersonal relationships class in college. Somehow or another, the question came up as to whether or not I had a “five year plan” for my life. I looked at her like she was nuts; she looked at me like I had just farted in front of her high-powered fan; I had no plans for the next five years. I was just going to “do stuff everyday” until five years had elapsed. It wasn’t until my late 20’s when her question became a daily reference point for me, and I realized that plans really are crucial for success in all endeavors in our lives.
Having a mission statement is the most important part of starting on your path to financial independence, just as having a vision for your life is equally important. We can be brimming over with enthusiasm, energy and world-changing ideas, but if all that energy has no place to go then we tend to end up going in circles like a weiner dog chasing their tail.
Mission statements and visions are essentially plans. Your mission statement not only lets your customers know your intentions; it also helps you stay on track and continue to provide excellent service to them. It’s an affirmation to which you can refer periodically when you forget your reasons for firing the man and becoming the man.
Having a vision for your life is going to mold the ways in which you seek to generate income. If your idea of the perfect daily lifestyle is to write on the deck of your beach home while the sweet smell of the Atlantic Ocean wafts past your nose, then your entire self will mold your actions and choices to reflect that vision.
Equally important as having visions and mission statements is having long term and short term goals. This is a lesson that took me ten years to really “get”. Reaching for long term goals when your energies are better put to use striving for your short term goals (and vice versa) can cause you to experience discouragement and other debilitating emotional states, which ultimately affect your ability to earn/create money.
6. Always be on the lookout for ways to fill a need.
I recently posted a video of myself performing 1300 bodyweight squats on Youtube. In response, one viewer wondered why I went mad and abused my legs in such a manner and with a little reframing of the situation, the viewer understood my position. Much to my surprise, this viewer was curious as to how they too could abuse their legs like I did. So I noticed their curiosity and decided to turn my self-flagellation into a training program. I stayed up through the night to take my experience and turned it into another source of income.
Finally, always remember that because others have become financially independent and told the man to take a hike, you too have the potential to do so. The trick is to find as many ways as possible to have as much fun as possible reaching the goal.
◊♦◊
Get the best stories from The Good Men Project delivered straight to your inbox, here.
—
Photo Credit: Getty Images