With all the worries of business ownership, our goal with this month’s blogpost is to focus on being thankful and specifically on the blessings of business ownership.
We wanted to look beyond the one we all know and love—“being your own boss.” We Googled “being thankful for business ownership” and got an unending list of titles like:
- “20 Things Business Owners Should Be Thankful For”
- “7 Reasons to Be Thankful for Your Business”
- “Why I’m Thankful for My Small Business”
- “28 Entrepreneurs Share What They’re Thankful For”
After reading a dozen of the top articles, we noticed that most of the blessings of business ownership come down to 3 categories–
- How much control you have,
- The difference you can make, and
- Economic factors
We hope you find many that resonate as you read our roundup of the blessings of business ownership…
Increased control
- You get to be your own boss You’re in control of your future vs someone “above you” on the corporate ladder. Statistics show that a main culprit of job stress is that someone else is making the decisions about things that effect you, like your work schedule, the type of work you do, and your next promotion.
- Having a flexible work schedule. You might work a lot of hours, but you probably get to decide when. This means you can drop or pick up your kids at school, go to parent-teacher conference, attend games, help your ailing mother, grab a nap, take a walk, be home for the plumber, or go to the gym.
- You get to choose who you work with. You can and should hire people whose values match yours. That makes the daily work life easier and more enjoyable. It also increases the likelihood that the company will meet its goals.
- You choose how you support the community. You can choose which causes and how much time and money you’ll give. And you can bring to bear your whole work team, thereby increasing the amount of support you can give to a cause you love.
Making a difference
- There’s satisfaction in building something lasting, something beyond yourself, that wasn’t there before, that grows and changes over time
- It’s gratifying to be an employer who makes a positive difference in the lives of employees. Not only do you provide jobs, you get to treat people the way you believe is right. You’re creating the culture and it’s a reflection of you.
- The opportunity to be coach, teacher, and mentor is rewarding.
- Being the main influencer on design, ideas, and solutions is fulfilling.
Economic factors
- We weathered the recession of 2008-10 and we’re in a strengthening economic environment.
- Corporate tax rates are lower in 2018.
- Your paycheck’s not dependent on the salary guidelines and job grades of a large corporation. Your financial success is limited only by your willingness and ability to grow your business.
- Your success extends to your family. You’re providing for them financially and making a good life for them.
On our list of the blessings of business ownership, we’d have included that you get to spend more quality time with friends and family. Or that you get time to pursue travel, hobbies, and community volunteering. But unfortunately we see many business owners who don’t take much time off. In fact, often our clients report that one of the early benefits of working with a business coach is that they take the first vacation they’ve had in years.
If you’re not enjoying the full blessings of business ownership, we need to work together.
We’re thankful for the client/business owners who we’ve had the privilege of working with over nearly 10 years. We believe that the quality of our communities is directly connected to the success of the business owners in our communities.
We’re thankful for the business owners with whom we’ve worked side by side. They’re everyone good people with good values. We’ve helped them get organized, clarify their structure and values, and outline a clear path forward to insure that their business outcomes are aligned to produce the personal outcomes they want.
Give us a call or email and schedule an hour to explore how we can help you and your team enjoy the blessings of business ownership. You can also check out our methods by attending our quarterly Growth Plan Workshop on Jan 3. You’ll walk away with a clear action plan to jumpstart a strong 2019.
Consider also our Sales Growth Plan Workshop on Dec 7 where business owners and sales professionals create a strong sales plan for 2019.
