If you've always worked for someone else, you may harbor fantasies of what it would be like to "be your own boss." While working for yourself has major advantages; if you choose this route you may find some surprises.1. MYTH: I won't have to work as hard.
REALITY: You'll probably work harder. I typically work 70 hours a week. But it feels different when you're in charge and you're
one reaping benefits, i.e., it's one thing to stay up till 2 am so your boss can take a 2-week cruise, but quite another to stay up till 2 am so YOU can, right?
2. MYTH: I'll be boss.
REALITY: In most important ways, you are. However, every client is your "boss". What I like is that clients judge results and I enjoy autonomy of method. I found bosses would rarely say "raise my income 10%" and then check in with me. They micro-managed, which I found confusing and limiting. It slowed me down and made me less productive. Clients want results. They don't care if you did it by phone or by fax. They don't care when you go to lunch, what you have on, when you start your day or how long it takes you to do something. See what I mean?
3. MYTH: Now I can get paid what I'm worth.
REALITY: You can only charge what market will bear. However, you can reach upper limits and push limits. No one's going to pay more than, say $150 for a housecleaning; however, there are people getting $75 for same job. Then, of course, entrepreneur that you are, you always have option of hiring others to work for you and enjoying passive income. There's a limit to how much I can charge as a coach, and how many client-hours I have in a week, but as my business builds, I'm hiring other coaches.
4. MYTH: I won't have to deal with people I don't like.
REALITY: Yes, you will. However, as your own boss, you can fire clients who aren't worth fee, and you can choose your own vendors and network, and if you don't like your boss - YOU -- you can change that!
5. MYTH: Now I can do only what I want and like to do.
REALITY: It never really works out that way. I'm back doing some things I don't enjoy as much because I'm good at them and they're lucrative, and I need steady income coming in. Somehow it's more palatable because someone else isn't telling me I must. It's a pragmatic decision on my own part. Also, every entrepreneur must do marketing. If you can't stand to do it yourself, hire a marketing coach. You MUST market.
6. MYTH: I can't work any harder. I can't do all this.
REALITY: Yes you can -- work smarter, not harder. Beware this fear of success that will limit you. There will be different thresholds as you build your business. At each point, get more help. It's always available. Part of building your business is delegating as soon as you possibly can. It's called "investing in your business." The second you can afford a Virtual Assistant, get one. I have two. One lives in my hometown and delivers brochures, makes contacts, goes to trade shows, shops for me, etc. I have another who's virtual only. She manages my distance learning school and does other Internet tasks. There will be more! 7. MYTH: I'll be free!
