Many of us are drawn to entrepreneurialism and running our own home businesses because we want autonomy; we want to be in charge of our own destiny and our own income. After a while, the reality of all the things we cannot control may get to us and we may forget that we really are in charge of our own business revenue…
In a traditional job, we go to work for someone else and we agree to do x, y, and z tasks in return for a certain amount of money. But, I am of the opinion that even in a traditional job we are not victims. It is not our boss’ responsibility to pay us what we think we are worth, we are still in charge of the amount we make and the job we do in return for that. We do get to decide our own worth. In our home businesses, that should be even more clear. We are the ones driving our income bus.
This is not to say that there aren’t things out there that we cannot control–we don’t control the market or natural resources or the economy or natural disasters. Every day that I get up and sit down at my desk, I really don’t know what to expect or what might happen. Some days I may have a full ten hours of productivity planned and one of my kids will get sick or something else will come up and instead of feeling like I am ahead and on target, I’ll suddenly feel like I’m behind the 8 ball. BUT, how I respond to that and what I do to get back on track is up to me.
As a business owner, if you want to make more money, or diversify your revenue streams–you have the power. It may not happen over-night, and it will most certainly take creativity and effort, but you do get to decide if you want to make more money. As a matter of fact, you are the only one who can make that decision and decide whether or not you want to do the things required to make that reality come true.
Also: Doing Business Without Making Excuses
Does Autonomy Compromise Professionalism?
Coping With a Loss or Drop in Business Income