I read this great article by fellow coach Christine Comford from Mighty Ventures and thought I would share it with you because she totally hits the nail on the head.
Have You Been ‘Duped’ By One (or More) Of These Entrepreneurial Myths?
Why did you get into business for yourself?
Was it for the MONEY FREEDOM that would let you purchase anything you wanted, for yourself or for your family?
Was is for the TIME FREEDOM that would allow you to spend more time with the people you love the most?
Was it for the PERSONAL FREEDOM of not having a boss to answer to, of finally being able to run your own show and have others answer to you?
Chances are that one or more of these three was a HUGE motivating factor to finally jump in and say “YES!” to becoming an entrepreneur.
Unfortunately, as you’re probably experiencing right now, these three “FREEDOM FACTORS” are essentially myths for the vast number of business owners.
MYTH #1 – “Owning a Business Will Make You Rich”
This is one of the most common beliefs about owning a business.
While it’s true that a successful business can indeed make you wealthy in the LONG TERM…
…in the short term, businesses actually require you to invest money to get started and then to re-invest your profits in order to keep growing.
You might eventually create a good salary for yourself, but it’s usually not until you can sell the business (if someone is willing to buy it) that you can ever really call yourself “rich”.
MYTH #2 – “Owning a Business Creates More Time”
You might already be laughing at this one, especially if you’ve been in business for more than a year or two.
Running your own business means always being on call and always having to do what is necessary to serve your customers, close the deal and basically get stuff done.
Ultimately, you’re responsible and if someone doesn’t show up, it’s YOU that needs to ensure their work gets done… even if you have to do it yourself.
Owning a business often means LESS leisure time to spend with your family and friends and more hours spent at the office.
MYTH #3 – “Owning a Business Will Set You Free!”
Lots of people start their own business because they are sick and tired of working for someone else, making the boss wealthy while everyone else just gets by.
Unfortunately, unless you have the right systems and structure in place… unless you have the right internal and external team on your side… unless you have a mentor or coach to guide you around the pitfalls…
…more often than not, you quickly become a SLAVE to your business!
Instead of owning your own business, your business ends up OWNING YOU.
Christine, you could not be more right!
Leapers! Here’s the thing…
Starting and running a business requires that you make significant investments, especially in the early years.
You need to invest money in order to fund the business and get it off the ground.
You need to invest time in order to bootstrap your way to the first level of success, before you can hire people to help you out.
You need to invest your energy into developing systems and procedures that allow your business to run efficiently.
But most importantly, you need to invest into becoming the best possible business owner you can be.
You need to learn how to differentiate between OPPORTUNITIES and DISTRACTIONS, overcome CHALLENGES, meet the right CONNECTIONS, and create powerful SOLUTIONS to your most pressing problems.
If you’re ready to leap into your genius zone and start realizing the results you desire and deserve, fill out our powerful and FREE Online Needs Assessment today. Start uncovering your blind spots and help determine which LeapZone Catalyst Coaching Program would best suit your business goals and desired results.
Are you ready to get started? I know I am ready to help you kick some serious business butt!