35 Reasons it Rocks to be an Entrepreneur

“Choose a job that you like, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” -Confucius

As an entrepreneur, I can honestly say that I have chosen a job I like. Yes, I do have to work. A lot. And a lot of hours. But I do work I enjoy and I get satisfaction from.

My business celebrated its fifth birthday this year and man have I learned A LOT in five years of owning my own business but I wouldn’t trade being an entrepreneur for anything.

Here are 35 reasons it really does rock to be an entrepreneur and be your own boss –

#1 – I get to set my own schedule. If I want to get up at 6am to get started, great! If I want to work from 8pm-12am, great! The ability to set my own hours is freeing.

#2 – Speaking of freeing, the freedom. I get to do what I want when I want. There’s no boss to check on you, however you do have to have some sort of accountability going on.

#3 – I can be ‘mom’ and ‘business owner’. I LOVE being able to take my girls to school and pick them up. I love getting to go on their field trips or take them to dance. It’s the little things.

#4 – Feeling accomplished. Owning your own business gives you that feeling that you’re really doing something – you are following your dream and seeing it come alive.

#5 – Not wearing makeup. Have I mentioned how much I hate wearing it?

#6 – Working in my pj’s. Yes, every entrepreneur has done it or will at some point.

#7 – The tax deductions. Ah, I love being able to write stuff off so Mr. Taxman won’t take as much.

#8 – Meeting awesome people. I wouldn’t know about half the people I know if I didn’t own my own business. You meet so many interesting people who are walking the same path as you.

#9 – I get to really use all of my college education. If you told me when I graduated college (with a marketing degree) that I would actually use the 3 accounting classes I took, I would have laughed at you. I’m not laughing now. Also, thank goodness my college BFF/roommate is now a CPA!

#10 – The recognition. I would be lying if I said I didn’t like being recognized for my work.

#11 – More opportunities than I could imagine. When I started ME Marketing Services over 4 years ago I had no idea that I would be, in 2015, working with one of the biggest names in my industry AND teaching through our local college and tech school.

#12 – The swag. I love me some swag. Thanks to Canva and Sprout Social in particular 🙂

#13 – Becoming global. Everyone who owns a business wants to see it take over the world. Well, maybe not literally. I know people on just about every continent. I’ve been on a marketing podcast based out of Africa. I have contacts in Europe. I have a client in Canada. Still amazed.

#14 – Having pool time. Yes, that’s the bribe to my daughters for letting me work during the summer – afternoon time at the pool.

#15 – Unlimited vacation time. Gone are the 10 days per year, bring on the unlimited days per year! Of course, like all business owners, if we don’t work, we don’t get paid, so we can’t go crazy.

#16 – Gym time. I love to work out. Since I have the freedom (#2) I can go work out, then come home and work without worrying about taking time off or getting up at 5am.

#17 – The ups and the downs. As bad as the downs can be sometimes when owning a business, the ups are pretty dang good, if I may say so. You have to have those downs to appreciate the ups.

#18 – Mobility & flexibility. I can work from anywhere. Now, not every business owner has that ability, but since I work from an office at my house, I can take my work with me – to the pool, to my parents’, on trips, etc.

#19 – Being able to treat my family. I’m a solopreneur with a part-time marketing assistant. I don’t have a lot of overhead. 2014 was a really good year. Because of that, my husband and I were able to take our daughters to Disney World before Christmas to celebrate their birthdays (one is in November, the other December). I love being able to treat my girls to special things and I couldn’t do that without my business.

#20 – The never-ending learning. Working with social media especially, there is always something new to learn. Continuing education always keeps our minds fresh and staying on top of the latest gives us an edge too.

#21 – The people I get to work with. When you own your own business you get to work with some pretty awesome people. From peers I’ve collaborated with to working with an industry giant, it’s pretty cool. Being the (American) football but I am, having a NFL player as a client isn’t too shabby either.

#22 – The hustle. As a business owner, you are always promoting and selling your business. At school, at church, in the grocery line – there’s always an opportunity to talk about your business. Being one who loves to talk, I could talk endlessly about social media and how you can use it for your business.

#23 – The rare, precious quiet times. There are weeks where I feel I’ll never get it all done, but when I finally do, it’s nice to sit on the couch with my husband, have a glass of wine and enjoy a favorite TV show, not worrying about something that didn’t get done.

#24 – Showing my daughters that women can do it. I’m not one of these psychotic feminists, but I do believe women should have the same opportunities as men. Owning a successful business and my daughters getting to see it and be a part of it is amazing. They’ve been able to see first-hand that they can do what they set out to do. If they want to own a business, they can do it. If they want to go to med school, they can do it.

#25 – Getting to help others. I do my best not to do a lot of free work, but if it’s for a worthy cause I will. For example, we may not be able to write a massive donation check to our daughters’ private school, but I redesigned their website for free. There are times when giving your time and knowledge is just as valuable as a monetary donation. Be selective though or you’ll get taken advantage of.

#26 – I’m never bored. Seriously. There’s always something new to work on or tinker with. If I am bored, something’s wrong.

#27 – I get to say “my company.” There’s something about saying you are a business owner that makes you puff your chest out a little bit more.

#28 – The challenge of it all. I’m a VERY competitive person by nature, so I’m always working to get on a list or bring in more sales than the previous year or just be better in general. The challenge of owning a business is enough motivation to keep all the wheels rolling.

#29 – A post-graduate degree isn’t necessary. When I graduated with my undergrad from business school, everyone was talking about where they would work for a few years, then where they would complete their MBA. Here’s something about me – I don’t have a MBA. I don’t need it. For what I do and the industry I work in, you really don’t need a college degree (if definitely helps though). For me to get a MBA now would just be for vanity reasons and as much as I would love to have one, it’s not worth the $60,000+ just to put those 3 letters behind my name.

#30 – No 2 days are the same. The exciting thing about owning a business is that each day is different, especially in social media. I enjoy looking forward to what each day brings.

#31 – It’s okay if my home office doubles as my daughters’ playroom and it’s (most of the time) messy. Right now on their half of the room there are Wii games out, Barbies on the floor and books that need to be put up. It reminds me of what I’m working for – them and their future.

#32 – It sums up a few of the points above, but when you’re a business owner (especially a solopreneur), you get to what you want, when you want and how you want. There’s not better freedom than that.

#33 – I’m the boss. The buck does stop here. My first grade teacher told my parents I was bossy and I got in trouble all the time for it. She said it would help me later in life, but just not in first grade. Well, Mrs. Benton, look at me now, LOL.

#34 – I feel valued. I had a previous job where my boss’ wife (who also worked at the business) made me feel like I didn’t know anything and always made me feel like I wasn’t valued. When you own your own business, you feel valued because it’s you – you’re doing the work, making it work and reaping the rewards. You make yourself feel valued just from what you do.

#35 – Lastly, I get to hang with the best fans and followers any business owner could want. Without you, my business wouldn’t be here, so thank you from the bottom of this redheaded football-addict’s southern heart 🙂

Those are my reasons, so what’s yours? Share below in the comments!