The hustle mentality is very, very real. However, the thought of being your own boss is a misleading phrase at best.
Anyone who experiences even a minimal amount of years in the workforce can conclude that clients, consumers, and even staff can be considered your boss, which leads us back to the hustle.
Once someone makes the decision– the guts decision– to become an entrepreneur, then they have subscribed to the hustle mentality. And at the very core of that hustle mentality is to search for clients, consumers, and staff members.
See what just happened? We went from removing one or a few bosses and replaced them with many fickle bosses.
Now, this is not to say there aren’t joy and benefits of becoming an entrepreneur.
There certainly are!
Nevertheless, If being attracted to entrepreneurship is software, it needs to be upgraded to a higher version.
Let’s debunk or cancel a few other phrases that I remember were considered mic drop statements for being an entrepreneur.
Ready? Here we go.
“Well, as my own boss, I can set my own hours.”
In our high-tech world, anyone with a laptop or smartphone can set our hours and minutes.
And besides that, if you’re working in any market that has an international demand, then your hours will be set by your consumers and your clients.
Let’s face it, many people who have the undeniable desire to be their own boss like bossing other people. What many novice entrepreneurs find out is that being your own boss also includes, regrettably at times, holding yourself accountable.
And that’s no fun, or dare I say, not the original reason to be an entrepreneur. Let’s use this as a transition to another caveat when defining what success is for oneself.
“I just want to have my own successful business.”
Not only is success wavering per individual, but how you define success plays a huge part in obtaining it. I’ve mentored many young entrepreneurs who feel, think, AND believe success is when you’re able to fling possessions in the direction of their haters.
Being successful is such a road trip. Sure, you can plan, but do you at least have someone who can read a map when the GPS is down?
There will be countless minutes, days, months, and years of continuous self-reflection. You get more and more comfortable with the small successes — the ones for the people around you.
Or your addition of new goals to create new successes and, most importantly, a sense of happiness with being an entrepreneur. Nevertheless, there’s another phrase that most entrepreneurs probably don’t respect until it’s too late.
“I know I have the grit and grind to make it as an entrepreneur.”
Chances are whatever level of grit you think you have, it will not only be tested on the journey of being an entrepreneur. However, you can never have enough to outdo the hustle required for meaningful entrepreneurship. There will be times — I repeat there will be countless times– in which you will sacrifice the things you never thought you’d ever sacrifice for your ultimate goals.
The sacrifices will include upgrades in finances, special events with loved ones, and opportunities that didn’t look appealing at first. However, you will find out that those opportunities are the next plateau towards your goals. Get the picture? Now, back to the title of this article and why it is the new mic drop statement about entrepreneurship.
You are absorbing your first loss. You will lose time, energy, leisure, money, vision, belief, support, drive. Anyone of these could be your first introduction to what it means to be a boss.
Most entrepreneurs are not aware of what they must choose to lose. Of course, you’ve heard this before, even when you lose, don’t miss the lesson.
Well, if you’ve lived any number of years in life, you recognize life gives you the exam first and the review guide afterward. So that makes it quite difficult to understand what the lesson really is.
So, from one entrepreneur to a future one, take this advice: Do not lose your purpose. This will help you glorify the value that you bring to your field, the reason why you believe in yourself, and within that, the lesson will reveal itself for your very next “exam.”
Wrapping it up
Let me close with a couple of pieces of advice for your journey.
Use whatever technology you have to document small successes in your business. Trust me. You are going to need these along the journey for reflection and re-visioning. Your team will fluctuate.
People will come and go with different levels of support. Do not get discouraged by these fluctuations. Because remember being your own boss means you own, if not all, the majority of [fill in product/good/service here]. Certain people only possess specific capacities for certain bosses.
Never, ever put the perception of what you’d like to have in the future before the substance you need. Concentrating on the look of a boss before acknowledging your loss will only lead to the perception of a loser. Not an entrepreneur, but a loser.
And hey, why not begin a trend for the next generation of budding entrepreneurs — Stand on your own brand.
It takes a certain temperament, guile, and a particular set of skills to pull it off. Being any kind of boss is only useful in the presence of those wanting to follow.
Candice Barnes
Dr. Candice Dowd Barnes is an Executive Coach and Chief Operations Officer for Parker Education & Development, LLC. She is a prominent speaker and accomplished author of multiple publications. She is the co-author of Civility, Compassion and Courage in Schools Today: Strategies for Implementing in K-12 Classrooms and Success Favors Well-prepared Adults: Developing Routines and Relationships to Improve School Culture.
Todd Parker
As an Executive Coach and CEO of Parker Education & Development, LLC, Todd Scott Parker distinguishes himself through his ability to deliver coaching and training in a dynamic way to various educational and business audiences. His work is both unique and creative. He blends evidenced-based strategies, techniques, and methods from education and business to help schools, small businesses, and other organizations to create sustainable models of success.