Do You Really Want to Be Your Own Boss?

Joel Libava
Wed, 11 Sep 2013 07:00:00 +0000

If you've recently been downsized from your corporate job, or if you've been downsized several times during the past few years, or if you have a job—but it’s a lousy one, or if you work for a jerk, know this: if you really want to be your own boss, I want you to know that I’m behind you 100%.

Making the decision to be your own boss

It’s a biggie. Don’t kid yourself.

Talking about being your own boss, and writing a check and/or taking out a small business loan to do so, are two very different things. So, weigh this decision carefully. There is risk involved.

There’s actually risk involved no matter what type of business you end up becoming the owner of. That’s right—franchises are risky, too. Forget the statistics.

But, if you’re doing enough things right, things that can lower your financial risk, the rewards are yours for the taking. Do you know what the right things to do are?

Do these things to be your own boss

It’s time for you to find out how just bad you want to be your own boss, how bad you want to escape the “working for someone else” syndrome. Ready?

1. Conduct a family meeting

Do this before anything. Don’t make the mistake of spending weeks, maybe even months, looking around at business opportunities only to find out that no one in your family supports your idea of being the boss, of owning your own business.

Now, if it does turn out that some or all of your family members aren’t as enthusiastic as you are, you have a couple of choices:

You can listen to them, and forget “this crazy idea of yours.”

Convince them that you’ll take it slow and do great research on the opportunities you find because you really do want to be your own boss.

Dual-track it—conduct a search for a new job and at the same time, look for a franchise opportunity or business opportunity that will allow you to be your own boss.

If you ultimately decide to pursue business ownership, do whatever it takes to keep those around you comfortable with your decision. They need to feel confident that you’ll do the right things.

2. Go through your financials

Before you start searching for franchise or business opportunities that could make sense for you, figure out where you stand financially—and don’t guess.

Do a net worth statement. Subtract all of your liabilities from all of your assets. The difference between the two is your net worth. Figure out how much liquid capital you have access to. That’s what today’s franchisors tend to focus on.

For example, I’ve worked with people that have had net worth’s in the $500,000 range, but who've had most of their assets parked in retirement funds. If that’s the case with you, talk to your financial advisor. Some of my clients have done this, and I’m fine with it as long as it’s a perfect or nearly perfect situation.

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3. Meet the real you

Another thing you need to do before spending hours and hours online searching for that “perfect” opportunity is to get offline. While search engines like Google are great, if you don’t learn how to do focused searches, you’ll end up being on your computer a lot longer than you need to be.

Do you want to spend hours on end looking for a business or do you want to be in business?

What you need to do, before you start your search for a franchise or business opportunity, is to get to know the real you. Decide what skills you have that could be best utilized for a business of your own. Look at some of your dominant personal traits. Most people don’t do this. They just start looking at franchise websites—dozens of them, and they end-up more confused that they thought possible.

If you don’t want to be like most people who are looking to be their own boss, start off on the right foot. I know that you’re excited to get started with your search. Some self-control is warranted here. Do the work necessary so you won’t have to do work that’s unnecessary.

Prepare for take off

If you've done the three things that I've outlined here, it’s time for you to start your search for a business to own.

And while there many more steps that you’ll need to take as this process evolves, like researching the opportunities you find, choosing the best one, writing a business plan, obtaining financing, and getting the proper legal advice, at least you’ll be starting off on the right foot.

So you can be your own boss.

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