Owning a Business and The Myth of Freedom

From the outside looking in, owning your own business seems to be the dream of ultimate freedom.

There used to be the myth of the business owner with their feet up on a mahogany desk, reclining back into a leather armchair while their loyal employees raked in the money for them.

Now, the myth is of the entrepreneur working on their laptop from a beach or a train while they travel the world.

The thing is, these are just myths.

I say this even though in the past two years I’ve relocated twice and traveled quite a bit while running my own business.

The reality is I have the freedom to do these things, not from 2 years of coaching, but from 20 years of hard work, intentional decisions and increasing my earning power in corporate roles.

Like a lot of businesses in their first 2-3 years of operations, profitability is a precarious state. And I know it’ll be some time before I can look forward to the equivalent of a 6-figure executive salary (plus benefits) again.

So why do so many people still chase the dream of entrepreneurship?

I know why I am—it’s a mix of logistics (being able to legally work while I’m relocating, so long as I don’t take a salary until I meet residency requirements) and having enough financial security that I don’t need to take just any job anymore.

But there are still so many people who think that being their own boss gives them freedom to work with the clients they want to and work as much and when they want.

The reality is that’s not true except for the…well, the exceptions.

For the rest of us who have neither financial buffer or wild success through years of hard work, turning away business is a luxury that can’t be afforded.

Business owners are often working all the time—taking on an extra client because the money is good (or needed), filling in for staff who don’t show up or thinking about how to reduce expenses or increase sales.

But that lure of declaring that we don’t work Fridays, or being able to tout that we can choose our clients is like a siren song some of us just can’t ignore.

Unfortunately, as Michael E. Gerber outlines in The e-Myth Revisited, so many entrepreneurs start businesses that offer something they’re good at or passionate for…but lack the know-how to make it a business that generates profit and doesn’t depend on a single person.

I guess, in the end, we’re always chasing dreams.

And like all dreams, the people who “make it” give the rest of us hope that we can too…whether for better or for worse.