Why work for yourself?

I recently wrote an article which was published on several web sites about what it actually costs you to work for someone else.  In the article, I help you calculate how much time and money you personally spend on your job.  I wrote this page to help you decide to start a business, work for yourself, work from home or otherwise take the plunge into the small business world that is open to you here in South Carolina.

If you have not read the article, please click this button

More risk?  Yes, but...

Working for yourself is more challenging than working for an employer which, I believe, keeps most people from ever really trying.  True, most people would love to have their own business, but the ease of working for an employer reels folks in like a fisherman reels in trout and because most people really do need the money just to make their ongoing monthly expenses and debt payments, they cannot just stop the income stream and take the plunge into their own business.

However, for those that venture out on their own, the rewards are more than worth the risk.  They have found the financial benefits to be more than they imagined, the flexibility is great and the responsibility for everything makes it so very worthwhile.

My short story

I waited until I was almost 35 to start my own business.  I had thought of starting one several times during my working life with everything from selling carbon monoxide detectors to a used car dealership.  But never did I put any real effort and take any real risk until pretty recently.  Risk and effort are saying, "I will start this business and will take the financial risk and put in the hours necessary to make it work."

Finally, after years of working for someone else and just sticking my toe in the water of being an entrepreneur, I took the plunge and started two businesses.  My wedding videography business in Charleston South Carolina is thriving and I am adding photography to the list of services that I now offer.  And my website building and optimizing business where I help small businesses build web sites or optimize the sites they have for search engines using techniques I learned from building my own sites.

Because of the risk I was willing to take (with the support of my wife), I have not had a boss or an employer since March 2004 and it is wonderful.

What others say about it

Don't just take my word for it.  Many others along the way quit their jobs or found ways to enhance their small businesses through focusing in on their particular niche market, finding the correct way to market to people on the web and off, and putting forth real effort towards their goal of working from home or starting a business.

Get Started

Look, everyone has heard Nike's old saying, "Just Do It."  Well I cannot agree more.  If you want to get started in your own business, I wholeheartedly recommend taking a look (first before doing anything else) the resources and books available here.  These books will help you focus your efforts, define your business and even help you decide if the ideas you have are viable.  If you are already an owner of a small business, then these will help you learn to market via the web and offer resources that cost less than what you will spend at Starbuck's in the next 6 months.

Questions

My partners and I are always here to answer your questions.  Please ask us and we will give you FREE advice about starting and maintaining your small business website.