So I toss a post on Facebook offering a blurb about how people should take at least 2 weeks off away from their business. Most of the world enjoys the thought. Many of these people actually take the action and take 2 weeks off.
Awesome.
But I received a few statements like the one from Liz there that states, “No work no money”.
I ask Liz to allow me to respectfully disagree. And this is why: If you cannot take 2 scheduled weeks off of your business than you have a very awkward job. You have all of the pains of being an employee combined artfully with all of the pains of owning your own business. This has been repeated to you thousands of times, and as you know, I’ll keep pounding this in. It is that important.
Let’s make a simple Pro/Con list for being an employee vs. owning your own business, shall we?
Employee
PRO
Guaranteed pay
Scheduled Pay
Paid sick time
Paid vacation
Benefits (such as health care, retirement, etc)
Materials and office/car/truck/computer/software/coffee supplied for you
CON
Limited by hours worked
Limited pay
Limited vacation
Limited schedule
Unable to control work environment
So far, employees have a LOT of security and a lot of limitations. A lot of people are completely OK with this. Let’s look at business owners.
Business Owner
PRO
Unlimited potential
Control work environment
Control hours worked
Unlimited time off possibilities
Unlimited pay potential
CON
No Guaranteed pay
No Scheduled Pay
NO Paid sick time
No directly Paid vacation
No Direct Benefits (such as health care, retirement, etc)
Materials and office/car/truck/computer/software/coffee supplied BY you
Of course you can add and subtract from these lists as you see fit. The point is that if you have your own business and you are still trading your time directly for money, you have a problem. Sure, it may be on your schedule, as you see fit. No boss leaning over you telling you to work harder. All you have is you and your customers to please, what could be more awesome?
The secret is simple. Stop trading time for money. Trade something else for money.
The heart of that something else is the rub from the standpoint of this little blog. If you would like to know what options you have I will be happy to share them with you. Until then, answer this simple question, “Why did you start your business?” If the answer includes something along the lines of you “wanting more shackles on my time, money and effort along with never being able to walk away” than you can proceed. You may have gotten exactly what you wanted. If you desired more freedom and you accept the challenge of my post recommending you take some time for yourself, congratulations. You clearly understand the dream. Now we find out if that dream is becoming reality for you, or if you stuck in the shackles of your own business.
Dream BIG. Then wake up and realize your dreams can be your reality.
James is a Business Coach and Mentor for Draw In Customers. He has finally taken 2 weeks off, which he had literally NEVER done before this. If you would like to achieve your business success goals, and take some time off, James has some tips for you and is available. Simply email him at james@drawincustomers.com.
