Entrepreneur: The Last Free American

Along the highway in Dan Diego there is a billboard that quite simply asks in big black letters – Had Enough? I have no idea whether the person or company that owns the advertisement sells cruise vacations or a better brand of Vodka, but you have to admit it gets you thinking on a long trip.

The older we get the more we hate change. The thought of leaving something familiar through repetition to start over again can be intimidating. There is safety in routine. Still, no one is locked into a relationship or a job. Free will dictates that your life is yours to live. You can walk away from either situation if it isn’t working anymore, or better still drive away and watch it disappear in your rear view mirror.

Why is throwing in the towel so painfully resisted by human nature? Are we too embarrassed to admit another mistake? Are past screw-ups mounting? Is it easier to put off quitting until we’re fired? In my working career I only got the boot once. But he did it with such gentleness that no blood was left on the carpet. He was wise enough to see my lack of enthusiasm; my readiness to fly. I thanked him as we parted.

Not all ideas are good ones. I-changed-my-mind is perfectly acceptable. Use it for heavens sake! Humans are natural learning machines. It’s inevitable that we turn down dead-end roads. In time you begin to recognize the outcome before it even happens.

Failures and moving on are all part of the path to maturity. It’s like trees in the Amazon designed to reach towards the sun’s rays and soak up every bit of sunlight they can get. Not all acorns grow to mighty Oaks. The tree that captures the most sunlight, wins. It will be the tallest and the widest. No one said it would be easy.

The entrepreneur faces an equal struggle. If it was a snap there’d be no dilbert-cubes. Yet these free-thinkers hold a deeper understanding of ‘going to happen’ vs ‘hope to happen’. They are high energy people with long term goals. And they aren’t afraid to take a risk.

No better time in history offers the entrepreneur a fighting chance thanks to the Internet. So close your eyes, hug your computer’s monitor and make a wish. It’s almost that easy. If you’re going to leave the herd and seek your freedom, you have to put one foot in front of another and start walking.

Currently 125,000 people a week go online in search of a Home-Based Business. This alone is an amazing statistic. As an entrepreneur you can now literally work from anywhere while seamlessly running your business. Not any of your clients need to know you are not in some downtown high-rise.

With the bare bones of a mobile office in place you can spend a month in Mexico or on an island in the Pacific. How about working today from a bench in the Park, or under an umbrella at Ocean Beach or a booth in Starbuck’s coffee shop? Your office-bound clients and prospects will travel with you.

With smaller, more powerful laptops, improved internet connectivity worldwide, and variety of cellular and web services to choose from – we’re no longer confined to the home office either.

Having brought a smile to your face just putting yourself in this picture, I must add that this freedom comes with the personal responsibility for your own taxes, social security contributions, and medical insurance.

However, when you can earn in one month what you have been earning all year as an employee, this will not be a hardship. Calculating your business-use-of-home income tax deductions should offset most of this anyway. Uncle Sam loves us business owners.

For most employees, losing their job is a fearsome and ever-present possibility. As your own CEO, you’ll never again feel like you’re walking a tightrope without a net. Entrepreneurs are -- the last free Americans.

© 2005 Esther Smith

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