In my experience of speaking to thousands of business owners and those looking to start their own businesses, over three quarters of them make the same mistake. They think running their own business will make them happy and make them money.
In truth business owners work much harder and longer hours than employees, and while they might be happier than employees it’s only marginally higher. They are not roaring with happiness scores between 70-100%! That is because they fall into the trap of creating a monster with no escape.
What about a novel approach to business development? Start with how you want to live your life, work out what that would cost and then work out if you can start a business that will make a profit and pay you a decent wage. This shift in thinking does not exclude those who want to build large businesses, or even companies that can later be sold as an exit strategy. It just re-focuses your mind and makes you start with you first. You can still apply this thinking to your current business.
That is how I made the shift to running my own business. I was formerly a university lecturer and I enjoyed long summer holidays with my daughters. When I was made redundant and decided to set up my own business I started with this premise.
I still wanted time freedom, which is, one, of the highest values I possess personally. I knew I would also need to offer something of value to my future clients, of sufficient value that they would pay me enough to make the business profitable.
While my business is consultancy-based and so my hourly rates are my Key Performance Indicators, this can also work for product-based businesses and even those employing staff. The key is to know how much you are going to pay yourself and whether you can create a business that can afford to employ you.
A quick online search and you will find that the average salary for an entrepreneur is £42,228 according to Indeed, while Total Jobs reports that the average ‘Self-employed’ person earns £36,679. This is before tax. This is the AVERAGE.
The truth is many small business owners pay themselves considerably less. Over the last twelve months I have spoken with so many small business owners who could not apply for furlough payments, or loans offered as support by the government.
The only sensible option is to pay yourself first. Design a business based on the life you want to live, the income you want to earn and that has:
- Something of value to offer
- A high value offer (so you make enough money)
- And then the right structure so you can live your valuable life as you choose.
These principles come from my book The Wealthy Retirement Plan: A revolutionary guide to living the rest of your life in style. The concept is that we don’t have to wait to retire if we create the income streams, we need to live the life we want. We can design a life that means we don’t HAVE TO work just to pay the bills, if we choose to work it’s because we are passionate about how we spend our time.
~Business Game Changer Special Promotion~
How would you spend your time if working in your business became a choice rather than a financial necessity?
By Vicki Wusche
About the author
Vicki Wusche, International speaker and podcast guest, Best Selling Author of The Wealthy Retirement Plan: A revolutionary guide to living the rest of your life in style and named by The Telegraph as one of the UKs Top 25 most influential people in property, helps you restructure your relationship money, recognising what it really means to be wealthy and live the life you want.
OFFER
If you want to refocus your perspective – our online audit called the Readiness to Retire Wealthy Audit and complimentary 30 minute call will help. You will receive a personalised report containing your score checked against the five principles of a wealthy retirement. Visit https://VickiWusche.com/cam
