Personal Freedom: Do You Own Your Own Job, Or Does It Own You?
Personal Freedom: Do You Own Your Own Job, Or Does It Own You
?Keep Some Of Your Most Valuable Asset For Yourself
by Michael D. Hume, M.S.
What's your most valuable asset? Many experts would tell you it's your home, and the house is certainly near the top of your list of assets. I would argue, though, that your ability to earn money is your supreme asset. Without that, you'd have none of your other assets - unless you are one of the lucky few who's inherited their bucks.
No matter what you "do for a living," you are in The Business Of You. You have cut a deal and are selling your precious labor resource for an agreed-upon price. How good a deal are you getting? About a decade ago, one of the big corporate catch-phrases was "the war for talent," and employers were in the position of having to pay top dollar to lure the best talent. These days, the scenario is very different: talk of a war for talent has been replaced with the old reliable assertion that "you're lucky to have a job." But you must not buy into this thinking! You have to find a way to own your own resource, to the greatest extent possible, and not get into a situation where your job owns you.
Of course, you owe your employer an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. Meanwhile, you should be thinking about how you can generate an income stream you own, outside the relationship with your employer. Investments in the stock market are good... real estate, probably even better... and there are many other pure-money investments that you should always have in your portfolio. These investments are volatile, though, and usually slow to grow and mature.
One of the things that has made America great (and many Americans wealthy) has been the desire to own a business, even if it's a side-business or second job. My grandfather worked his forty hours at the machine shop, but he was always fixing cars or installing air conditioners after hours and on weekends. Mom sold everything from plasticware to cosmetics, and eventually started her own women's clothing store in our little town. None of these business ventures made my family wealthy, but the bucks they brought in certainly came in handy when work was harder to come by and the paychecks smaller. And I don't even think that's why they did it. I think the main reason was the sense of personal freedom these ventures gave them. The notion of having at least a small income stream you can count on "when all else fails" - and that no employer can take away from you - can give one a liberating feeling.
What could it be for you? You might have an idea for a retail or service business that's needed in your area. Or, you might have a vision of a type of business that lends itself to your personal gifts, that you can run better than anyone else, and perhaps you'll hunt around for an area where that business is in demand.
These days, you'd be foolish if you didn't consider doing business in cyberspace. It might not be the perfect investment of your particular talents, but don't dismiss the idea out-of-hand. You'd be surprised how well you can do with a laptop, a small investment, a good idea, a great platform (I can recommend one), and a minimal amount of technical ability (if you can check your email, you can probably run an online business). "Click and Order" might be a better use of your time and energy than a "Brick and Mortar" type of business, and would probably require a much lower monetary investment.
Remember that how you spend your time is how you spend your life. Don't get into something you'll hate. It is possible to start a small business and wake up one day to discover it has taken over your life - that the business owns you, more than the other way around. Whatever type of business you select, start with an exit strategy in mind: to whom might you sell this business once you've built it up and created a steady cash flow? This is, perhaps, less important with an online business, but you should always start with a vision of how the business fits into your life (not the other way around).
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