Self-employment vs Unemployment
There is a thin line between being self-employed and unemployed. I meet many people who say they are business owners but when you really look into their lives, business is non-existent in their daily routine. There has to be a distinctive difference between someone who works for themselves and someone who is waiting to be employed. Here are some of the most critical distinctions;
Mindset
Consider the dominating thoughts in your mind. Are you really thinking about solutions to the problems around you? Is your mind finding new ways of doing things? Are you coming up with systems that allow your business to run efficiently and grow?
If the dominating thoughts in your mind are not business-related, then you are not doing business, you are doing something else. Remember that you are the result of your most dominating thoughts. Make a decision to align your thoughts in the direction of your vision. If you are not sure about your vision, make it a point to start working on that immediately.
How you spend your time
Time is the most precious resource you have as a business owner. Are you really spending time on your business and craft? I am shocked when a new business owner is the last to wake up yet the first to go to bed. I fall off my chair when they spend more time at social events than they do at networking or business-related events. Understand me well, I am not saying do not have a social life, however, there must be a reasonable time spent on your business. It takes TIME to build your business.
Take time to look into your schedule, if you don’t have one, start by creating one. Be intentional about how you spend your time, create the discipline. Make time in your schedule to attend networking events, make time to work, create and produce at the time of day when you are most effective. You have the privilege of flexibility as a business owner, use that to your advantage, not your demise.
Results
They say that the proof is in the pudding, that is so true. There has to be results which you can measure, and you can only have results if you are spending your time working, creating and producing. Results are measured in many ways, growth, bottom line, even through failure. A business that is not showing any results, be it positive or negative is not working, that means that YOU are not working.
Ensure that you are trying and doing new things, some will work out and some will not. As John Maxwell says, sometimes you WIN and sometimes you LEARN. There is no losing in trying something new.
Know this, more often than not, the business takes the shape of its owner. What shape are you in? Once you have the right mindset and spend your time productively, your business will begin to reflect that. Ditch the environment of unemployment and create one of true self-employment.
Fetch your mind, fetch your time, fetch your results.
Princess Mashamahite
Executive Director: TAELO Administrative Solutions