You Know It’s Time to Quit Your 9-5 Job When..

Can you say that you truly love your job? Not very likely, according to the research. Among other things, recent studies reveal that 48% of employees worldwide don’t even like their jobs, more than 80% of US workers feel stressed at the office, and only 30% feel “engaged and inspired” by their careers.

When you started as an employee*, didn’t you think you’d have much more freedom? I did too during my years as a full-time social worker.

But it was about 4 years in when it began to dawn on me that in fact, I had traded off my happiness and freedom doing what I love to have a handful of bosses and some self-gratifying moments.

And as I’m sure you know all too well, it’s those “clients and supervisors” that seemed to occupy all my time. You know them: The ones who pester you with emails and phone calls, send you relentless rounds of revisions, and never seem to understand how you feel. Ugh!

Then there was the issue of micromanagers.
Micromanagers may have good intentions – trying to get work done well – but they drive us crazy. “because a consistent pattern of micromanagement tells an employee you don’t trust his work or his judgment, it is a major factor in triggering disengagement.”

There were times when I’d submit my proposal, feeling really proud of the well-thought-out solution I had delivered. Then piece by piece, my supervisor picked it apart. They just didn’t get it. No matter how much I pushed back, they simply wouldn’t be satisfied until I had it their way. Has this happened to you?

Those were my more stressful times as an employee. But here’s the thing that really motivated me to make a change:
I Needed Financial Security
“Forbes reports that by the year 2033 Social Security will no longer be there!.”

It scared me then when I thought about the reality of my situation. my daily existence was tied to my 9 to 5 and the day I stopped going to work, my salary automatically stopped. I’ve seen the rise and fall of several economic cycles with many people losing their source of income practically overnight, I know a secured 9-5 job is not the way to go. With the opportunity of having multiple streams of income as a business owner, my worry is less now.

I Wanted a Flexible Work Schedule
I firmly believe that whoever controls your time controls your destiny. One of the bad things about having a job is that you have to be physically present in order to make money. In most cases, a job requires you to be present at fixed hours during the day and you usually have to work 5 or more days in the week. With 3 energetic kids and my wife pregnant with our 4th child, while attending college, I knew this arrangement is not workable and practical for me. The great thing about having a business, is that you can make money 24 hours a day.
From Employee to Business Owner

Over the years that followed, I transitioned out of being merely an employee, earning my living from paycheck to paycheck, to being a business owner, building something of value that grows steadily year after year.

Can you relate to any of the challenges that I described above? Then perhaps it’s time for you to promote yourself and become a true business owner.

Here’s what that will mean:

1. True freedom. I’m not talking about the freedom to work from home, in your PJs. As a business owner you’ll gain the freedom to earn revenue that isn’t tied directly to your time. Freedom to focus on the big picture, the next thing, instead of putting out fires all day long.

2. Growth. Your business will be designed to scale up and grow. You’ll finally break through that ceiling on the number of customers you can serve at any given time. You can grow your team so you’re no longer doing everything yourself.

3. Building an Asset. As an employee, the only thing that has value is your time. As a business owner, you’ll build an asset (the business itself), which grows in value year after year. Someday, your exit strategy might be to sell it. Or, you can build systems for the business to produce income and run itself, while you focus on the next thing.

Life of purpose and fulfillment

The moment I made the decision to become a business owner was the moment I decided to live a purposeful life and build a business around my calling and inspired idea from God. To turn my God-inspired idea into profitable business.

However, starting a business is not automatic, it requires effort and time. I once read that starting a business can be likened to planting a Chinese bamboo tree that takes five years to sprout out under the ground but will grow up to 90 feet tall the 5th year alone.

And that’s where we’ll leave it for today. The takeaway? It’s time you gave yourself a promotion, from paid employee to business owner. The path to getting there is having a revelation for an idea, and turning this inspired idea into a profitable business. I’ll show you how in the upcoming lessons in this course.

Coming up next: Before you quit your 9 to 5 job
Until Next Time… BE INSPIRED TO SUCCEED!