Entrepreneurship. Freelancing. These so-called alternatives to 9-5 life have become increasingly popular over the years, though I feel it’s largely for the wrong reasons. Today I want to discuss the real benefits of entrepreneurship and freelancing.
Below we’ll look at what people think the benefits of entrepreneurship and freelancing are, and then take a closer look at what they actually are.
My hope is that if you’re a freelancer or entrepreneur, this post will provide you with immense clarity. You don’t need to agree with my opinions, but I hope they’ll get you thinking differently about your own business and life. It’s my goal to save you years of suffering, confusion, and lost time.
Let’s get started.
What People Think the Benefits of Entrepreneurship & Freelancing Are
1. Getting Rich
“Entrepreneur” has become synonymous with “someone who makes sh*t tons of money.” There’s nothing wrong with being rich or wealthy, but the reason I wanted to touch on this is because I don’t think it’s one of the primary benefits of being an entrepreneur. You may feel differently. But hear me out.
First of all, there’s no guarantee that you’ll become rich as an entrepreneur. Consider, too, that wealth and riches mean different things to different people. For example, I now consider a life that is time-rich and location-independent to be infinitely richer than a life where I have no time and am tied to an office for 8-10 hours a day – no matter how well I’m compensated for it.
There are probably at least a dozen things in my life that I prioritize above material wealth. So while there is the potential to get rich as an entrepreneur, I don’t consider it one of the main benefits, and it was never one of the primary motivations when I decided to work for myself.
2. “Growing” or “Scaling” Your Business
Whenever someone asks me about my plans to grow or scale my business, I try (and sometimes fail) not to roll my eyes. Sorry, but I have no interest in having employees, physical office space, company vehicles, multiple meetings and phone calls a day, keeping constant tabs on people and projects, or any of the other things that involve growing a business or running a large business.
One of the reasons I decided to work for myself in the first place is to create the business and lifestyle that I want. I don’t like sitting in meetings, keeping tabs on others, or talking to people all day. So I don’t. I’m primarily a writer, which means I like sitting in a quiet room and writing (and wearing pajamas half the time while I do it). So that’s 95% of what I do. Every day.
I don’t care whether that business model carries the outward appearance of success. It makes me enough to meet all my expenses and save a huge portion of my income. Too many people in this space have the ideology of a cancer cell: growth at all costs, more more more. At a certain point, enough is enough.
To go even further: it’s not just that I’m uninterested in growing or scaling my business. I try as hard as I can to do the exact opposite. I want my business to be as small, simple, and stress-free as possible. That may not be what you want. But guess what? I don’t care. Because it’s my business.
In short: I respect the entrepreneur who lives in alignment with his lifestyle and values much more than someone who’s super rich or has a “big” business.
The Actual Benefits of Entrepreneurship & Freelancing
1. Keeping Fascination & Curiosity Alive
I used to think I wanted to be an English professor. But shortly into my college career, I realized how narrow the scope of academic life can be. As a professor, one must specialize, be it in the works of a specific author like Shakespeare or Milton, or the literature of a specific era or geography.
For some people, becoming highly specialized is exactly what they want. But this has never been how I like to work (or learn). I get fascinated with things and then lose interest in them. I fall in love with things then throw them aside and move onto something else. Sometimes I circle back to these old loves, other times I don’t.
With the kind of work I do now as a freelancer, there’s simply much more diversity of projects, such that I never get bored and can always find something I genuinely enjoy working on. I’ve written sales letters for oil and gas companies, websites for CBD companies, landing pages for streaming services, and emails about Chinese tonic herbalism.
If I get tired of client work, I can write for this website or a site I run about acoustic music. Or I can write poems, stories, or a book. There are a thousand directions I can move in. For many people, this is overwhelming or distracting. For me it’s extremely liberating and one of the biggest benefits of the entrepreneurial/freelance life.
2. Creating Meaningful Work
Many of us wander through life in a daze, and suddenly find ourselves doing work and living a life that isn’t meaningful.
We’re told to just work hard, make money, and not think about it too much. You’ve gotta play the game – and doing work that kinda sucks is just part of the game. Right?
As a freelancer or entrepreneur, you can go a different way. You can introspect to find work that is meaningful, impactful, and engaging. I wrote an entire post on how to do so. But you’ll also find more advice on this below.
3. The Freedom to Say “No.”
One way to create meaningful work is by recognizing its opposite, and avoiding it. When you first start out as a freelancer or business owner, you might take any work that comes your way. That’s understandable. You need to build up some savings, a portfolio, and a track record.
But at a certain point, something else needs to happen. You need to learn that you have access to a strange new power, one you’ve never been able to leverage as an employee. I’m talking about the freedom to say “no” to paths of action that don’t resonate with you.
Say it with me now:
Something feels off about the client? – Say: “No.”
New prospect reaches out, but you’re already booked up and have other plans for your time? – Say: “No.”
Great paying gig, but it doesn’t match your ethics/brand/interests? – Say: “No.”
By saying no, you free yourself to give your gift where it matters most. You take back your time, and stake out a meaningful ethos around your work.
4. The Freedom to Say “Yes.”
Once you see that you can safely say “no,” you can begin saying “yes” to the things that do resonate with you.
You can take risks. You can move in any direction you want.
Today, I could walk away from writing and say “yes” to running a business entirely about guitars.
I could stop doing client work for a year or two, and say “yes” to focusing exclusively on my own books, blogs and passion projects.
But it doesn’t have to be that extreme. I can say “yes” to working out or going for a walk while the rest of the world is at their day job. I could say “yes” to taking a month or two off work.
Are you beginning to see how much freedom you can get out of the simple words Yes and No?
5. Betting On Yourself
You’re reading this post on a website that currently produces zero income for me. Now, that may change in the future. In fact, it’s very likely to change in the future, as I’ve been able to monetize blogs and websites in the past.
I have another blog that I’ve worked on for about a year that’s just now starting to pay me $100+/month. Maybe that sounds like chump change to you, or maybe it sounds like some solid passive income. Either way, that’s not really the point.
The point is this: try telling the average person “Hey, you need to work hard on this thing for one year and accept the fact that you might completely fail and make no money at all. Oh, and if you do start making money, it won’t be very much at first.” Most people would have no interest in such an undertaking.
But here’s the thing: maybe this site doesn’t make me any money at all. Or maybe in two or three years I look up and see that it’s cash-flowing several thousand dollars a month. I think the second possibility is more likely than the first, and I’m willing to bet on it. Blogging (if you actually write the posts yourself) is a relatively “lean” business, so I don’t have to bet much money, just my time.
I’m highly liquid, time-rich, and location-independent, so I can take big risks that others can’t. I can work on things that others would disregard as a pipe dream. I can play the long game, because I know that “genius is eternal patience,” and wait for my masterpiece to manifest. I can bet on myself.
More (Contrarian) Ideas for Freelancers & Entrepeneurs
Did you enjoy the ideas above? Some of them were influenced by the following books…
These 2 books changed the way I thought about work and business, and inspired some of the ideas in this piece:
- Company of One – By Paul Jarvis
- Anything You Want – By Derek Sivers