Building a Business Means You're in Control: Let's Discuss the Illusion of Steady Income and Job Security in Corporate!
Meet Elise: we discussed perception over reality regarding steady income, job security and control you have in building a business.
When Elise Willett and I met (on Zoom several continents apart!) we talked about how crazy it is knowing that the steady paycheck many of us “count” on is not actually so steady. Both of us have experiences, and people we know, based on corporate restructure, mergers, and acquisitions. All ultimately leading to a sudden change in stable and steady income. We talked about how you can be in control of your income by building a business.
And I invited her to write about it.
· Read her article below.
· Open your mind to what “job security” and a “steady income” truly means.
· Take an action towards being in control and setting up your Plan B for your income by building a business.
Elise is a business coach, course creator, automation specialist and lawyer. Her focus: teaching female founders of coaching or consulting businesses how to attract their first 5+ high-ticket clients in 90 days using my Female Founders Formula. In others words: helping women who are building a business.
Note: As a blogger, I use affiliate links sometimes! I may receive commission from purchases on links I share, but it does not change your price.
Most of us want to experience stability, security, and exposure to the least amount of risk when it comes to our employment.
And most of us are also wired to view our corporate roles as the stable option compared with entrepreneurship. After all, the pay is generally consistent, and work becomes predictable.
It’s an interesting way to think because when we’re employed by
someone else, we don’t actually maintain any real control, whereas
when we create our own businesses as entrepreneurs, we’re in the drivers’ seat
and have a far greater degree of control over our future.
Sure, you can have a ‘permanent’ position in a corporate company
but if your employer meets the legal criteria for making you redundant, for
example, your job security can be completely dissolved.
Image by Joey Velasquez from Pixabay
Are you indispensable?
Unless you work within a highly-skilled, niched role, you’re
largely dispensable. Businesses can be merged, acquired, or change their
strategic direction at any moment and in doing so, dispense with several of
their staff.
We all want to believe we’re valued and will be treated with
respect by our employers but when budgets and profits are on the line, and a
business falls on hard times, it’s unusual for them to cling tightly to their
existing staff numbers and maintain company loyalty.
Image by Thomas Malyska from Pixabay
Covid-19 as a prime example
The recent pandemic has shown, yet again, how fragile job security
can be. If the casualisation of the workforce and gradual erosion of collective
workers’ rights didn’t prove the point, Covid-19 absolutely did.
At least 114 million people lost their jobs during 2020 and
millions of others had their hours slashed.
I had a conversation with an American woman recently who indicated
that she was laid off at a moment’s notice from her corporate position, when
Covid struck. She had worked for the same company for more than 10 years and
joined a lengthy list of peers who were fired in quick succession using the
same Zoom meeting link.
Brutal.
Note from Daphne: I am that American who began to feel that steady income slipping away! Read my article here on how my Covid layoff was a blessing.
Image by Joshua Woroniecki from Pixabay
The benefits of building your own biz
You’ve likely heard it all before when it comes to the subject of starting
your own business and reaping the benefits. But deep down you’ve wondered
whether it’s really as financially rewarding or as flexible as some make it out
to be?
In truth, it’s almost always the hardest in the beginning when you’re
building everything from scratch and your business is finding its feet…
But the upside is you choose how little or how much you work and can
design your business to fit within your life (and not the other way around!).
· You choose whether you want
to begin your business while you keep your corporate job or whether you take
the plunge, go all in and quit your corporate role.
· You decide how you run your
business and its mission and values.
· You get to enjoy the tax
incentives of running a small business.
· You get to decide how big
your business becomes.
And lastly, you also get to enjoy the sense of pride and purpose
from building a business from the ground up, that has a real and beneficial
impact on the lives of others.
Photo by Rizky Subagja on Unsplash
If we can’t depend on our employment, can we depend on
ourselves?
With the global economy teetering on the edge, rising inflation,
as well as a pandemic, there’s an abundance of reasons to consider how you can
establish self-reliability.
The way we attribute our locus of control impacts our choices. Our
decisions are heavily influenced by:
1) whether we believe that our circumstances and things that happen
to us are external from our control, that is, we believe luck or fate plays a
part, or
2) whether we believe we’re largely in control of what happens to us through
our abilities and efforts.
People who have an external locus and view successful
entrepreneurs as ‘lucky’, are less likely to believe they themselves could
achieve a similar result and might instead remain wedded to a corporate role
even if it’s no longer perceived as dependable as it once was.
In contrast, those who believe they can create their own success
through their efforts, talents and skills, are more likely to embrace
self-efficacy and be open to pursuing entrepreneurship.
RELATED: Click here for Psychosocial Rehabilitation Specialist, Educator and Author Kendra Cherry’s stellar explanation of locus of control.
Image by Manfred Antranias Zimmer from Pixabay
Plugging the job ‘stability’ gap with self-efficacy
The good news is we don’t need to be at the behest of the
employment market. We can play a significant role in creating our desired
future.
Many of us often don’t know how or where to begin. Others are
unsure of where their strengths and skills lie and what they would do. And I
appreciate that there’s many who have no interest in entrepreneurship for
whatever reason.
For people who wish to tread the entrepreneurial path, having
self-belief and commitment to your goals is essential, and it’s incredibly
important to have a clear strategy for where you want to go in your business.
It’s important to examine where your strengths, skillsets and
passions lie when considering the kind of business you want to build. Being
deliberate and purposeful in the kind of entrepreneur you wish to be is crucial
for your success.
If you’re stuck for ideas then grab a pen and paper and brainstorm
your expertise, experiences, strengths, skills and passion.
Ask yourself: what can I offer? What problems can I help people solve?
RELATED: The 4-Hour Workweek is Daphne’s recommendation to really dive deep! In addition to ideas for steady income, it supports a mindset shift for anyone thinking about building a business.
Multiple income streams
Once you begin your business, establishing multiple channels of
income will help you fortify your financial security and reduce your dependence
on a 9-5 role. By diversifying your business interests, you’ll avoid the sting
of an economic downturn or pandemic much more than you otherwise would.
The options are endless when it comes to creating multiple streams
of income but set your focus on mastering one at a time instead of spreading
yourself too thin and not getting anywhere.
Some examples include:
- selling digital or physical products
- teaching a class online
- writing an eBook
- affiliate marketing
- selling services etc. etc.
Not all these strategies will work for your business, and you
might not be interested in running an ecommerce shop or writing an eBook but
remember that you can always get third party expert help in managing the things
you aren’t naturally drawn to.
Image by bohacekmarek from Pixabay
Where to next?
Partnering with a mentor or coach can keep you accountable and
assist you in knowing exactly what you need to be doing next.
If you regularly daydream about stepping out and creating your own
business, then shoot me a DM so we can chat a bit more about your vision and
how to bring it to life.
CTA from Daphne: share your thoughts on job security and steady
income in the comment box and download the 6-Step Checklist to Escape the 9-5 here.
Also grab this free legal course from the Blogging for New Bloggers team!
Reach Elise:
If you’re a female founder of a coaching or consulting business and eager to meet other amazing female founders to share your experiences and insights and you’re read to improve your business’ growth with practical know-how and expert guidance, then join her Facebook group: The Female Founders Global Network | For Early-Stage
