7 challenges to becoming your own boss

Branching out to be the boss

In any economy, many branch out in an effort to become their own boss, be it in the real estate, marketing, design or other, seeking control over their finances or simply freedom from the corporate grind. In a down economy, some people do so when they have no options, but many don’t know the challenges they face.

While becoming your own boss sounds like the perfect solution to the woes of your everyday workday, that isn’t always the case. Being your own boss comes with numerous challenges and hurdles. But if you’re prepared to take on those challenges in order to ultimately improve yourself and reach your professional goals, you’ll be one step closer to making the entrepreneur experience your way of life. Here are seven challenges that you will run into when you make the switch to being your own boss.

Challenge one: motivation

1. Staying Motivated – With no one standing over you to complete your work, it can be hard to stay motivated. You have to push through those moments of resistance and keep working. No one is there to push you, only yourself.

Challenge two: customers

2. Dealing with Unhappy Clients or Customers – Because you’re the boss, you have to deal with the unhappy clients or customers yourself. When you worked for someone else, you could always transfer those clients to someone higher up on the chain. But as an entrepreneur, you’re it.

Challenge three: finances

3. Sometimes You’re Paid Last – As the boss, you’re the last one to be paid. When you’ve had a tight month, you have to pay your employees and your bills first. And then you get what is left over, and sometimes, that’s not a lot.

Challenge four: bad guy

4. Forced to Be the Bad Guy – If there is an employee you need to fire or client you need to let go, you are usually forced to be the bad guy. And because you’re the boss, every decision will be based on your personal decision, and everyone knows it.

Challenge five: the real boss

5. Your Clients Can Become Your Boss – While you don’t have a traditional boss, your clients can become your boss when they decide when to meet with you and when you should have project completed. If you’re not careful, your clients will start to make your professional decisions for you. You’ll have to find the balance between keeping your clients happy and maintaining your authority.

Challenge six: boundaries

6. Boundaries with Friends and Family – Because you’re in charge, your family and friends will assume that you can leave work or stop working whenever you want. They may expect you to leave at a moment’s notice to join them at a movie theater or out to lunch. Setting and enforcing those boundaries can be difficult.

Challenge seven: being alone

7. No One to Look Out for You – Since you’re at the top of your company, there’s no one there to look out for you like when you worked for someone else. Before, you had managers, supervisors, and company owners to make sure clients didn’t take advantage of you.

When you’re the boss, you have ample responsibility. You have to take the heat and ease things over with clients. You have to depend on yourself and have others depend on you. Even so, becoming your own boss can be fulfilling if you can handle the challenges that come along with it. When these challenges become too much, remember that every life goal requires some sacrifice. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be worth it.