The Benefits of Being Your Own Boss

Except for a blessed few, almost all of us have to work for a living. Sometimes it's a profession or career field that we enjoy, but more often it's not. Thus, many of us dream about being our own boss, of having our own business. However, stepping out there on your own can be scary, but also liberating. Plus - regardless of whether you're writing articles or opening a pizza parlor - there are lots of benefits to being your own boss.

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One of the immediate benefits of being your own boss is - guess what? No more horrible bosses! Almost everyone at one time or another has worked for someone who was just a world-class jerk: they blame you for their mistakes, they take credit for your ideas, they make impossible demands (and act as though you're a bad employee for not being able to comply), etc.

Likewise, being your own boss means no longer having to deal with inept co-workers. You know, the ones who always arrive late and leave early. Or slip away for a smoke break and expect you to cover for them. Or who are quicker than the Flash in reporting to the boss every time they think you've made a mistake.

In short, these are headaches you can finally rid yourself of. If there's a jerky boss around, it'll be you. (But everyone's going to love you, right?) And with you at the helm, bad co-workers will have to seek other pastures.

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One of the first perks of being your own boss - assuming you work out of your home (like article writing) - is definitely the tax breaks. Deductions for utilities, travel, meals, etc. Most people don't realize it, but taxes are one of the biggest roadblocks to getting and maintaining wealth.

But even if you aren't working out of your home, being your own boss means that you probably use your car for business, and I think the deduction last year was something like 50 cents per mile. That's huge in my opinion.

Let's face it: you're unlikely to get rich working for someone else. At best, your efforts will make them rich instead. And if you think they'll show you any gratitude by sharing the wealth, you are sadly mistaken. Take Nikola Tesla, for example.

Nikola Tesla is probably the greatest inventor who ever lived. He invented radar, remote control, flourescent lighting, discovered x-rays, and much, much more. At his zenith he was as famous as any other scientist and inventor of his day, including Thomas Edison. In fact, Tesla once worked for Edison, and solved some of the most difficult problems faced by Edison's company. In fact, Edison purportedly offered Tesla a $50,000 bonus if he could solve a particularly thorny mechanical/electrical problem. Tesla succeeded, and when he asked about his bonus Edison allegedly replied that Tesla - an ethnic Seb who was born in what is now Croatia - had a lot to learn about American humor. (That's bosses for you!) Tesla tendered his resignation.

As your own boss, you won't have to deal with this this type of gamesmanship. You'll earn what you can and pay yourself - handsomely, I hope - what you're worth rather than the going market rate for someone at your age, with your level of knowledge, experience, etc.

(And lest you think I was exaggerating about Tesla being the greatest in ventor in history, the electric supply chain he developed is still used today; it's what's delivering electricity to your home or business right now. And the induction motor that's in every appliance from televisions to refrigerators came from Tesla, too. And the ignition system in your car? That's a Tesla invention as well. And although they gave Marconi a Nobel prize for "inventing" the wireless radio, he did it using 17 of Tesla's patents, causing the U.S. Supreme court to belatedly rule - nine months after his death in 1943 - that Tesla was the inventor of radio.)

The best thing about being your own boss is simply the fact that you're the boss. You're not beholden to anyone, no longer at the beck and call of another party. Moreover, statistics show that people who own their own business have the best chance of becoming millionaires. Typically, there's a belief that you'll work harder and do more for the business if you have an ownership stake in it. For instance, if you work for someone else, when the weekend comes you don't even want to think about the job until Monday. But if it's your own business, you'll spend the weekend coming up with ways to get more customers, make more sales, etc. Thus, it literally pays to be your on boss.

With that in mind, it would probably benefit you to start your own business. No one is saying that you have to quit your day job, but you should probably start trying to generate another source of income. Whether it be Squidoo or something else, just get started. You can find several options on my lens for Generating Passive Income.

(FYI: If you're looking for something to get into, just rememebr that the field that poduces the most new millionaires each year is...(drumroll, please): sales!)