being your own boss – Growing Forward

When Is It Time To Be The Boss?

07/30/2020 Scott AsaiLeave a comment

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

The dream? The dream is to be the boss of a successful and fulfilling company that makes money and doesn’t have to worry about pleasing or appeasing others.

The reality might be different. As an employee, you’re always working for somebody else and improving their bottom line, no matter how high up the ladder you climb. Of course, you want to make a move, but you don’t know when or how.

The latter is something you’ll learn in the future. Firstly, you must recognize the time to strike. Here are four signs that you are ready to be a boss.

You’ve Had A Taste And Want More

There’s no doubt that certain jobs are full of freedom and independence. Whether you get to decide your work schedule or don’t have a boss breathing down your neck, you’ll love the fact that you’re quasi in charge. Sure, marketing jobs may require you to report to a line manager now and then, yet mostly, you get to ride around in your car with a slogan on the side and the open road as your office. If you love these aspects of your current position, it highlights your desire to push for the career traits that you only find in management roles.

Climbing The Ladder Isn’t Satisfying

Previously, you loved nothing more than attempting to climb the corporate ladder and reach the top of the organization. Currently, the idea isn’t as fulfilling. There’s a lot of jumping through hoops, and you’re beginning to realize that you don’t get much in return. Plus, are the extra responsibilities and pay bump worth the hours you have to put in once you get promoted? According to the statistics, the answer is a firm no. Around 43% of the workforce is freelance or self-employed because they don’t subscribe to the traditional methods of working. The gig economy means you can be a leader.

You Adopt A Work Persona

In the office, it’s not rare for people to have a work persona. This is a character that you play because it helps you to be successful. It has nothing to do with who you are, yet it’s what employers and peers want to see, so you do it regardless. Unfortunately, not only is pretending to be somebody else stressful, but it’s also unproductive. As a boss, you can be who you want to be, and accept your workers for who they are, as you set the tone.

The Itch Can’t Be Scratched

You’ve tried to remove the thought from your mind, yet it won’t go away. You’re not alone as more than 60% of Americans want to own a business at some point in their careers. And, lots of them are realizing their dreams as they move out of corporate America and into the self-employment arena. Please don’t push your feelings down and keep them bottled up. If you experience an emotion strongly, you must listen to it.

Otherwise, you’ll miss the opportunity to do something fulfilling. Isn’t that scary?

Self-Motivation Secrets That All Entrepreneurs Should Know

06/17/2019 Scott Asai1 Comment

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If you’re a self-made entrepreneur then you’ll know the value of being able to motivate yourself. Without a doubt, self-motivation is one of the most important concepts to master if you’re going to do it yourself and become your own boss. However, reaching a stage where you can simply have an internal dialogue and get back to work is extremely difficult, which is why we’re going to impart some self-motivation secrets to help you become more successful with your business ventures.

Work how you want to

Self-motivation is a lot about having control over what you do. As seen in this article at https://growingforward.net/2016/01/21/how-working-remotely-benefits-your-health/, there are even health benefits to working the way you want to. Having more control over your work situation will make you realize that you’re in a more powerful position than you think, leading to some strong self-motivational realizations which will benefit you greatly.

Having a purpose in life

Having a purpose is arguably one of the most powerful ways to self-motivate yourself. A lot of people that work in offices and for employers will realize that they’re not motivated because they’re often doing something that they don’t believe in. Whether it’s the message that their company is trying to get across or the poor company culture, having a lack of a connection with your office can be detrimental to your motivation. This is why having a purpose with your business can be such a strong motivational push for your entrepreneurial career.

Dress like the entrepreneur you want to be

Outward appearances can become a huge motivational factor. For instance, having your own set of work-related accessories from https://commonfibers.com/ can drastically improve your business appearance and will help you separate work-related things with your personal life. Another example is being able to dress smartly for business meetings so that you can appear more suitable for your position as an entrepreneur. First impressions mean a lot in the world of business and having the confidence to dress appropriately is incredibly important for your self-motivation.

Self-motivation relies on your own set of rules

Discipline is important when it comes to self-motivating yourself, but being able to create your own rules and sticking to them can add a much bigger impact. Self-made entrepreneurs all have rules of life that they stick to; whether it’s the way you interact with others, the time you sleep at night or the number of hobbies you can have at once, having a strict set of rules that you abide by can help you muster up the motivation and courage to take your business venture far.

Self-motivation is certainly one of the most powerful things to learn when it comes to growing your business, but it’s difficult to attain unless you’re disciplined and have a general direction of where you want to take your life. Without something to guide you, it’s virtually impossible to become a self-motivated individual with a drive for success.

Is Starting An Online Business The Right Decision For You?

11/08/2018 Scott Asai2 Comments

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Starting a business – especially an online one has never been easier and more accessible than it is today.

In the past, starting a business was a huge big deal, and that’s not to say it’s not a big deal today, but it was just so out of reach for most people. Even 15-20 years ago, if you wanted to start a business you would have to have a really unique idea, or at least a very specific angle on an existing idea.

That was the easy part, you’d then have to invest a lot of money to get your venture off the ground and oftentimes this involved either having your own savings that you’d use or approaching the bank for a small business loan, and a lot of these were declined.

Fast forward to the present day, and anyone who knows how to switch on a computer can start an online business, there’s an endless amount of paid and free support for aspiring entrepreneurs to help them get started, as well the opportunity to work with clients from all over the world without even having to spend money on advertising to actually reach them – with social media, the world has become much smaller, and that’s a great thing for those looking to create a life on their own terms.

However, as the saying goes – just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Starting a business may be easier and more within reach, but it’s still hard work, and it’s definitely not for the faint of heart, so with this in mind, we wanted to give you a variety of points to consider for yourself if you’ve been thinking of starting an online business so that you don’t waste time or even money on something that you later realize was a mistake.

We want to help you make the right decision, so here are some things to consider when it comes to starting an online business.

We’re going to look at some of the wrong reasons people get into working for themselves.

The reason we’re doing this is because we know that social media can really show things in an unrealistic way and often people who are marketing things like courses to help others start an online business will flip these points around and manipulate people’s pain points to lure them into thinking that starting a business will solve all of their problems and make them millionaires when that really isn’t how it works.

We want to give you the full picture so that you have a realistic idea of what business entails and allow you to not make a mistake.

You may NOT want to start a business if these are your motivators:

You Hate Your Current Job:

Let’s be honest here, everyone has a moment of not loving their job, because life isn’t going to be perfect all the time, and no one is saying you should put up with a bad job and be miserable, but if this is your only motivation for starting a business, then your heart probably won’t be in it as much as is needed to keep going during tough times.

Many people who have started their business will often cite hating their job as a reason, but you can be guaranteed that if they’re enjoying a good level of success, then this is not the only reason.

You Hate Your Boss Even More:

Again, your boss may not be your favorite person in the world. In fact, they may be downright horrible, but using hatred for anything as a reason to start a business really isn’t bringing the best mindset or energy to your new venture.

You Only See The Dollar Signs:

Of course you need to make money, and you should always set good financial goals – especially for your business. Unless you’re running a charity, then you should never apologize for needing and wanting your business to be financially successful, but if money is your primary motivation, then your business is as good as doomed.

Not only will you find you have very little passion for your business, but you’ll fail to feel fulfilled, and as much as you may be surprised to realize it, people will actually see right through it, so you won’t really be as financially successful as you had initially hoped, anyway.

Even if you’re not completely focused on the money side of things, doing your homework before starting a business is definitely something you should be doing anyway so that you can estimate what the potential of that business is. Reading books on sales, marketing, attending webinars, and even getting your hands on some guides, such as Estimating Market Size: The Complete Guide For Startups And Small Businesses can really help you avoid a lot of the mistakes that new business owners make.

You Think Starting A Business Means You Won’t Have To Work:

Again, social media and the rise of self-proclaimed online business gurus shares a big part of the blame here for making the running of an online business look so flawless and easy, and whilst it’s true that you will have more freedom when you’re the boss, in order for your business to actually be successful you’re going to need to put in the work to make it happen. If your reasons for wanting to start a business is not wanting to do any work, then you may have to reconsider.

You Don’t Want To Work At Certain Times:

Yes, it’s true that in most cases when you have an online business, you have more flexibility and freedom over your schedule, but this is simply a perk and shouldn’t be a main reason for starting a business of any kind. The thing to realize is, when you’re the boss, you’re always the boss, so although you get to take time off if you want provided you have systems in place to cover you, you also have to step up when things go wrong, and sometimes things don’t always go to plan and you’ll have to to work at unusual times even if you don’t want to. Building a successful and sustainable business means taking the good with the bad and understanding that it won’t all be smooth sailing.

You Think It Will Be Easy:

Although people online can make it look easy, and just because it’s easy to start a business, that doesn’t mean that the day-to-day running of the business itself is easy. It’s also helpful to remember that social media rarely shows the challenges, problems and downsides of things, so it’s not the best place to be looking if you want a realistic idea of what running a business is all about.

Certainly, you should never start something just because you think it will be easy, because business is far from it, as is the case with most things that are worth doing.

You Don’t Like Authority:

Whilst none of us particularly enjoy being told what to do, if you’re only starting a business because you don’t want to answer to anyone, then this is only going to lead to bad things.

You Only Care About Having Fun:

Your business absolutely should be fun – otherwise there’s really no point, because it should be something you love to do each day and that you have a complete passion for, but if you’re only interested in having fun and are using that as your reasoning for wanting to start a business, then it’s not a great idea.

You Think It’s Going To Make You Famous:

In recent years there has been quite a disturbing growing trend of people using their online business as a way to make themselves famous – though there’s nothing wrong with creating fame through your business when done for the right reasons, many of these examples simply use it as a way to boost their ego and aren’t actually interested in helping people or using their business for the greater good.

Your business, depending on what industry its in does have the potential to make you famous in some circles, but if that’s your primary reason for getting into business, then you’re going to be sorely disappointed.

Not only will it lead you to a business that’s not enjoyable or fulfilling to you, but it takes a lot of time and energy to build up to that stage, and if you’re not creating authentic and organic fame for the right reasons and are using it for your ego, then people will see right through it and won’t want to work with you, anyway.

Someone Else Is Trying To Get You Onboard With Their Business Idea:

If someone else has a business idea and has approached you for a potential partnership, then this is something you need to think about very hard. There will be so many factors that go into making this decision, and that includes if the person is a family member or friend, and if you trust them to be able to run a business, as well as if they’re putting pressure on you to join them or are letting you decide at your own pace.

Having your own business is a wonderful thing and can lead to great rewards and a very satisfying career, but you need to be sure it’s the right thing for you before jumping in, and not just doing it because you feel like you should.

Nikki Shapes L.A.

04/15/201404/13/2014 Scott Asai1 Comment

I met Nikki about a year ago via Twitter. My wife and I were starting to put together a business called Community Perks and looking for small businesses to partner with us to serve the non-profits and schools in Santa Monica. We agreed to sit down and meet over coffee and I’m sure glad we did. At one point, we traded services so I know what it’s like to train with Nikki. She’s very attentive, listens well, yet can tell how hard to push you by reading your body language. When you meet her, it’s hard to imagine she can push you hard because she’s so nice, but don’t let her charm fool you. Personal trainers are about image (to me at least). If they don’t look the part, why would you hire them? Nikki walks the talk and she’s also committed to eating healthy too. If you’re struggling with weight or performance, I highly recommend contacting her!

1) Health/Nutrition is obviously a HUGE issue in the United States, so why did you become a personal trainer?

Physical fitness has always been a part of me. Growing up with one sister, I was the one playing sports with my dad and loved it! I became a personal trainer because I wanted to teach people how working out can be fun and beneficial at the same time. The benefits are endless 🙂 I also wanted to teach people how to correctly perform exercises so they do not injure themselves!

2) Why did you decide to leave a gym and train on your own? What are the pros/cons of being your own boss?

The reason I stayed at my previous gym for so long was for my clients. I couldn’t leave them! But life is about timing and I couldn’t stay at a gym (they changed owners) where I didn’t believe in their philosophy so that was my reason to leave! I took the leap and never looked back. Sometimes you just need a little push. If you love what you do and are passionate about what you do, you will succeed. Their are only pros to being my own boss. I get to make my schedule and get paid for all the time/energy that I put into my clients (instead of the gym taking 75%). You get out as much as you put into your business.

3) How would your clients describe your style of training?

I think they would say challenging, but fun. Each workout is different so they never get bored!

4) How do you gain new and retain current clients?

I believe I retain my clients because I actually really care about my clients and their goals. I also try and teach them how to make this a lifestyle change. You always have a couple people that don’t get it, but at least I can say I gave 110%. I gain new clients through my website, yelp, or referrals.

5) What’s one piece of advice you want to give fellow entrepreneurs?

If you believe in your product and work hard, you will succeed.

Nikki Kitamura has been a Personal Fitness Coach for over 13 years. She graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a B.S. in Kinesiology and is AFAA, CPR, Nutrition and First Aid certified. Nikki uses a “whole health” approach to solutions that ensures my clients experience lasting, sustainable results that improve their quality of life, confidence and overall well being.