Actually you already are the Boss of Yourself, you perhaps just don’t fully realise it yet. Keep reading and I’ll try and prove to you that you are indeed your own Boss.
I will show you what you need to look out for and nurture within your character in order to be successful, and also how you can use these things to your financial benefit.
You may as well accept it and take full personal responsibility because, after all – you’re the Boss.
Everyone Works For Themselves
You are ultimately responsible for what happens to you in your life and are definitely responsible for your income. It doesn’t matter who pays your wages each month. I am here to tell you that by thinking or acting as though you are 100% dependent upon a company for your income is ultimately a disaster waiting to happen.
When the proverbial ship sinks… and it always does at some point, who is there to guarantee that you and your family get that lifejacket or a seat on the rescue boat?
In these times of troubling uncertainty it has become even more important to get greater control over your financial situation.
Mega companies and corporations such as the banks and airlines are playing a different game to the rest of us. They will always get bailed out by central governments in order to protect their down-side when they have money problems. They have mastered the art of privatizing profits and socializing losses.
You and I, the normal citizen are not that fortunate – we are the collateral damage, expendable and non-essential. Bail-out? What bail-out? Pennies on the proverbial dollar that’s what we get – if we’re lucky.
Don’t believe me?
The Coronovirus Pandemic March 2020
Well take a good look at what is happening as a result of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic sweeping the globe as I write this (March 2020).
Millions of people, especially Americans, where healthcare is not free at the point of contact like in some countries, are getting a devastatingly hard reality check.
With layoffs spreading like the aforementioned coronavirus, many employer-provided insurance policies won’t be there to protect the average American and their families.
Not to mention mortgage, car, assorted subscriptions and every other payment plan we pick up along the road to so-called prosperity. Whatever your political or economic viewpoint it’s a sobering and gut-wrenching scenario when the financial rug gets pulled from beneath someone when they least expect it.
Money is not everything – but is sure is something in times like these.
*Take a look at this 3-minute video from December 2019 posted on Instagram which shows me in my car talking about the need to look after your loot.
On the gambole homepage we mention briefly the need to secure or save 25% of your income for future financial problems – this applies to everyone!
Being The Boss Of Yourself...
It Ain’t All Sunshine And Roses
Being the Boss of Yourself, isn’t always a smooth ride. So what though, even smooth rides have to get bumpy at some point along the way – it’s called ‘life’.
Taking responsibility or being accountable for your own actions and what happens to you in this life is a game-changer. Being the Boss of Yourself may require small or big changes in your mindset and some people will be able to make the transition easier and quicker than others.
This mindset change requires you to think of yourself in terms of a being a Business or a Brand. But unlike companies which have many different departments and managers etc, being the Boss or CEO of Yourself means it’s just you to start off with.
Yes, you’re the big cheese… all responsibility is on you. The whole enchilada. This may seem daunting or like a lot of extra responsibility, but the thing is – it has always been this way – you just didn’t realise it.
In the words of an old De la Soul song it’s just “Me, Myself, and I”.
So Boss, Let’s Get Started…
Just like any conventional business in its initial start-up phase, you must first decide the market in which you are going to operate, or trade in.
Next draw up a business plan, making sure you also do a SWOT analysis (competition strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) within that plan.
So far so good?
Next you will have a balance sheet. This is where we veer from the conventional business plan and get all solopreneurial or entrepreneurial if you prefer.
On this business plan your skills will be your assets and your liabilities will be any skill you don’t possess and will have to outsource or pay for.
Some liabilities will be greater than others and will need to be risk assessed accordingly dependent upon the type of business you’re entering into.
Any learning or growth mindset thinking will represent your investment whilst your past relevant experience will be your capital assets.
It’s worth noting the experiences you bring to the table as capital can be varied. After all, who knows when your business asset or ability to speak basic French will come in useful?
Believe you me that asset can be priceless to your business (you) when you least expect it.
Parlez Vous Anglais?
How A Little Bit Of French Went A Long Way
Many years ago, in the hot summer of 1998 myself and a partner spent a couple of days in a small remote gîte or hotel in the South of France. An hour after checking out and driving back towards Paris I realised we had left both of our passport under the pillows in the bedroom. (Don’t ask, it was 1998 and travelling on a budget!)
Thankfully, I was able to drive back to the hotel and explain clearly what had happened and safely retrieve the passports without issue. Needless to say the very limited French I had learned years ago in school was priceless in that instance.
The very same principle would apply to your business in many different ways. So think carefully about the various assets you bring to your business, they come in many different guises!
Develop Your Personal Charisma
People often buy people first, not the product itself, especially if you offer services in a crowded marketplace.
So ask yourself, “What is going to make me, or my Brand stand out”?
It is not just about offering the cheapest service because that’s ultimately a failing strategy on its own in most cases.
A fancy website, pretty brochures and pristine logos are great – but those three things have become so generic and commonplace with the advent of services such as Fiverr that they lack the credence they once commanded.
Take a look at yourself through objective eyes.
What you look like in terms of personal presentation and, equally as important – it’s not just ‘what’ you are saying but ‘how’ you are saying it.
Is your brand image and personal image congruent?
Do they sit in alignment with each other?
If you are running a sartorial business but your personal profile and activities see you looking continually jaded and unkempt, then that will be negatively working against you.
Be True To Your Brand
Your brand should be authentic. Being authentic is the key to credibility and long-lasting financial success for you in the 2020’s.
Being authentic is also the easiest thing to do, there should be no pretence – no hats to juggle no ‘getting into character’.
‘Keeping it real’ means that there is no mask to put on. Because if you do, eventually, when you least expect it – the mask will slip, and you will be exposed as a charlatan.
Your personal values also need to sit evenly with your brand image. Owning a vegan franchise and then tucking into meat burgers at the family get together will also kill your brand before you can say “It was just one bite”!
If you occasionally use mild expletives when naturally communicating with people in your everyday life then continue to do that in context and people will respect you for it.
Those people that don’t like it can choose not to buy into your brand – but at least they know what you’re about from the get-go. This open approach is far better than pretending butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth and then, one day out of the blue, a secret video emerges of you drunk and swearing like a trooper.
That scenario will cause you to lose credibility and business super quick!
Adopting that ‘this is me style’ hasn’t stopped the likes of Gary Vaynerchuk (who drops the occasional f-bomb).
Or Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson (who mixes acting and fitness alongside his own tequila brand), from being extremely credible and financially successful in what they do.
They have a niche, and they drill down into it and hit pay-dirt time and time again.
Start Out Small But Think Big!
We often don’t need other people to discourage or dissuade us because we do a pretty good job of it most of the time all by ourselves.
Don’t limit yourself by what you think you can do – instead focus on what you want to do and take multiple tiny steps to get there.
The Business Hidden Inside You
Most people have a pretty good set of business skills within them just waiting to break free.
Your inner critic may jump in from time to time and say: “Who me? Nah? No way!”
But we have all seen people step up to the plate and knock it out the proverbial ballpark when it mattered most in many different instances.
Everyday women or celebrities who publicly can’t seem to get their act together and then as soon as they become pregnant, it’s as though they flick an imaginary switch and become a totally different character.
They become the ‘ideal’ upstanding and responsible person. Even though that ‘person’ was always there waiting for the opportunity to step up to bat – and reveal themselves as they really are.
Too Busy Earning A Living
You have good business skills inside of you but are probably too busy earning a living to make any real life-changing money being your own Boss.
At Gambole.com we use a tried and tested, simple business model which gives you an opportunity to build a business that is unique to you. This duplicatable business model is unique because it can, and should, be built upon your values, your background and your personal experiences.
We are all unique, and as such our uniqueness is the differentiator that sets us apart and attracts people to us or conversely repels them.
As we talked about earlier – be authentically you. I can no more succeed at copying you than you could succeed at copying me.
And moreover, why would you want to copy anyone else?
Being the Boss of Yourself, solopreneur or entrepreneur, requires you to think about what sets you apart from the competition. What niche do you and your brand sit within and are you placed high or low within that niche?
Being The Boss of Yourself: An Inside Job
Are you truly passionate about what you and also bringing real value to the enterprise or are you merely trying to earn a living? There is no wrong or right answer, just be honest enough to know what the answer is – It makes future decisions easier to take when you’re placed in a dilemma.
Taking the challenge of being the Boss of Yourself enables you to choose your own path with complete autonomy. This independence can work for, and against you in equal measure if you don’t fully understand the concept.
Find your inspiration or your ‘why’ and push the boundaries out towards your own success. Think long and hard about ‘how’ you will build your own business around the global brand with our help at gambole.com
The Persistence of Ants
Have you ever seen a line of ants busily going about their task? I once observed a line of ants marching on their merry way in single file as if off out on a daytrip to Disney World to go see Mickey Mouse.
Intrigued as to what would happen if I interrupted their route, I placed a piece of wood directly on their predetermined path.
Quick as a flash, after a brief moment of confusion, they figured out a new route and used this new path as if they were marching along that path from the get-go.
This is also how steadfast and focussed people committed to being in control of their destiny naturally function. They get on with the ‘doing’, and ‘do it’ no matter what obstacles get in their way – no excuses!
If you have a strong enough desire. Can visualise the outcome with clarity and can draw up and implement a workable plan – you too can succeed at anything.
Don’t confuse Quitting with Failure
As Harvey Mackay once declared “Failure is an attitude, not an outcome”.
Quitting is the end of the road, the final destination. Period. Committed people don’t quit, they hold true to their vision and persist until they manifest their desires into reality.
You may at times need to take a detour along the path, but you will eventually get there if you hold the vision and follow the correct blueprint or map.
Learning From Temporary Failures
There was a single mother called Joanna living in Scotland who supplemented her income with the help of government handouts for her and her young daughter.
She filled her spare time diligently working on an idea for a children’s book.
When Joanna finally finished the first draft of her book she was excited to send it out to the book publishers whom she was sure would be as excited and pleased as she was.
Unfortunately all of the leading publishers she contacted over the months repeatedly rejected the manuscript time and time again. After months and months of rejection Joanna received news that one publisher was prepared to take a chance and agreed to pay her a small advance in return for the rights to publish the book.
The author, Joanna is now globally known as J.K. Rowling and the book was the first of the incredibly successful Harry Potter books.
“Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential… and (I) began to direct all my energy to finishing the only work that mattered to me… I had an old typewriter, and a big idea. And so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
– J. K. Rowling, "The fringe benefits of failure", 2008
Joanna K. Rowling knew the difference between quitting and failure and if you want to be the CEO of your own life, then you also need to understand the difference.
Next Steps To Becoming The Boss Of Yourself
Well, if you’re still reading this you must have got some value from this post.
If you want to learn more about how gambole.com helps people to quickly start their own low-cost, work-from-home business that makes them money quickly visit the site or Watch This 7-minute Video