The Business of You, Inc.
You're a business whether you realize it or not.
I think everyone should have a business. Even in you’re a w2 employee, you should have a side business.
It doesn’t even have to be profitable necessarily (but try to be profitable obviously).
There’s some obvious benefits and some not so obvious.
here are the big reasons:
Increased active income
The biggest reason everyone should have a business, even if you’re a w2 is to increase income.
One of the two killers of wealth is inflation, which is at historical highs (big thanks to the government for printing most the money in circulation in the last 3 years).
Everything is more expensive and it costs more to live than it did just a few years ago. I don’t have enough faith in the government to make the costs of things go down.
And who couldn’t use more income, right?
Taxes
Taxes is the 2nd killer of wealth and nobody pays more taxes than a w2 employee. But if you have a side business you can have write offs-meaning you pay less taxes on business expenses.
Just make sure you’re legal. Work with a tax professional. A good one will save you more money than they cost. If you want a recommendation message me and I’ll refer you to who we use.
The laws were written to benefit land owners and businesses owners. So be one of them, ideally both of them.
So don’t break the law, instead use the law to your advantage.
But what if I’m a w2 employee and I have zero interest in running a business
Maybe you have found bliss as an employee. You make all the money you want, you are perfectly fine paying higher taxes, or for whatever reason, you don’t want to be a literal business owner.
First off, I applaud you. If you’re happy with your career you’ve achieved something most don’t.
But I’d argue you are still a business owner. And here comes the other side of this.
The Business of You, Inc.
Within the last 2 years, a couple of mentors of mine helped me see the value of thinking of yourself as a business.
Essentially, you’re the CEO of your life.
I thought, well that’s an interesting perspective to take. I never considered that before and it’s changed the way I approach direction and goals.
I honestly could only think of upside to this. No downside.
You show up as more of a professional in all areas.
You are forced to take extreme accountability and ownership.
You take massive uncomfortable action.
It forces self development.
If you think about your life as you being the CEO. What would you do differently?
If you really want to have fun with this, create a board of directors helping you drive decisions and holding you accountable. (you get to pick them by the way).
Anyone can be on your board of directors. Real. Fictional. Living. Dead.
You want to learn guitar? assign Jimi Hendrix on your board of directors as head of music.
You want to cut expenses and create a budget? assign Dave Ramsey as your head of finance.
CEOs have to be thinking strategically at all times. They have to know the direction and steer the ship.
When was the last time you had a strategy meeting with your spouse to talk about the direction of the family?
how often do you review finances, expenses, cost cutting, and areas to invest in?
What is the 3 year, 5 year, and 10 year plan?
If your life was a company stock, is it going up or down?
Harsh Truths
To me the biggest benefit of thinking of yourself and operating as a business is that it forces telling yourself the truth about your life, where you’re at and why.
That’s an uncomfortable reality for a lot of people. It forces accountability. If a business fails or succeeds, the CEO takes the credit or the blame. There’s no hiding. no blaming. no excuses.
I think one of the most beneficial things you can do to create a better life for yourself is to take full accountability and own everything.
Assume its’ your fault, even when it’s not. It will serve you better than blaming outside circumstances or other people.
If you own it, you can change it.
Yes you have to admit you’re not perfect. You have to admit when you fail. And that’s too much for a lot of people, but it’s one of the most powerful things you can do.
So they accept a life of mediocrity, lying to themselves about where they are.
They tell themselves it’s ok, they don’t have to try hard, they don’t have to get up early.
They don’t have to work out or eat right. They’re perfect just the way they are. and they’ll blame it on their “mental health” being too important to stress about such things.
Your mental health comes from keeping promises to yourself, pursuing your obsessions, and not making excuses.
It comes from taking care of yourself. It comes from struggle.
It comes from choosing to be happy and being intentional about life.
When your head hits the pillow every night knowing you gave it everything you got, whether you win or lose.
That you’re doing everything you can to be the best version of yourself.
I’d rather fail for a lifetime trying to be my best than succeed at a life of mediocrity.
What do I mean by mediocrity?
I mean living like the majority of people, paycheck to paycheck.
no savings or investments.
sick, overweight, with a chronic disease.
On prescription medication that’s running havoc on their body.
in an unhappy marriage or one that ends.
Broken family.
Poor relationship with their kids.
working 40+ hrs per week at a job they don’t like until they’re 70.
to eventually die from a preventable disease as a result of living a life of convenience and pleasure.
I know that sounds pessimistic, but that’s just statistics of the way most people live, at least in first world countries, certainly in America.
I reject all of that.
A better way
What would you be if you decided to try hard in the areas of life that are most important to you?
what would happen if you no longer accepted capped income?
What if you had time to do things you enjoy?
what if you had a 10/10 marriage?
what if you had plenty of energy and loved the way you looked in the mirror?
What if you no longer had that chronic illness?
What if you knew how to be happy regardless of circumstance?
Have you ever had that small voice asking you these questions? Telling you you were capable of more?
Maybe you were lucky enough to have had a parent be that voice.
If you never had anyone that could be that voice, then you’ll have to be your own voice.
Find it. Create it. Then crank up the volume.
Max out that voice until it’s all you hear.
Then wake up everyday decide to crush everything.
Action steps:
Think of yourself and your life as a business. Just note down what you’d do differently. Take off your realist hat and put on your dreamer hat. There are no limits to this. Don’t worry about how it’ll get done, that’s for another time.
Keep innovating.
