Paul E. Casey's Self-Employment Tip: Judgment 

Question: Do you exercise good judgment?

Today, I want to address the need for good judgment for successfully sustaining your business.   Nothing has disappeared from the American landscape during my lifetime faster than good judgment. You can read all the books including mine, about starting your own business but in the end your success or failure comes down to whether you exercise good or bad judgment. Unfortunately, like experience, good judgment can’t be taught. By the time you are in your 20’s or 30’s, you have either acquired good judgment or you haven’t.

Unfortunately, like experience, good judgment can’t be taught.

Have you exercised good judgment when you look you back on your life thus far?  Do you demonstrate good judgment in choosing friends and people you like to hang around with?  How about the jobs you have taken or the lifestyle choices you have made?  How many times have your business or personal relationships ended in mistrust or contempt for another person or organization?  We all have some baggage but do you have a history of making bad judgment calls or repeating the same mistakes?

Bottom line: If you feel that you’ve been happy with your choices in life, and if you are a person who has generally exercised good judgment, there is a very, very good chance that you will succeed in self-employment.

If you want to find out about other personality traits that will measure potential success in self-employment, take the 5-minute self-employment quiz.   The higher you score, the higher your prospects for success. Or buy my book "Is Self-Employment For You? 10 Years Later" today.

 

Posted by Paul E. Casey Thursday, November 3, 2016 5:36:00 PM Categories: business tips self-employment tips

Paul E. Casey's Self-Employment Tip: Security = Steady Paycheck? 

Question: Does security equal a steady paycheck?

Today, I want to address the psychological need for a steady paycheck vs. living in fear with the uncertainty of when and where the next paycheck will come from. Many people will not consider self-employment because they live in fear of not having access to a steady paycheck. This is understandable. The prospect of living on a park bench can be daunting.
One of the biggest myths about self-employment is that entrepreneurs are huge risk takers. Most successful entrepreneurs never risk more than they are willing to lose. In other words, we know when to walk away from the Blackjack table. We are prudent with our money and are risk adverse. We keep enough money in our savings account to live on for at least a year, in case our financial projections are off.  If things do not work out, we always have a fallback position.

One of the biggest myths is that entrepreneurs are huge risk takers.

Successful entrepreneurs develop a solid plan of attack (often referred to as a business plan). We keep our overhead low and grow slowly. We are not just trying out self-employment to see if it works. We have made a commitment to a self-employed lifestyle.

Most entrepreneurs are of the mindset that the security of a paycheck or security in life, is an illusion. You can do things to put yourself in a more secure position but none of us knows exactly what tomorrow will bring.

Bottom line: I have interviewed thousands of small business owners. We universally believe that owning your business provides more security than working for someone else.

If you want to find out about other personality traits that will measure your potential success in self-employment, take the 5- minute self-employment quiz.  The higher you score, the higher your prospects for success. Or buy my book "Is Self-Employment For You? 10 Years Later" today.

Posted by Paul E. Casey Friday, October 21, 2016 12:03:00 PM Categories: self-employment success self-employment tips