Just because your girlfriend or boyfriend says you should be your own boss doesn’t mean you’re ready to be the boss. Many people ask me, “When do I go out on my own and be The Boss?” We are in this time where becoming an entrepreneur is wildly popular. We read about the amazing successes of young startups who go out on their own and create massive opportunities and wealth. The world becomes seduced into thinking they have to be the boss to be a success. You never hear about the millions of people who go out on their own only to crash and burn. Here is the deal on knowing when you are ready to be The Boss. Just because you’ve worked out your ‘boss pose’ on Instagram doesn’t make you ready to be the boss. A lease on a new car doesn’t make you ready to be the boss. Three months of savings money in the bank doesn’t make you a boss. A business card saying you’re the boss doesn’t make you ready to be the boss.

Just because the person you sleep with says you should be the boss doesn’t mean it is true. 

I have seen hundreds of cases over my career where a guy or gal works for a company, starts doing well, makes a little money—has a few good months, even a year—and then someone, close to them, whispers in their ear, “You should be the boss.” The person’s production immediately drops off at the company and they start to think, “Maybe I have run my toll here and now it’s my time to go out on my own.” We have all seen someone leave a company after a little success who thought he or she could do it better without any real understanding of what it takes to run a company or what it really takes to be the boss. It takes more being a boss than some inflated sense of self, a few months of good production, a little money in the bank, and a girlfriend saying you can do it.

Share this message to anyone considering going out on their own:

1) Just because the person you sleep with thinks you are ready doesn’t mean you are. 2) Just because you were a top performer for a couple of months doesn’t mean you are ready to be the boss for a lifetime. 3) If you never stepped up to be the boss where you were working you aren’t ready to be the boss where you will be working. If you want to be a boss then boss up and learn how to run people where you work now. 4) If you have to poach customers from the place you were working you aren’t a boss, you are a thief. 5) If you think the only way to be the boss is to go out on your own you aren’t ready to be the boss because you can’t even control your ego. 6) If you can’t hire people from day one then what are you going to be the boss of? While it is popular to work for yourself, the reality is that it doesn’t make you a boss, it simply means you’re working alone. If you want to be a boss you need a team. The definition of a boss is a person in charge of or one who directs workers or an organization.

Working for yourself is not being a boss it simply means working alone. 

If someone else put it in your head you should be “your own boss,” remember, never get your “boss” advice from the same place you get your sex. That by itself suggests you aren’t going to be a boss, hell, you aren’t even the boss in your own head. Most people have no idea what it takes to be the boss. It’s hard, it’s lonely, it requires tough decisions, burning through savings, crazy risks, going into debt, downgrading your lifestyle, long hours, weekends and holidays. Too many people go out on their own without the resources, the know-how, the persistence or the support to make it work. Most go out with inadequate finances underestimating how hard it is to achieve clients or how long it takes to become profitable. I shared this in detail in The 10X Rule how my first business took thirty-nine months to become profitable. I ruined relationships, went through all my savings, lived out of a suitcase for three months at a time, and ultimately pushed back when I would become a father by probably 15 years. Consider, ninety percent of startups fail. They miscalculated how long it takes to become profitable and didn’t have the cash or resources necessary. Almost everyone underestimates what it takes to be successful. And you have to, otherwise no one would ever do it. When it all goes bad, the girlfriend who told you to go out on your own leaves, the car gets repossessed, credit is damaged, self-esteem destroyed and you have to start over.

Boss Take Aways:

1) If you want to be the boss, be the boss where you currently work and prove to yourself you can make ideas a reality, create budgets, and fund projects. 2) Don’t get your advice from the same place you get your sex. Meet with someone who has started something from scratch, maybe even hire a coach. 3) If you have never stepped up to be a boss where you work, you aren’t ready to be a boss anywhere. (See #1) 4) If you need to be THE BOSS you’re not ready to be a boss. If your ego is involved in this you aren’t ready. If the person you sleep with needs you to be a boss, so he or she can tell their friends, “he is the boss,” you aren’t a boss. If you are ready good luck and I wish you the best. If I can help coach you when you go out on your own reach out to me, I would be honored to. I look forward to your comments on this. Have you seen this happen? What advice would you give someone going out on their own? Be great, GC ► Subscribe Today to My YouTube Channel for new content posted every day!