Chasing Financial Freedom Made Me Poor
6 Eye-Openers From My Journey
I’ve read countless books and watched many videos about financial freedom.
I guess the reason is obvious.
One thing they’ve all sung into my brain is:
“You can’t get rich working a 9–5.”
“Entrepreneurship is the path to financial freedom.”
I let myself believe that working a 9–5 was horrific because it took up 8 hours of my life that I could use to build my startup.
I truly believe I let these thoughts consume me because I hated my job.
I’d worked there for almost 2 years for a meagre pay of $17 monthly.
Eventually, I quit my 9–5 to start my own business, and soon I went broke.
(You’d wonder how it can get worse than $17 monthly)
It’s one of the biggest eye-openers I’ve had in my career.
But that’s not all, there are 6 more…
1. Wearing Too Many Hats Isn’t So Bad
When you’re a broke solopreneur, you don’t really have a choice but to wear all the hats.
I became the founder, CEO, social media manager, content writer, web designer, email marketer, and so much more of my startup.
The good side is that I gained a lot of transferable skills.
As much as I didn’t have a choice, wearing many hats drained me faster than necessary.
Sometimes, I’d lose focus on my main goal and spend so many hours creating content.
If this were to happen again, I’d put out a call for volunteers and welcome anyone willing to get some experience.
After all, if my startup grows, so do they!
2. We Use The Wrong Tools All The Time
I was a one-man team, running the entire show all alone. Yet, I worked and used tools that a 10–15-team company would use.
I hosted my website on WordPress using Hostinger, adopted Notion and Asana for project and task management, and more software that wasn’t necessary.
It wasn’t until months later that I found ILN, which has everything in one place — website creation, project and task management, and every management tool imaginable.
So, instead of jumping through apps on a daily, I had everything in one place.
It kept me sane and organized without having to do too much.
3. Having a Goal Is Good. Having a Defined Goal Is Awesome
Speaking of getting rich, I had no definite goal.
“Getting rich” and “Becoming wealthy” are vague goals.
They’re not as specific and defined as “Make $5k every month.”
A goal like that would require me to consider my pricing and the number of deals I’d need to close monthly to get that amount.
4. Ignorance Is Not Bliss At All
I didn’t know anything about starting and running a business.
Boy, was I silly!
I just knew I had the skills and an idea, so I was going to get clients and get rich! But I had no plan, and no roadmap.
Now, I invest time in reading books, following successful entrepreneurs and reading a bunch of articles.
Here’s one of my favourites.
It shares how companies make money from the lens of Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton.
5. Fail At Every Opportunity You Have
Failure is something I’ve always been afraid of.
And if I’m being honest, I’m still a little bit scared.
It’s made me doubt myself, delay plans, and run away from opportunities that would’ve changed my life.
This is probably the worst mistake I made in my entrepreneurship journey.
But now I embrace it and I learn from it.
And I hope you learn something from my vulnerability.
6. Advertise Yourself Shamelessly
Like I said earlier, my job paid very little, so I was motivated to leave.
However, when I realized things weren’t going my way, I had to get a higher-paying job.
I put my best foot forward and started applying for jobs.
After a month, I got a response. It was a job that offered $20,000 which was a huge step up from $17 monthly!
But I didn’t get the job because I had no online portfolio to back up my claims.
One day, I’ll tell the full story behind this.
So, don’t be boring, guys. Show off your results, skills and experience in the most creative way ever.
I haven’t given up on my entrepreneurship dreams, but I’m taking my time to learn and enjoy the process.
I’m working a remote part-time job that offers me the flexibility to learn about entrepreneurship to ensure I succeed.
If you have any advice, suggestions, or comments, I’m open to it!
Plus, I’d love to read about your experience in the comments section! I promise to reply ☺️
