There are many reasons why you might want to start your own business. Maybe you’re tired of working for someone else and want to be in control of your own destiny. Or perhaps you have an excellent idea for a product or service that you think could be successful. Whatever the reason, if you’re thinking about starting your own business, some signs can tell you whether or not it’s the right decision. This article will discuss eight signs that mean you should start your own business.
1. The grind
The first sign is that you actually have a good job. You have good colleagues, and you probably have a good salary. But even so, you’re not happy. You feel like you’re stuck in a rut, and you’re not really living your life the way you want to. You may even feel like you’re a robot, going through the motions day after day just to pay the bills. This is the rat race, and you’re tired of it. You want something more out of life.
I definitely felt that way, too, when I was working at a big company before. Is that how it should feel like? It would help if you didn’t ignore these feelings. I come from the Stuttgart region. I had a job at a large company like it was expected of me, and I often felt like I was without purpose. I asked myself, “what are these boring meetings for”? Why are we discussing things that have nothing to do with the problem and the solution? And I often felt very out of place in the evening, wondering why I was doing this. Why is it like this? I didn’t want to feel like that my whole life.
2. Gain and drain
When you feel like you have less energy and aren’t as excited about things as you used to be, it might mean that you’re stressed. This can have a significant impact on your personal life and your relationships. If you’re not as energetic, you might exercise less, which might make you more boring for other people. You also might have more problems with your partner because of all this. And if you’re feeling like this, you might not know what to do or what makes you happy anymore.
If you’re feeling drained and like you’ve lost your spark, it might be time to rethink your career. Maybe you’re not doing what you love anymore. If that’s the case, you can quickly determine if it’s affecting other areas of your life—things like relationships, friends, health, hobbies, etc. You can’t expect to have boundless energy if you spend eight hours a day doing something that drains you. It’s just not possible. So, if you’re not happy with your current situation, do something about it. Life is too short to be stuck in a job you hate. Find what makes you happy and go after it.
3. Don’t care about anything anymore?
The third sign is that you realize, “Hey, I want to start working on my topics. On my dreams”. Do you want to stop chasing other people’s dreams and start realizing your own? You’re just not getting closer by doing what you’re doing now. You realize you have this longing inside you, and you know deep down that there’s so much more potential. When you’re not happy with what you’re doing, it’s because you’re not working on your dreams. Dreams give you more energy and make you happier. When you work on your goals, it will help you in other parts of your life too.
4. Who and what gives you energy?
You may have noticed that you feel drained by people in your life who don’t give you energy. For example, I used to feel this way when I was around people who were always negative or complained a lot. It made me feel down and like I had lost energy. That’s why it’s important to have people in your life who support you and make you feel good. When you have your own business, you can surround yourself with like-minded people who understand you and want to achieve similar goals. And if you have your own business, you’re the boss, so you can hire people who will help create the environment that you want.
5. The need for flexibility
The fifth sign that you may have noticed is that you want more freedom and flexibility in your work. This was a big reason why I started my own business. There are many different ways to find this kind of work, depending on your location and skills. For example, if you are in a job where you have to plan all your vacation days months in advance, you may feel limited in your ability to respond to new opportunities. Or, if you want to work from anywhere, this is much easier to do with an online business.
This doesn’t mean that there will never be important deadlines or that you won’t have to be available for your clients. But if you have the desire to be able to structure your week according to your own schedule, it’s a good indication that you could be successful in starting your own business. Because with your own business, you get to make the rules. You decide what the priorities are and how decisions are made. Of course, you also get to choose what values and goals you want to represent with your company.
6. What is work and what isn’t?
The next sign is that you have little time for things that are important to you and that interest you. Now you may think, “Yes, but self-employed people always work.” But now, it’s different. If your business is something that really interests and excites you, then you’re already working on the things that bring you joy and pleasure. And that’s not “work” anymore. That means if you can design your business idea around it, you’ll get more satisfaction and energy out of it. If you are working on something that you used to enjoy as a hobby, you will find that you learn more and grow in new ways.
This is because when you are doing something that you love, you are constantly learning and expanding your knowledge. This gives you more enjoyment and makes the whole process more fun. You will also feel like you are making progress because you are learning new things that you really enjoy. So if you find yourself in a startup or entrepreneurship situation, don’t be discouraged if things are tough at first. Remember that you are doing something that you love and that will help you to succeed in the long run.
7. Are you doubting your path?
Another sign that your thoughts might be drifting and you might be daydreaming is if you find yourself having thoughts such as, “My train has already left the station; I’m seeing all these people doing cool things, and I don’t dare do them.” You may also start to travel back in time in your dreams and tell yourself, “Hey, things were better back then.” If you find yourself having these thoughts, it’s already very, very bad because it means you’ve given up. And I want to encourage you to get back out there and ask yourself, “What is still possible?” The more upbeat version of this is if you have these daydreams and you’re actually picturing yourself achieving your goals. That’s a good sign that you’re still motivated and that there’s still hope for you. So don’t give up just yet. There may still be time to turn things around.
You see yourself starting your own business. You imagine being able to work flexibly, having cool people around you, and enjoying what you do. This is the positive outcome of envisioning yourself starting your own business. If you’re already daydreaming about it, it’s time to take the necessary steps and make it happen. It’s not that there are a bunch of superhumans out there who are successful because they’re somehow different–it’s that they took the first steps and kept going. So believe in yourself and get started. That’s the most important thing you can do right now.
8. Becoming the person you want to be
If you are no longer the person you want to be, this is definitely a sign that change is in store for you. If you’re no longer happy with who you are and what you stand for, then you know that something needs to change. Deep down, you know that there’s more potential for you to achieve. However, the negative side of this is that you may no longer be working on yourself as much as you used to. You’re not learning new things or taking part in activities that interest you. You may also be eating poorly, not sleeping well, or drinking enough. All of these things are interconnected and can have a negative impact on your life.
If you spend eight hours a day doing something that isn’t enjoyable, it will negatively affect the rest of your life. This is because you will grow to resent it, and that resentment will spill over into other areas of your life. However, if you do something you enjoy for eight hours a day, it will energize you and carry over into the other parts of your life. You will be more productive, motivated, and happy because you love what you do. So if you find yourself feeling jealous of someone who seems to have it all together, remember that they probably just really enjoy their work. And that’s something anyone can strive for.
Test yourself
If you have recognized these different areas for yourself, then it is time for you to find out, and it is relatively easy. You can do a simple test, for example, just for this last exercise, to see if you are not the person you want to be. But this also applies to all the others. You can simply ask yourself and rate yourself from 0 to 10. Zero is very, very bad. Ten is great. Rate yourself in the different areas. How satisfied are you with your health? How satisfied are you with your job, with your relationships, with your family, and with your partner and love life? How satisfied are you with your hobbies and finances?
Then you rate these different categories and then divide by the number. And if there are a lot of things that don’t quite add up, maybe you come out with a five or a six. The simple question for you is now, “Would you want to be led by someone who is just a six?” Would you want to be with somebody that you’re looking for a new partner, that’s only a six? Of course not. So you also have to work on yourself so that you become a ten again. And then find another ten and together become a twelve. And, of course, this applies to all areas of your life.
Closing thoughts
So if you’re feeling lost or like you’re not the person you want to be, it’s time to make a change. And remember, you’re not alone. We all have moments where we feel like we’re not good enough. But that doesn’t mean we should give up on ourselves. We can always strive to be better, to be the best version of ourselves. And that’s something we can all achieve. So believe in yourself, and get started on your journey to becoming the person you want to be. You’ve got this
About the author
This article was written by Jonathan Gauger, founder of Heyho, and translated to English by Christopher Isak for TechAcute. Heyho means Help Yourself, Help Others. We help young professionals to leave their unsatisfying corporate job, overcome their self-doubts, and to start their own businesses. With every new client, we provide a child in need with access to education.
Photo credit: The feature image has been done by Monster Ztudio. The photo in the body of the article was taken by Stanislav.
