By Bond Collective Staff
Work is a big part of your life, but it doesn’t have to be your whole life. That’s the premise — and the attraction — behind becoming a lifestyle entrepreneur. You, not your employer, have control over your work/life balance.
But what exactly is a lifestyle entrepreneur? What are the benefits and drawbacks of this unique work style? And how can you become one of the millions who have ventured out on their own? In this article, we’ll help you understand what it means to be a lifestyle entrepreneur and give you some tips to help you transition from the 9-to-5 grind.
Lifestyle Entrepreneur Defined
A lifestyle entrepreneur is a person who creates a business with the purpose of altering their personal lifestyle. The choice is not solely about making more money. In fact, many lifestyle entrepreneurs make less money for the first few years than they did working in a “conventional” job.
A lifestyle entrepreneur focuses more on the life rewards (rather than the monetary rewards) provided to those that have a true passion for their work and enjoy what they’re doing. These life rewards include:
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Autonomy
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Fun
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Freedom
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Time
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Flexibility
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Happiness
In contrast to the common 9-to-5 career where a person works from the same location every day, a lifestyle entrepreneur usually works online and can operate from anywhere they choose. All they need is a computer (usually a laptop) and an internet connection to keep things running.
Because they can access their business anytime, anywhere, lifestyle entrepreneurs aren’t tied to a specific location — city, state, or even country — and can take their work with them all over the world.
The Benefits Of Being A Lifestyle Entrepreneur
Control
When you become a lifestyle entrepreneur, you control the course of your business and, as a result, your life. You get to choose what you want to do based on your skills, strengths, and desires. That control leads to increased job satisfaction and increased life satisfaction.
Effort-Based Salary
As a lifestyle entrepreneur, your income is directly related to the time and effort you put into your business. What you do has a direct effect on how much you pay yourself and, ultimately, the success of your business
Excitement
For a lifestyle entrepreneur, each day is filled with new challenges, new possibilities to grow and learn, and new opportunities to improve your business. That makes the work exciting and highly enjoyable.
Freedom
For many a budding lifestyle entrepreneur, this is the biggest draw. Freedom to work wherever, whenever, and however they want.
As a lifestyle entrepreneur, you can schedule your work hours around more important commitments (such as family) and tailor your schedule so that it’s ideal for you. You even have the flexibility to work when you’re at your best (e.g., early in the morning or late at night).
The Drawbacks Of Being A Lifestyle Entrepreneur
Unpredictable Work Schedule
One of the drawbacks of being a lifestyle entrepreneur is the unpredictable schedule. At first, you may have to work whenever the opportunity arises (and often longer than a “regular” job). But once you establish your business and get it running smoothly, your work schedule will become much more predictable.
Paperwork
As a lifestyle entrepreneur, you make all the decisions. But you are also responsible for all the paperwork associated with your business. At first, getting everything in order (permits, taxes, invoicing) will take up a significant amount of your time.
Eventually, though, if you grow your business properly, you can hire people to relieve you of this burden.
Irregular Salary
Another critical drawback of becoming a lifestyle entrepreneur is the irregular pay. When you switch from working for someone else to working for yourself, you give up the security of a regular paycheck. Fluctuating salaries are one of the main reasons many would-be lifestyle entrepreneurs stay where they are instead of venturing out on their own.
Added Responsibility
When you transition into a lifestyle entrepreneur, everything depends on you. You are responsible for the success or failure of your business. That type of responsibility can be incredibly intimidating for some people and is enough to keep them from taking the risk.
How To Become A Lifestyle Entrepreneur
1) Ask Yourself The Essential Questions
Becoming a lifestyle entrepreneur and finding your niche involves listening to yourself and deciding what you want from life. Here are some vital questions to answer before making any major changes:
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What am I good at?
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What am I passionate about?
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If money were no object, what would I do?
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How much financial stability do I need?
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What is my perfect place to work?
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Can I handle working from home?
Answering these questions can help you decide if you want to venture out on your own, what type of business to start, what your priorities are, and what type of schedule you want to work.
2) Find The Right Place To Work
This is one of the cornerstones of becoming a lifestyle entrepreneur. Where you work can make or break how you work more than any other decision on this list.
Working from home is a great way to save money, but it can be incredibly isolating and uninspiring. On the other end of the spectrum, tying yourself down with a conventional lease is extremely expensive and is often out of reach for most lifestyle entrepreneurs.
The best solution is to base your operations in a coworking space. With a coworking space, you get the professional appearance and comfort of a dedicated space with the affordability, amenities, and inspiration of a communal environment.
3) Use The Right Tools
Working as a lifestyle entrepreneur means working online. For that, you need two things:
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A good computer
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Fast internet
When choosing these tools for yourself, you don’t want to skimp. If you’re going to be mobile, a laptop is the best choice for a computer. Get more power than you need starting out. That will give you room to grow as your business does.
And get the fastest, most stable internet/WiFi you can afford. Your whole business will be traveling through the ether, and you don’t want to wait on slow data transfer or outages that affect your timetables.
4) Choose The Right Business
The right business for you depends on many different factors, including your knowledge, your passion, your skills, and the way you want to work. Use the questions in step one of this section to help you decide what business is right for you.
5) Put In The Time And Effort
Now, all that remains is putting in the time and effort to make your business a success.
Keep in mind that success isn’t automatic. It will take a lot of work. But the nice thing about being a lifestyle entrepreneur is that you’re on an adventure — an adventure you control. And because of that, the long hours and sometimes-sleepless nights feel more like play than work.
That’s what makes being a lifestyle entrepreneur so appealing.
Give Your Business The Best Chance For Success
When you first start out as a lifestyle entrepreneur, you have plenty of desire, drive, and energy, but money is often in short supply. That doesn’t mean you have to confine your work life to your dining room table or the noisy corner coffee shop. You can work in a professional office environment with other like-minded entrepreneurs…without signing an expensive lease.
The coworking spaces at Bond Collective give you the flexibility and affordability to work the way you want without the extra headache of a long-term commitment. This gives your business the best chance for success.
You can start out working at a “hot desk,” a dedicated desk, or even in a private office. And with Bond Collective’s month-to-month plans, expand or contract your workspace footprint as your needs arise. You can’t do that with a conventional lease.
So start your lifestyle entrepreneur journey on the right foot by partnering with Bond Collective. We can help you reach your goals.
Tour our gorgeous office spaces in New York (Bushwick, 55 Broadway, 60 Broad, Gowanus, Flatiron) and Philadelphia (The Station House) to experience the best that modern office spaces have to offer. Then become a member of Bond Collective and take advantage of our multiple locations, beautiful decor, and best-in-the-industry amenities to suit all your business needs.
To get started or to learn more about the advantages of coworking spaces for digital nomads, remote workers, and businesses of all kinds, visit BondCollective.com today.