5 stages of entrepreneurial freedom

By Valerie Khoo

The 5 stages of entrepreneurial freedom – which stage are you at? How your entrepreneurial journey can lead to true freedom.
I’m really passionate about the concept that you can design your small business to create the lifestyle you really want. The trouble is that many small business entrepreneurs think that it HAS to be a hard slog. Sure, there are mountains to climb during your journey from time to time, but if you structure your business the right way, you CAN create a vehicle that can give you the life of your dreams.

Of course, this doesn’t happen overnight. So what are the 5 stages of entrepreneurial freedom?

1. The idea

This is where you have your entrepreneurial seizure. It’s where you’re having coffee with your girlfriends or at after-work drinks with your work colleagues and you hit on an idea that seems just perfect. Over beers, you’re planning world domination by creating a series of iphone apps. Or you’ve thought of the best ever baby and parenting website imaginable. Or you finally want to make money from your talent for interior design instead of just decorating your friends’ houses for free.

One of the biggest steps in your entrepreneurial journey is to move this from being just an idea to a real business. The reality is that if you don’t have the momentum or passion to start this – even if just in your spare time while you have a full-time job – chances are slim that you’re going to be in it for the long haul. However, if you do take that leap, the next step is …

2. The “Am I a fraud?” syndrome

So you’ve started your business. You’re even getting customers and – believe it or not – they are paying you decent money for your services. This is where self-doubt can creep in. “Am I really good enough?” “Will people see through me?” “Is it obvious that I’m learning how to be an entrepreneur as I go along?”

It’s natural to have these doubts. But it’s equally important to value what you do. I was speaking to a small business entrepreneur today who said that it’s important to really listen when you receive a compliment and to take it on board. Be proud of what you can achieve and be pro-active in buoying your self-esteem in an effort to quell those self-doubts.

3. The Confidence Boost

It’s great when you get to this stage of your journey because you’ve been doing it long enough to know that you ARE good at what you do. Here, you can cruise a little bit if you want to, you’re not struggling and your services are in demand. In fact, this is a stage where many entrepreneurs remain stuck forever. And that’s because everything is going well, money is coming in, and they don’t want to upset the status quo.

However, even though everything seems brilliant, it’s likely that you are still working dollars for hours. Sure, you might be working for lucrative dollars but you are still tied to your business – that is, your income is a function of your time. Therefore, you could be ready for the next step …

4. The Automation and “Oh Kill Me Now I Hate This” Systemisation Stage

If you want true entrepreneurial freedom then you need to take steps to structure your business so that you can walk away from it (if you want to). I’m not suggesting that you have to if you love being there – but you should structure your business in such as way that walking away is, at least, an option.

In order to do this, you need to automate as much as possible without losing quality customer service and authenticity. And you need to create robust systems so that your team (and any newbies) can follow them clearly. This is the hard part. Many entrepreneurs who make it through this stage often say it’s the most boring, mind-numbing – not to mention time-consuming – part of the process. I agree. It can be so tedious but it’s also so worth it. But if you do it properly, this leasd to…

5. True entrepreneurial freedom

I’ll be honest. It does take some blood, sweat and tears to get to this stage. But, oh my goodness, is it worth it? Yes! When your income is not a function of your time, you are no longer pressured to be working all the time. You can free your mind to improve your business or venture into new areas (maybe you are a serial entrepreneur in the making). Or maybe you just want to play golf – and that’s great too.

But the key to remember is that the more you concentrate on moving through the first four stages of your journey, the sooner you’ll be in a situation where you can hit the driving range all the time if you want to!

When it comes to your entrepreneurial journey, which stage are you at?

Valerie Khoo is a journalist, author and entrepreneur. She is passionate about the concept that your business can create the lifestyle you dream of.

Valerie’s businesses:
Sydney Writers’ Centre
Business and Careers Institute