Funny thing…

I just looked up “personal freedom” on Google and came up with 1,290,000 results. I then looked up “personal business freedom” and came up with just 11 (milana.com being at the very top).

Perhaps no one is talking about it. Or perhaps no one calls it that way.

While personal freedom to most people means financial freedom (you’ll also find many references to religious and political freedom), I am talking about entrepreneurial freedom.

What many business owners experience I would call becoming a victim of “entrepreneurial mirage”.

Quoting  “Business Week” at Entrepreneurial “Freedom” Equals “Enslavement…

People start their own businesses and become entrepreneurs because they dream of having the freedom and rewards that can come from being their own boss. However, after observing thousands of entrepreneurs over the years, I’ve found the rule—not the exception—is that, after a period of time, businesses become enslaving rather than freedom-giving!

Most [entrepreneurs] loved the jobs they were doing and thought they would be happier, healthier, and wealthier if they did it on their own. What happens over time, however, is that they begin to be swallowed up by all of the hundreds of details associated with running a business, and the parts of the business they truly loved when they started get put on the back burner in favor of all the urgent and necessary tasks that have to be done.

While it’s often a badge of honor for businessmen to brag about how many hours they work per week, in the long run no one can truly work at peak efficiency and enjoy long-term health and life balance working such a grueling and stressful schedule. “Enslavement” by your business is ultimately a choice. If you choose to be free again, you can do it.

Free…

What does it really mean to be free from the chains of your business?

Here are just a couple of examples of entrepreneurs changing their business models and their mindset to achieve personal business freedom:

• Letting go half of her clients to create more time and do less travel. She used this time to create a subscription-based program and can now enjoy new revenue stream without doing hourly work or leaving her home. This required a serious mind shift (heck, most people would say, “Let go half of my clients? Are you nuts?!”) and a true desire to change her lifestyle.

• Creating a certification program and passing off some of his clients to the consultants he certified. This required an important mind shift - accepting that he is not the only one who can deliver value to his clients in his company, and being willing to let go some of the income to create more free time and improve his lifestyle.

• Partnering with another company to deliver services she could offer herself. Some might think, “But aren’t I leaving money on the table? Aren’t I giving business away??” She decided that it’s not the best investment of her time AND that someone else can do it much better.

ACTION WANTED - PLEASE, POST YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS QUESTION:

What have you done in the last 12 months to create more “personal business freedom?”

Please, please, share! I’d love more examples, because it seems that a great majority of entrepreneurs just work, work, work… and have become slaves to their income!

And  I don’t mean “being your own boss”, or “being able to work from home”, etc. I am talking about creating ways for your business to exist and thrive without you being chained to it…or, ideally, without you even being there!