Thinking about starting your own business? Here's what you need to know

Being an entrepreneur is often viewed as an ideal career option. After all, who wouldn’t want to work for themselves, make their own hours, and show up at work every day with a burning passion for what they’re doing?

A view from the other side of those rosy tinted sunglasses however, reveals a slightly different outlook that encompasses the good and bad in the world of entrepreneurship. Read on for three things to consider before you make the leap from employee to employer.

Starting a Business? You Need a Plan

Going to work for yourself is both liberating and stressful. You may be leaving the world of answering to a boss, but you’re entering the world of answering to yourself – and oftentimes, we are our own worst critic. Having a plan to navigate through the change can help to mitigate the stress you’ll encounter and ensure you have a framework to guide you through the transition and start-up phases.

Draft a business plan, an overall execution strategy for your transition and be sure to consider funding extra into a savings account to cushion any potential changes in income. Take some time to reflect upon your business idea, what you imagine its operations to look like and how it will genuinely affect the quality and type of life you’re trying to lead.

Being an Entrepreneur: Simultaneously Rewarding and Frustrating

While there’s likely nothing more exciting than landing a new client or knowing that you’ve created something that is making a difference in other people’s lives, dealing with the day to day operations and mishaps that come with the gig can also be maddening. Whether it’s contractors who are underperforming, paperwork issues you’re spending time on the phone dealing with, or just the plain day to day reconciliation of the books – the mundane tasks of entrepreneurship can wear on you. Be sure to reflect upon ways to leverage your talents and strengths while outsourcing the tasks that you don’t enjoy and become a time and energy suck. While you may not have the means to do so right away, setting goals for yourself as to a timeframe for offloading your least favorite tasks can keep you excited about the future for your business.

Work-Life Balance is Necessary

The flexibility of entrepreneurship is a huge plus, especially if you’re looking to throw your 9-5 schedule to the wind. You can work more or less hours, take breaks for coffee or lunch with the family, or even run to the gym or salon during the day. It’s exhilarating. What tends to be overlooked is the fact that when you go into business for yourself, it becomes that much more difficult to leave your work behind at the end of the day – or to even gauge where the end of the day actually lies. The early days will likely have you wearing a variety of hats and you may constantly feel that there is always more to be done. It’s important from the beginning to set parameters for yourself around family time, self care, and relaxation. Consider scheduling in predetermined weekly “family nights” and ensure you have wellness activity such as yoga, meditation, or zumba as a way to give your body and mind a break.