Newsflash: Entrepreneurs Have Bosses Too
Boss: a person who exercises control or authority; specifically : one who directs or supervises workers
One thing that drives me crazy about being an entrepreneur is when my peers pose the question: “You have no boss; how difficult could your job be?” If they could only understand that…
Entrepreneurs have multiple bosses. We just call them by a different name – clients.
Then again, I don’t know if it’s really fair to blame my peers for failing to comprehend this fact. After all, it has slowly come to my attention that most “newbie” entrepreneurs do not even realize for whom they are actually working
It is important to remember that as an entrepreneur, you do not work for yourself; you work for your clients. Personally, there have been many times when I’ve gotten calls and emails past 5:00 and on weekends. There have also been many times when I’ve gotten requests that seem impossible to fulfill, and some that I simply just don’t feel like fulfilling. However, a majority of the time, I go the extra mile and answer those phone calls, fulfill those requests, and do it all with an upbeat attitude. Why? Because…
As an entrepreneur, your clients make or break you. And just like bosses, they will judge you based on how much effort you give and the amount of respect & interest you show for them and/or their businesses.
Now, sometimes a situation with a client can get so out of hand that it’s not worth the mental aggravation, struggle, etc. It gets so bad that it brings down the rest of your business. In this case, you have the same option that an employee has: you can “quit” serving the client. But quitting on a client should be avoided at all costs, and that topic is one which warrants another article entirely.
Point is: you either have a client or you don’t. Your client base is your livelihood. And much like any other demanding job, you wouldn’t want to aggravate and disappoint your boss(es); after all, they just might begin “firing” you, one by one. And then, all of a sudden, when reality hits and you realize you are not completely in control of your cash flow, you may have to reconsider the true meaning of the word “boss”.
One Comment
David Askaripour
August 11th, 2006 at 5:23 pm
I love that way of thinking: “Your clients are the boss” and I think that you’re right… many entrepreneurs aren’t thinking like that. In fact I’m not even sure if I thought like that when I first started out. Looking at your clients as your boss is the best way to keep pushing yourself and improving the quality of the service(s) that you are providing. Great article!
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