When I realized I’d had enough of working for someone else, it hit me between the eyes – BHAM!

I was at 35,000 feet coming back from a month in Miami, where I had been working alongside the last ever person I would call ‘Boss’ (except the wife, obviously!). Deep down he was a nice guy.

However, as a boss he was a terrible, micromanaging fiend. To the point where he would receive a copy of every email I received – sometimes even replying as me – ridiculous, right?!

After that month with him, I’d simply had enough of the BS. I wrote my resignation letter on my laptop and when I landed in Hong Kong for my connecting flight, I hooked up to their brilliant free wifi, and hit ‘Send’. Never looking back.

A month later I launched my outsourcing business, and I’m still operating that business with now almost 300 employees and have expanded into two different verticals, plus launched my own personal brand in the process, too.

With Valentines Day approaching, I thought I’d play on the ‘love’ angle a little, and condense some of the reasons why I love being an entrepreneur into a blog post and share it with you, my beloved online community for some fun, and maybe a little inspiration.

Here are the ten reasons why I love being an entrepreneur so much!

1 – Stick it to ‘The Man’

Being able to send that email to my last boss and truly ‘stick it to the man’ felt amazing. It was something that I had been wrestling with for a while. Everything from financial security and the fear (if I’m to be totally honest) of potentially falling flat on my face, came into play. But, when I made the decision to quit, once and for all, I did it, and I’ve never looked back.

2 – Work Your Own Schedule

Most days I will have ‘something’ on my schedule. But, having the ability to dictate when I work, when I’ll be ‘in the office’, available for meetings, etc., is freedom that I simply never want to let go of. If I want to take the afternoon off to play with our youngest, Charlie, then I can. You can’t do that working for someone else.

3 – Work Where You Like

Most days I work at home. Some days in our HQ facility, and other days from a coffee shop. From time to time I’ll even work from a resort (one of the advantages of living in Cebu, Philippines).When I’m not doing any of that, you’ll no doubt catch me working in airport lounges and in hotel rooms, as I travel extensively. I love being location independent.

4 – Work With People You Like

One of the major benefits for me, being an entrepreneur, is the ability to be able to pick and choose who I do business with. Life is too damn short to be stressed out by having clients that drive you nuts (I’ve fired several clients in the past) and to hire employees that either don’t deliver, or you don’t get on with. Teaming up with the right people is key to a happy working relationship, and as the ‘big cheese’, you get to call the shots. Cool, huh!?

5 – Create Your Own Opportunities & Destiny

Continuing from No.4, as well as choosing the PEOPLE you work with and partner with, as your own boss, you also have the ability to create your own opportunities by doing things like attending conventions, networking with like-minded people online and much more. In doing this, you shape, almost carve out your own destiny.

6 – Develop and Sell Products & Services You Love

I can honestly say that every product and service I’ve produced for my own companies I’ve whole heartedly believed in, and thoroughly love. We felt just like this when we launched Virtual Staff Finder in 2010 – based off of a blog comment we received. Since then we’ve helped thousands of stressed-out, over-worked entrepreneurs find great quality, enthusiastic virtual staff here in the Philippines. Bringing that ‘virtual freedom‘ to fellow business owners is something I’m very proud of..

7 – Solve Problems and Make a Difference in the Process

Solving a problem for someone, or a company, is the time-honored ‘Sales 101’ strategy of business. Give people want they need to get over a hurdle and you’ll enjoy success. You’ll also create a huge number of raving fans that’ll ultimately become customers. People want to do business with people that help them. It’s a no-brainer.

8 – Be the Boss

Being the boss is good. It feels good. Don’t get me wrong, it comes with it’s challenges, for sure (perhaps thats another post?!), but being known as someone that is ‘leading the way’ for a company and those involved in that company is a huge ego stroke, lets face it. As long as you keep it in check, stay focused and make sure that you deliver on promises (to staff and clients alike!), then you’ll be fine.

9 – Stand Up for What You Believe In

Being an entrepreneur also gives you the chance to stand up for what you believe in, and spread the word. I’ve been fortunate enough to be invited to numerous conferences and business events to speak on the subject of virtual assistance and outsourcing – strategies that I believe every business owner should be engaging in to build their businesses.

As you’ll see in the video above, I’m passionate about helping other entrepreneurs leverage time in a fashion that allows them to become more productive and successful. It’s situations like this that make me very proud to be in the position where I am.

10 – Affect Change in People’s Thoughts & Actions

And for me, the absolute BEST thing about being an entrepreneur is the ability to be able to change peoples perceptions about how ‘this or that’ should ‘be’. I’ve been in rooms where I’ve given presentations and literally heard pennies dropping as the attendees understand where I’m coming from and start to think about taking action on whatever it is I’m waffling on about!

When other business owners come to me saying that they don’t think that a virtual assistant can help them in their business endeavors I take it personally. Not in a bad way, but in a way that spurs me on to try and prove to them, without a doubt, that VA’s will help them and their businesses – in a number of ways. Then, after they take action by hiring a VA for the first time… I smile.

In fact, I smile a lot more nowadays, as an entrepreneur – than I ever did working for someone else!!!

So, there you have it – my reasons behind loving what I do, why I do it, and what it means to me to be an entrepreneur. This type of list will no doubt be a little different for everyone, but I believe a lot of the reasons will remain the same.