Five years ago, Simon Madgwick swapped a career in finance for self-employment and opened his business, Simon’s Bakery, creating bespoke celebration and wedding cakes. Based in Tooting, south-west London, his passion for producing stunning cakes is matched by his enjoyment of being an entrepreneur. “Having worked in a corporate office environment for 20 years, nothing compares with being your own boss, being in control and accountable for everything, and knowing that your destiny is in your own hands,” he says.
It can be easy to lose sight of upsides such as these, given the economic challenges of recent years. Small business owners have had to perform miraculous feats to deal with unexpected upheavals, and some of the more intangible benefits of running your own business can get lost amid the day-to-day pressures.
For example, those upsides could include the autonomy to write your own rules, determine your own direction, and set your own pace. Having more flexibility and freedom to choose the way that you work can give entrepreneurs an empowering and rewarding sense of agency and self-determination.
“At the start, the best thing about business ownership was not being answerable to a difficult boss and being able to indulge your own new ideas,” says Danny Curran, founder of probate research firm Finders International. He launched his business 25 years ago and today it employs a team of 150 people. In that time, he’s been able to enjoy the relative autonomy of being a business owner while also being able to delegate more.
“I worked long hours to get my business up and running, and I’ve never really lost that 24/7 attitude to my work. However, I now have a great team around me, who I know can step into my shoes seamlessly while I’m away, which means I can take time off without feelings of guilt.”
Indeed, for Curran, another great pleasure of being a business owner comes from having created something that has brought together a team of talented people who enjoy being part of the business as much as he does.
Technology and new ways of operating have also helped him make the most of that flexibility. Tracking down missing heirs, for instance, involves lots of unplanned driving, for which Curran and his colleagues regularly use the car-sharing service Zipcar, especially when travelling to meet beneficiaries.
Madgwick’s cake business has also benefited from opting for this flexible mode of transport. “I’m reluctant to give up the creative process and trust someone else to produce the quality of cakes,” he says. “However, working alone also means that I have to make the deliveries, and for that, I’m lucky enough to have a Zipcar just five minutes’ walk away, and the flexibility of that is really helpful.”
Another profound but often-overlooked upside of running your own business is the opportunity to see a germ of an idea become a business reality. Developing a product or service that can solve problems for people, and seeing amazing reviews from customers about how much your products have helped can be a huge source of enjoyment and fulfilment for entrepreneurs.
Maria Lema is the co-founder of Weaver Labs, a startup democratising access to telecoms infrastructure with 5G and blockchain. “The thought that I’m contributing to driving a change in the industry, or planting a seed of thought leadership brings me a great deal of joy,” she says. “More importantly, it’s because we’re doing it from a small place; it’s a lot more challenging to achieve success without a big brand backing you or large amounts of cash.”
Starting a business is rarely about fulfilling dreams of amassing a personal fortune or being able to “do what I want whenever I want”. For most entrepreneurs, it is about capturing the passion they have for their work and their ideas and having the freedom to try – and sometimes fail.
Nevertheless, being an entrepreneur takes a huge amount of commitment and self-discipline. Running a business is hard work. Enjoying the experience is essential, but it often comes down to how you manage yourself, rather than just the success of the business itself. As a business owner, it’s important to take a step back occasionally and find the space to be introspective.
“Think about what your motivations are, what your life priorities are and what your driver is,” says business consultant Oona Collins, founder of leadership coaching firm Potential Plus International. “You also need to understand your core values and what you are prepared to sacrifice and what you aren’t. If the thing that is stopping you from enjoying running your company is that you are sacrificing time with your family, then no amount of business success will make you happy, until you address that imbalance.”
Successful entrepreneurs can be dreamers and realists at the same time, and switch from one to the other in an instant. So much of what they do requires grit, resilience, a “never say die” mindset, and a determination to keep moving forward, in good times and bad. But it is also about having a genuine passion and enjoyment for what they do, and that is a real cause for celebration. Which means that it’s all the more important not to lose sight of the spark, drive, sense of empowerment and all those other intangible upsides.
With more than 3,000 cars and vans available via its app, using Zipcar for your business gives you convenient, on-demand flexible access to vehicles, whenever you need it
