Some of the most famous household names began as small business owners. Entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg all started their careers with a single idea, and eventually launched Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook, respectively. With talent and dedication, a dream can be transformed into reality.

Whatever your end goal happens to be, from improving the world to achieving financial freedom, starting your own business can help you achieve it. Striking out on your own can offer numerous benefits, but business owners often say they fall into one of these four categories.

1. You are your own boss. Working within someone else’s vision sometimes means that your talents, knowledge, or experience are not fully utilized. When you become your own boss, you make decisions based on what works best for you and reaching your vision. That rule holds true for every aspect of the business. It is your call: the content and structure of the products and services you offer; the management of the business and its employee resources; the selection of optional markets; determining schedules of your people and projects. It all belongs to you!!

2. Provide a needed service – to make an impact in your community. For many business owners, starting your own company comes about as a result of seeing a society or community need or problem – and through your expertise and passion, you ‘know’ you can provide solutions to the problem. You can create new products and services to current markets – or can introduce already successful products and services to new markets. Your ‘job and life satisfaction’ is huge because of the positive impact on your community – the fact that you are making the world a better place. You, of course, need to assure your plan provides appropriate financial rewards as well.

Think about taking your clinic’s knowledge, products and services directly into the Employer setting. What an amazing benefit for the Employees you will be working with – transferring knowledge to them that they can then use in their daily lives. Reach the community where they are, not waiting for them to get hurt and somehow eventually find their way to your location.

3. Integrate your work and personal life. Balancing work and personal time often creates a challenge. When you control the schedules, you can arrange life and work around each other. Considerations can easily accommodate childcare, school events, exercise schedules, staff meetings, service delivery schedules for clients and patients, commuting needs and hassles and even ‘every Friday off’ to name a few. How about fitting in afternoon naps! Or a massage for yourself?

4. Reap the financial rewards. Of course, it is up to you to design your business to reap the financial rewards. Don’t hope that it will happen; structure it to happen.
Remember, additional financial benefits as a business owner include…

• control your own overhead expenses
• utilize important tax breaks
• take advantage of the ability to establish your own benefits such as healthcare and retirement plans

If you’re ready to explore the idea of starting your own Industrial Therapy or Occupational Health & Wellness practice, get in touch with us to learn more. The KEY Functional Assessments Network – we will show you how starting your own business is not only possible, but is also the best way to access the above benefits – and more!