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Here's the thing. If you started your company to have a little extra money and work a "little" weekly, this article isn't for you. If you started your company or became an independent agent to work 70-hour weeks and make just enough money to live by, this article isn't for you. However, if you're in either situation and Uncle Sam is letting you deduct business expenses from your taxes, then you're self-employed, not a business owner.Let me explain.The self-employed have done one thing for themselves -- created a job with a paycheck, a job with the burden of a lot of extra jobs and taxes.On the plus side, they've created a system that includes tax deductions -- Whoopy! But what they've done is go from working for a company to creating a job for themselves AND added the stress of being the boss!Face it -- the self-employed are slaves to their businesses, because no one is working for or with them. Many go from one client to another, or they have only one big client and a few little ones. As they work, they keep reinventing the wheel because they don't have long-term plans or systems in place.They can't take days off, let alone take a vacation! The words they use -- often, and to anyone who will listen -- are "overwhelmed," "tired" and "have no time for that." (For more on the self-employed versus the business owner, read the book my clients all read -- "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter.)Go All the Way -- to Business Owner!Business owners, on the other hand, give themselves the gifts of time and self-value, while they give others one of the most important gifts they can give -- paychecks for doing what they love! And when the business is situated like they have dreamed of, they're then able to give the gift of philanthropy.Business owners learn the importance of strategic, tactical and operational planning. They monitor their marketing activities. They know exactly what is unique about their business and what they bring to it that adds to its uniqueness, and they know who their ideal client is. They run their business like the "big corporate boys," but without all the hassle -- or lawsuits!If you've been in business a while, you might think you're no longer self-employed or running a hobby. Beware. Over the years, only 2 out of more than 100 of my clients were really "running" a business. The rest had businesses stuck in "infancy."And the amount of money you make doesn't determine whether it's a business. I remember Angela (not her real name), owner of a company, with 19 employees, and making $8 million. After an hour's consultation, she asked me what I thought was keeping her company from making as much money as she knew it could. My answer: She was running a hobby. That didn't go over well, and I asked her to read "The E-Myth Revisited" (another must-read business book). Two weeks later, Angela called to start working on her first system -- her company's business and marketing plans. Eventually, 4 others in her company created plans for their departments, and 9 months later Angela was working 1 day a month (yes, per month), and the income for her company was $14 million. So, just because you're making money doesn't mean you're running a well-oiled business machine!Those who "shift" to the business owner's frame of mind take steps to start doing what successful and practical business owners do:
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©2006 A former Wall Street trader, Maria Marsala, Business Strategist and Trainer, helps women with independent micro, small to mid-size businesses and branch managers to boost profits, productivity and have more playtime – faster! Subscribe to Powerful Business Strategies Ezine to download a one-page business and marketing plan MP3 and create your business vision statement now. Visit www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com
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