Wonder if you should be an employee or entrepreneur? There are a lot of reasons why I became an entrepreneur. The entire first two weeks of this year it would be very easy to say I’ve done nearly none of them. Why I think most of us go into business. I’ve spent the majority of my time doing things I’m not good at. I’ve been procrastinating doing them, which amplifies the negative impact of them. And still, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I Still Have to Say No In the beginning, I had tons of time, and no revenue. That was uncomfortable for someone who was used to taking action and seeing results. So, it was discipline that made me say no to opportunities.  More often I said yes. Not necessarily for the right reasons. I went to get the ego hit that comes from being asked to present to a room of your own peers or to author this or that for them. But did I consciously think whether or not it was the best investment of time money and energy? Then, not really. I probably did blow up the credibility benefit of doing it and used the media exposure to my advantage. It’s anyone’s guess as to whether that was productive or not. And now, I’ve grown to the extent that I have to say “no” to things I actually really do want to do. I recently had the opportunity to author a chapter for NASM, and I love them and the work they do, but I’m having to base my time spend on what is best for the company I run. I’ve been asked to do an adult education course for my alma mater’s Retired Alumni but again, I have to consider what I won’t be doing with that time and energy. I’ve recently been invited to present at prestigious conferences I used to love presenting for and again, I have to say no. These might be things that you’d say recharge your batteries and you love and at one time I would have too. But I realize that the writing for someone else, the traveling and expense of that and time away puts a crunch not just on me but on everyone else in my team too if I’m not accessible. A Tough Decision There are things I’ll say yes to because being out in front of more people is good for me, but others I need to say no to not just for the time and energy spent preparing but for the steal from what would normally be recovery time. I share this with you because if you’re a personal trainer starting out … or already out on her own you may be wondering – especially in this climate with gyms not doing so well and online training really not requiring a gym to do it – if you’re best suited for an employee or being an entrepreneur. Having been both during my 38 years yet literally from the beginning, always having something independent, I can weigh in. I’m also tapping into others who’ve managed, owned, hired, trained and fired and watched employees quit, leave and go it alone. For a look at who thrived, survived, moved on to becoming an employee again… stay tuned. Failing on your Way to Deciding Employee or Entrepreneur ? First of all, I want to say something before we start. Having tried it and failed to reach the success you wanted is still a win. Along the way it’s our failures that teach us far more than the successes do. If you go the entrepreneur route, I would absolutely make sure that you have someone who will keep you accountable. If you have a spouse and a reason there’s no sweat, it’s a disadvantage. Trust me, I know this. For 4 or 5 years while supported by my husband my business was a loss. That’s not only a red flag for the IRS but it’s not really a business. If it were paying your bills, or if you were going to ask for a loan or seek investors, no one in their right mind would say yes to that. So don’t fool yourself if your partner (or parent) is gifting you money and so you look on the outside as if you’re a business with revenue, expenses and a profit margin, while inside your books show something else. It’s not just me. I’ve seen it happen all too often with other fitness professionals too. They’ve been given the money to start. They’ve been b