The old adage says that you never miss the waters until the wells run dry. When enjoying my high salary in a very promising career as a management consultant, I never realized what I was lacking until the day I left my employment and never to return again. I had been hired by a leading management consulting firm in our city immediately after my undergraduate studies, and life seemed to be smooth and all sweet. The salary was way above what my colleagues were earning in leading audit and investment firms in the city and within a year I had received a promotion. 

The promotion however came loaded with twin gifts too; one was a higher salary and the second was more responsibilities. My hours at the office became longer and at some point I found myself dashing to the office over the weekend to meet urgent client deadlines that were due the following week on Monday. I was earning so much money than I needed since most of the time I ate in the office and only went back to my house to sleep. The money was a lot, but I had no time to spend it.

This trend was not to last for long, though. One summer I took my leave for one week and joined a group of young entrepreneurs who were having an entrepreneurship excursion in a bus; while crisscrossing the country and having fun. I met with my age mates who were casually dressed and having fun while working in the bus and networking with their peers. During a knowledge share session, one of the entrepreneurs in the bus who owned an e-commerce platform for fashion explained to us how she had pivoted her venture through a business loan she received though she had a bad credit score. At that moment I realized I had my priorities wrong and it was time to rectify them. When the trip was over, I went back to my office and dropped my resignation letter; never to come return again to that office.

The young men and ladies in the bus had changed the way I viewed life. They were all in their early twenties and they already were founders of amazing start-ups that they were working on while in the bus. These millennials were literary in charge of their lives and they were having fun while at it. They had the freedom to decide when to organize for another week-long entrepreneurship trip in a bus; something that I could not do since I had a boss who decided for me what went into my calendar and when. Amazingly, they even knew how to overcome the capital raising hurdle that limit growth for many other businesses and had chat clear growth plans for their ventures. I had been advising corporates on how to build sustainable business strategies as a management consultant, but from the trip I realized just how far I was from reality and opted to jump into entrepreneurship and wade through it with my peers.

Having been an entrepreneur for more than three years now, I have discovered the gems that come with being your own boss. Below are my top 2 reasons why you should be quitting your job and start being your own boss. 

You will never have a boss dictate how you spend your time again

As an entrepreneur, the only boss you have to report to will be your customers since the customer is always king. Before I quit my job, my boss could book random meetings even after working hours regardless of the plans I had for the evening. That was irritating and I had to keep sending apologies to all my friends whenever I missed social events organized by my peers. Today I book meetings in my calendar based on availability and client needs. I never get surprise meetings at 5:30pm, when I am supposed to be in the gym. The flexibility to travel and meet more people is also limitless and the business deals availed by such mobility is tremendous.

Your earning potential is limitless

Before I quit, I had just been promoted and by salary almost doubled. That was a perfect trend to stick with; except that today I have employed ten more young people and I pay them all a decent salary with cash generated from my own business. Personally, my dividends from my business at the end of the year is more than twenty times the annual salary I could be currently earning had I not quit. I unleashed my earning power by taking the risk to explore what my boss was enjoying all along – being his own boss.

I love the freedom I get by being my own boss. I also love the fact that I have been able to increase my earning potential beyond what I could had imagined as an employee. If nothing else motivates you to quit your job today; just think of growing your earnings twenty times more and having the freedom to meet with your friends, family and business associates at will, then follow that aspiration.