When I first decided to become my own boss and stop working for someone else it wasn’t by choice but by necessity. I had been working at a Steel Mill that unexpectedly closed down forcing me to figure out a way to support a wife and child. When I received my layoff I was upset and frustrated.I had finally found a decent job and just like that it was ripped away without any warning from the owner of the company or management.It was at this point that I decided I would no longer rely on someone else for my financial well being but instead would rely on myself to make sure I was financially secure!I started working at creating my first internet business in a field called affiliate marketing that I had been reading about. Through hard-work, determination and a bit of luck I got my first website up and started making money promoting other peoples products.I had made it! I had become my own boss and for the first time in my life, I truly felt like I was in control of my future.Within a couple years, I went from making a couple hundred dollars a month with affiliate marketing to creating an income of about twenty thousand dollars a month. That’s where the problems started…As my business grew, issues arose that had to be dealt with. For example, running websites receiving as many visitors as I was each month, I really needed to hire someone to manage my web hosting servers, instead I taught myself how to operate and manage my servers.As I focused on keeping servers running, designing my own graphics, building my own websites, etc. my income streams started dropping and before I even noticed the downtrend, they tanked.Instead of focusing on growing my current income streams or creating new income streams, I focused on the day to day operations of running my business and my company paid the price for it.I had become so focused on being my own boss that I did not allow myself to transition in to becoming a CEO. There’s a huge difference between being your own boss and being a CEO that I didn’t realize. Honestly, I thought they were the same thing!A CEO or chief executive officer is someone who is in charge of managing an organization.When I first started my business I had no choice except to do it all. I didn’t have the money to hire anyone and honestly it was fun in the beginning. However, after I had started growing and these tasks required more and more of my time, I should have taken a step back. I should have invested money in people that could focus on the day to day operations and allow me to focus on continuing to grow my business.I had developed a mindset of a boss telling myself that if I wanted it done correctly I’d have to learn to do it myself and do it!Because of my stubbornness and pride I allowed a business to come crashing down, but I learned an extremely valuable lesson.You can become your own boss and order yourself to do task after task, or you can become the CEO and find smart, capable people to manage allowing you to focus on the future of your business.You will hit a plateau if you allow yourself to become your own boss. It will not leave you enough time to focus on the future of your company and it will eventually limit or kill your business.If you decide to start your own business, which I believe everyone should, you will hit a point where you’ll have to decide if you will continue being your own boss or if you’ll make the transition to becoming the CEO of your company.Don’t make the same mistake I did and don’t think it’s ever too soon to start making the transition. Your company will thank you for it!
