If you like the idea of being able to get rid of the idea of a boss and working to someone else’s schedule, then a lifestyle business is perfect for you
The term “lifestyle business” is a fairly confusing one, on the surface at least. Anyone who has ever gone into business for themselves is creating a lifestyle business, surely? It’s not like they’re going to be doing it in their spare time; creating a business tends to entirely take over your life in a way that little else is capable of doing.
So, what is a lifestyle business, and how does it differ from just being… a business?
Lifestyle Business: An Overview
A lifestyle business is best defined
- A small company, which usually has very few employees.
- Any employees that it does have tend to be related to the person who owns the company. For example, if your sister tends to help out with your web design – that kind of assistance, rather than having someone on the payroll full time.
- The business is not designed to turn a huge profit, expand, or do anything of those classic “business”-type things. It’s enough to generate a living – potentially even a good standard of living – for you, but it’s small-scale.
- In essence, the phrase comes from the idea that it’s a business that funds your lifestyle, rather than preparing you to take over the world.
The difference between this and a standard business is fairly obvious, when put like that. Most standard businesses will want to one day invest, expand, hire employees, become a known and recognized leader in their field. A lifestyle business is more focused on just keeping the owner afloat financially and giving them the space to be their own boss.
Who Does A Lifestyle Business Benefit?
If you like the idea of being able to get rid of the idea of a boss and working to someone else’s schedule, then a lifestyle business is perfect for you. Often, if someone wants to have their own business, it’s assumed that they want to take it to the next level and expand, but let’s be realistic for a moment.
Not everyone is cut out to be a business mogul. Even more, not everyone wants to be a business mogul, especially after having a family. While there are people in this world who want to dominate their sector and monopolize business, for others, they just want the freedom of being able to work for themselves. They don’t want to be worrying about managing staff or making huge decisions, and that’s completely fine. It’s easy to think otherwise given that so much business advice is about getting bigger, better, more lucrative – but there’s always a price.
The Cost Of A Standard Business
The cost of a standard business is, first and foremost, very little. On their way to entrepreneurial glory, they will have to spend a lot of money – often their own personal finances – to be able to achieve their goals. It’s exhausting, and it’s risky. If their money runs out, as is pretty much inevitable, then they find themselves having to scramble for investors or taking a gamble on the online lending market just to keep themselves in business. If they do succeed, then they find themselves at the head of a burgeoning empire – which has a huge impact on the rest of their life. Even if it does go right, the financial strain of those early years tend to wear heavily for years to come.
As for the impact on the rest of their life, this is a factor that’s not to be underestimated. While some people will always feel that their priority is to make as much money and get their business as big as possible, the price for this success is often paid by way of family, friends, social time, and even mental health. Stress is one of the biggest killers in the world, which adds another item to the bill that a standard business can bring forth.
Lifestyle Business..
The above makes it sound like a lifestyle business is, frankly, easy street. Who wouldn’t want to do it? No boss, no working to someone else’s time, being able to pick and choose what you do, making enough money to do the things you want in life – it’s sounding pretty ideal, isn’t it?
Of course, the reality has a tendency to darken the expectation in life, and the same is absolutely true of lifestyle businesses. While you will have all of those benefits with a lifestyle business, it’s still going to be, well… work. It’s still going to be stressful. It’s still going to mean making sacrifices as you struggle to get things moving.
However, the benefit of this kind of business is that when the work pays off, you’re going to be the only person who benefits. You don’t have to share the spoils of your hard work with a boss or a business partner; it’s all yours. There’s also the fact that being able to control your own schedule gives you a great opportunity to raise a family without having to worry too much about dashing off to work all the time; you can arrange things so that you’re always there when you need to be.
Common Types Of Lifestyle Businesses
So if you have read through the information, the pros, and the cons, and still decided that a lifestyle business is likely going to be worth your time – then what sort of work should you be doing?
There are a huge range of options, but the most popular for Moms tend to be in areas like:
- Audio typing and transcription.
- Making and selling your own goods, which can be anything from laundry soap to beauty balms.
- Graphic design.
- Writing.
- Marketing.
- Sales.
These jobs are ideal, as they tend to involve working with specific clients. This means if you need time to take care of busy life and kids time, you can schedule your clients so your schedule is free when it needs to be.
Could You Do It?
The simplistic answer here is: yes, you could have your own lifestyle business because thousands of Moms are managing it. Find your niche, put in the work, and it might just be the best thing you have ever done.
