Corporate VS Entrepreneur Lifestyle - Stories, Insights, and Find Out Which One I Prefer

I'm going to be talking to you about the corporate versus the entrepreneur lifestyle, this is something that I'm really passionate about because I've done both. And I definitely don't think there's a right or wrong way. I think it's really good to be able to openly talk about it, and share some of my experiences with you so that you can understand both points of view.

I genuinely did enjoy parts of my corporate career. And I also love being an entrepreneur. Both come with plenty of ups and downs! So the purpose of this podcast is really to enlighten you share some of my background and my stories, but also give you some really clear facts on what the differences are.

Find out why the entrepreneur space is where I see myself pretty much forever, and where I want to be.

Thank you so much for listening to the journalists podcast. I truly appreciate every single one of you. If you'd like to leave me a review on your podcast app, I would love that. And if you'd like to follow me on social media, it's @jenlistercoaching on Instagram and LinkedIn.

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Music and production by the amazing Strike Productions

Transcript

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Hello, and welcome to the Jen Lister Podcast here I'll be chatting about life business growth strategies and sharing my personal journeys along the way. I will also be interviewing some incredible guests who are experts in their field, see it as my little black book of business. Today I'm going to be talking to you about the corporate versus the entrepreneur lifestyle is something that I'm really passionate about because I've done both. And I definitely don't think there's a right or wrong way. But I think it's really good to be able to openly talk about it and share some of my experiences with you so that you can understand both points of view. So today, I'm going to be sharing with you some of the facts on how the corporate and the entrepreneur lifestyles compare from obviously someone that has enjoyed both, I genuinely did enjoy parts of my corporate career. And I also love being an entrepreneur. And again, that's had lots of roller coasters in it, too. So the purpose of this podcast is really to enlighten you share some of my stories, but also give you some really clear facts on what the differences are. This was inspired by one of my clients actually, because she is in the corporate world. And she has got a business as well. But she said to me, she's a little bit nervous about the idea of switching over to her entrepreneur world full time because it can be a little bit more unstable. There's definitely a reputation and a stereotype that when you're an entrepreneur, your income can be less stable and is a little bit less reliable. So I'm just going to be very fact based with this. But before I go into it and tell you my comparisons, I'm just gonna tell you a little bit about me and my story in the two worlds. So in the corporate world, I worked for some big brands, including Deloitte, some big retailers, including Marks and Spencers Tescos. And I went to Australia and worked for a big company called Woolworths, which is not the same as the Woolworths that we had in the UK that went bust. It's a big supermarket chain out there. I worked in their strategy departments and did various consultancy work for some of the retail brands as well. I worked for around 10 years in the corporate sector, and I started my own business in 2017. So for the last five years, I've been in the entrepreneur sector, I grew my own Care business, which I've now sold. And now obviously, I'm a business strategy coach. So that's something I've been doing for the last year or so. I absolutely love being in the entrepreneur sector. So that's a little bit about me, just so that you know that I have got experience I've got five years experience as an entrepreneur, and I've got over 10 years experience as an employee. There are six key points that I see as differences between the entrepreneur life and the corporate life. Number one is not going to surprise you, because I've already touched on it, it's income. When you are in a corporate job. In any job, you have got a salary, typically you're getting paid probably a rate might be an hourly rate, it might just be a given salary for your job. And that can feel quite secure. For example, if you go to buy a house, in the UK, you can show you've got a pay packet, you've got a salary coming in. And that really helps you on your quest to get a mortgage, which I know is a big goal for a lot of people in the UK. So that can be really, really valuable. When you're an entrepreneur, sometimes your income can be a bit more unpredictable, especially at the start. If you're establishing your brand or your business one month, you might have lots of money coming in. And then the next month, you might think I have no idea where my next client is coming from. And I've definitely experienced this. I went on honeymoon earlier this year. And I went away knowing I had a few things booked in but not that much really not enough to cover my bills. If I'm honest, it was a little bit scary. But when I came back, I just believed in what I was doing. And I have managed to grow my business in an incredible way that I'm really, really proud of. I've built it back up. That's just what I decided that I wanted to do, because I wanted to have that break from my business for a month. But that was scary. And for some people, that's just not how they want to operate. Number two in my comparison between being an entrepreneur and an employee is around sickness. So when you've got a job, typically when you're unwell or you're sick from your job, you get paid. Whereas when you're an entrepreneur, you don't get paid. The minute that I decide that I'm not going to work today, if I cancel client meetings, there's no way that I'm going to be getting paid. So interestingly, I've found because me and my husband are both self employed, the tendency is that even if we are a little bit unwell we will try to push through. I don't know that that's necessarily a good thing. What I really loved about Australia actually, when I lived there was that their attitude to being unwell when you're at work was that they would not want you to go into the office at all and this was before the pandemic by the way. They would say if you've got a cold if you've got a cough if you feel unwell if you feel sick, just stay at home like don't come into work but also don't work from home. I feel like sometimes in the UK we can be a little bit like martyrs about this subject we can try and pull ourselves together and get to our desk, even if it's working from home and do some work. But actually, the culture and the mindset in Australia was very different to that I actually really appreciate and like that. So regardless, this is a little bit of a tangent, but if you're sick, you're sick. And you should definitely own that. But it is harder in the entrepreneur sector, I would say, because you genuinely don't get paid for your days off. Number three, which is a very similar point is about your holidays. So similar situation, if you go on holiday, like I said earlier, when I went away for a month, I wasn't gonna be getting paid. But when you work for a company, typically, if you work full time for a company, you might get 20 days of holiday a year, which is great, right? That's really nice. It equates to about a month off, you can spread that out throughout the year. And you also get the bank holidays off, which is lovely. When you work for yourself, you choose when you have your holidays, which is great, you get more of that freedom. But those holidays mean that you are very much sacrificing your income and your work and your growth of your business. In a world now, where social media is increasingly important, it can be really hard. Like I know, when I went away this year, for a week, I did go off social media for that whole week. And actually, when I came back to it, it was fine. Nothing had happened, there was no dramas, but at the same time, it is something that makes you feel a little bit nervous in your business, when it's something that you're passionate about. And you really want to make a success of. Number four is about having a boss. So when you're in a job, typically you've got a manager, you've got a boss, you've got a supervisor, whatever you want to call them, you've got someone who is probably more senior than you, who could be a bit of a mentor to you. Maybe they run your performance reviews, they help you set objectives, they guide you on your path in your career, whatever that may be that you're doing, and they should be supporting you and they should be part of your journey. One of the things I loved in corporate about having a boss was when they told me Well done, I am a big fan of love languages. I don't know if anyone else out there has read the book about the five love languages. But one of my top Love Languages is words of affirmation, which is essentially someone telling me that I've done something well or giving me a compliment. When you've got a boss, you've got someone cheering you on, you've got someone telling you that you've done a good job. And that's something that can be really, really rewarding. It can also be challenging, right? If you don't get on with your boss, or if you've got a boss that maybe doesn't compliment you and tells you when you've done something wrong more so. So there's pros and cons to having that boss when you're an entrepreneur, hopefully you realise this already. But you do not have a boss, there is no boss, you are the boss. And that's great in lots of ways. And there is also a downside to that. So the great thing about being your own boss is that you can make all the decisions, and you can be very much in control. But for me, I find that the downside is that I don't have that person cheering me on. For me, what I do as a result of that is I make sure that I've got mentors in my life, in my business, I've got people that do support me and help me develop. And that for me is non negotiable. And it's something that I would always, always want to invest in, in my business. And that's a way for me to celebrate wins and share wins and feel like I'm part of a team Number five, this is a big one. This is your time, when you're again. an entrepreneur, your time is very much your own, you get to dictate what you do. And when you do it, you're very much in control of your time, and you can create your own schedule. So if you're a morning person like me, you could get up really early and do your work in the morning and have every afternoon off. Or if you're more of a night owl, which I am definitely not, you can start working at 6pm at night and work through till midnight every night and have lots of fun during the day. The same goes for weekends, you could choose to work weekends, you could choose not to work weekends. So you've got a lot more autonomy in terms of dictating what you do with your time. But the opposite of that when you've got a job and you work in the corporate world or any any job really you will have your hours prescribed to us. So you'll probably be under some sort of contract. And your time will be very much dependent on the employer that you're working for. And as part of that, again, you'll have to request your holidays and when you're allowed to take those holidays and that might not always be possible. So there are definitely pros and cons to your time when you're an entrepreneur and when you're in a job. Number 6, my last point is all around your social life and working in a team. So when you're working a job, typically you're part of a team, typically, you're part of a slightly bigger company, you've got people around you that might be at the same level as you, you've got people that are more senior to you, potentially, that you can aspire to be like, and maybe you can see your career direction going that way, when you're an entrepreneur, the social life can be a little bit more lonely, you don't get those annual big Christmas events, and you don't get those work, drinks at 6pm on a Friday. And I remember having all those things and those glamorous parties and loving them. I love a good social event. I love meeting new people, I love being surrounded by people and having a laugh. So when you're an entrepreneur, you don't get that, especially if you work on your own. So it's about creating your own community, creating your own tribe of people that you want to be surrounded by. So again, that could be finding someone that lives in similar area to you, and that you get on well with and you could go for coffees together on a Friday afternoon. Or it could be joining a networking group that you feel aligned to, or it could be seeking out events and going into the city and going to a really cool event every few months so that you can be surrounded by those people and get that vibe get that team vibe going. So what do is my preference, corporate employee or entrepreneur? When I was in the corporate world, I always had One of the things that I've done this year actually that's really this weird feeling that I just didn't fit in. I always thought I wanted to run my own business, but I did not know how to do it. What is your preference? I would love to hear whether you're in helped that is I have started Thank you so much for listening to the Jen Lister Podcast. I job mode, that employee mode, or whether you're in that entrepreneur mindset, because everyone's different. Like I said at the start, there is no right or wrong. truly appreciate every single one of you. If you'd like to leave me a review on your podcast app, I would love that. And if you'd like to follow me on social media, it's@jenlistercoaching on Instagram and LinkedIn