Ask anyone who has already made the leap from working for someone else to working for themselves the same question, and you’ll likely get a response like this:

“Oh, let me count the ways.”

After all, working from home is the dream of millions of people across the globe—and for good reason. So as a kick off to this blog, I’d like to begin by talking about some of the major benefits that you’ll experience when you become your own boss.

As someone who has worked from home for a couple of decades, here are what I consider the biggest 5 benefits of working for yourself:

Benefit #1: Time = Your Dream

There have been quite a few studies lately that show the only way to build real wealth is to work for yourself, and it’s true. When you work for someone else, you’re giving them your time, and they’re using it to build their business. The more time you give them, the closer they get to building a profitable business that will fund their retirement, send their kids to college, buy their dream home, send them to the South of France for the summer or anything else they choose to do with their money.

But here’s the deal. Your time could be spent building your dream, not theirs.

You need time to start and build a business, and when you give it to someone else, it lowers your chances of building your own dream. How do you take back your time? By giving it to yourself as you work in your own business.

Once you have control of your own time, the possibilities are endless.

Benefit #2: Money = Your Freedom

Let’s face it, the majority of us work in order to earn a living so we can do and have the things we want. Even if we love our jobs, we still need to earn an income. But there is a difference between earning a paycheck and paying yourself.

When you earn a paycheck, you’re limited in how much money you can earn. Sure, you can work overtime, get a Christmas bonus, or even work multiple jobs to try and get ahead. And that traditional path is honorable and will carve out a nice future for many people.

But for some, settling for anything other than entrepreneurship isn’t an option.

When you work for yourself, you are the navigator of your own future. You can determine how much money you’ll make by how much you work. If you feel like putting family first during the holidays and are comfortable making less that month, you can take a week off. It’s up to you. Need to quickly save for a down payment on a house? You can work as much as you need to accomplish your goal.

Working for yourself gives you the freedom to determine your financial future.

Benefit #3: Entrepreneurship = Fun

Have you ever woken up on a Monday morning and started counting the days until Friday so you could be in control of your own day? How about your lunch hour—does it go so fast that when you realize it’s over you feel like it just began?

I’m sure you’ve heard the old cliché, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” When is the last time you thought about your job in those terms?

Let me tell you something: when my day ends, I can’t believe it didn’t just start. I love what I do, and I often work late into the night—not because I have to, but because I can. I want to.

I’m having fun.

Imagine a life where you wake up in the morning excited to begin your day because you enjoy what you do. You’re excited about the potential and the possibilities are endless. You control the day, and you can’t wait to see what you can do.

Which leads us to the next benefit

Benefit #4: The Future = Your Control

If you could choose between letting your boss be in control of your future or having all the control yourself, which would you choose? If you’re like most entrepreneurs, it’s a no-brainer.

Personally, I think it’s crazy to give anyone else control of your future, yet that’s exactly what you do when you work for someone else. Just ask all the victims of corporate layoffs or those who slave away at the same company for “reasonable” wages and then struggle in their retirement years.

There is another way.

When you work for yourself, you take control of your life and your future. The choices you make from the moment you open your own business and on will determine the rest of your life. It’s both scary and exciting at the same time, isn’t it?

Benefit #5: Your Life = Yours

Finally, the biggest benefit I receive by working for myself is the absolute authority I have over my daily life. If my son needs me to help him with something on a Wednesday—or even if he just wants to go eat sushi—I can. If I want to go out of town for a 4-day weekend, it’s no problem as long as I’m caught up on work. If I feel like sleeping in after a sleepless night, it’s no problem.

Now, I’m not saying that you can be lazy or irresponsible and run a successful business. Quite the contrary. But if your run your business responsibly, there is no reason why you can’t schedule in life as it comes along.

What About You?

What are your reasons for wanting to work from home? Please feel free to leave your comments below. Let’s talk about what is driving you to make this life-changing decision!