Finding your purpose (which starts with self-love…and maybe some meditation?) is a huge part of living a Nutritious Life. So it’s no wonder so many people who prioritize wellness end up following their passions towards a life that involves working for themselves.
Plus, lots of healthy professions—like health coaching, teaching yoga, or creating the next big wellness app—lend themselves to entrepreneurship and non-traditional work scenarios.
Still, it can be scary jumping off the nine-to-five ledge into a world where you’re totally in charge of (and responsible for) what comes next.
To find out what drives healthy entrepreneurs to face that challenge and succeed on their own, we asked 10 inspiring innovators to share: What’s the number one thing you love about working for yourself? Find out what they had to say about the benefits of being your own boss, below.
(Featured Photo: Shutterstock)
10 Entrepreneurs Share Why They Love Working For Themselves
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Keri Glassman
Founder + CEO, Nutritious Life, The Nutritious Life Studio
Strangely enough, I love the unknown. I love that anything can happen. Yes, that can be scary when you look at it one way, but if you look at it from the possibilities-are-limitless kinda way, it is some serious fuel for life. So, that lights me up. And deciding (almost all of the time) where and when I’ll be working so I can be where I want to be personally (usually that means with my kids!) as much as humanly possible.
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Adi Arezzini
Co-founder + CEO, Teami Blends
The endless potential! I am a very passionate, creative, out-of-the-box thinker so working for myself allows me to conceptualize and bring an idea into reality from start to finish. When I started Teami Blends five and a half years ago I had to do every part of the business—packing boxes, customer service, warehouse manager, marketer, HR manager, and the list goes on. It’s not easy to wear all these hats, but it gives you an immense amount of perspective. Having done all of these jobs myself, I am able to truly understand what it takes to grow my business by hiring the right team members who have what it takes. www.teamiblends.com
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Kerrigan Behrens
Co-founder + CMO, Sagely Naturals
In general, I actually find that I’m harder on myself than any of my previous bosses have been. Working for yourself doesn’t mean there aren’t tasks you don’t feel like completing or days when you feel like you would rather be on vacation. What it means—that you can be true to your own life’s mission—is worth so much. I am grateful everyday to be pursuing what I’m most passionate about, which is helping people to do more of what they love through CBD products that support whole-self wellness. www.sagelynaturals.com
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Ashleigh and Trey Lockerbie
Founders, Better Booch
Ashleigh: I love working for my own company because I am able to make a positive impact in my community that is far greater than what I could achieve as one person. It makes each day meaningful because I feel I’m working on something greater than myself.
Trey: The number one thing I love about working for myself is that I am in control of my own time, which allows me to have a great work/life balance. Lately, that has given me more time with my son in the morning, which is priceless. www.betterbooch.com
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Meika Hollender
Co-founder + CEO, Sustain Natural
The number one thing I love about working for myself is that I get to work on building something that I believe in so deeply and so fiercely every single day. Sustain’s mission to radically change how the world perceives female sexuality, through our products, activism, and education, is really a very personal mission for me, and I am fortunate to get to wake up every day and work towards achieving it. www.sustainnatural.com
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Jeff Mahin
Co-founder + President, Split Nutrition
I have an industrious and creative mind, and working for myself enables me to think beyond limitations sometimes present in larger and more established organizations. It enables me to stay in a constant state of innovation and pushing the limits of possibilities forward as fast as I am able. splitnutrition.com
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Nona Lim
Founder + CEO, Nona Lim
I love the empowerment and gratification of being a change-maker. I have the opportunity to work with an amazing team that has the same mission and passion, and I’m able to connect with our customers who truly believe in our mission, our story, and our products. That’s what gets me out of bed every day. www.nonalim.com
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Sara Brooks
Founder + CEO, Covet PR
Working for myself is hands down the most challenging yet rewarding thing in the world. When you are your own boss, you are harder on yourself than any previous boss in your life and expect more from yourself than any future boss ever could. Being responsible for not only my livelihood but the livelihood of nearly 30 others and their families in addition to the reputation of our clients each day carries a tremendous amount of pressure, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I am a dreamer and an eternal optimist and for the most part, I have the ability to carry out even the wildest ideas, with no one telling me no (well, most of the time!). And the freedom that brings is truly priceless. www.covetpr.com
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Amy Rothstein
Founder, DONA
I always say I love having my own business because it is very creative. I not only get to create products (like our new Spice Sodas), but I get to create systems (sales, production, marketing), a brand (our style, our packaging, our values), a community and so much more. Almost every aspect of my job feels creative. www.drinkdona.com
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Lindsay Cook
Co-Founder + CEO, FitOn
The number one thing I love about working for myself is that I’ve been able to cut down on the amount of time spent in meetings, which consumed more time than needed in my previous career. I’m now able to choose the meetings that make the most sense for me to be a part of and make them a more efficient use of everyone’s time, which allows the team to spend more time where it counts. Additionally, it also gives my team more time to dedicate to creating a better work-life balance for themselves—which is why I created FitOn for moms and other busy individuals in the first place! I was a mom struggling to balance my career and family time and had no time to squeeze fitness into my busy life. Fitness is what helps us many of us feel good (especially before, after, or during a long, hard day), and with FitOn, I can be far more efficient with my time. www.fitonapp.com
