Employee or Entrepreneur Mindset

When writing the Try Before You Buy post I realized that one item I didn't discuss in detail was what your business/income mindset is. Are you a person who enjoys the day-to-day consistency of going to an office or are you more of a dynamic entrepreneur type who prefers varied hours, seasons of longer work and a little more varied income possibilities?

If you're more of the type of person who would prefer the consistent paycheck provided by someone else then you need to make sure you've moving to an area that offers those types of opportunities and offers them in more than one company. The news of the major employer in a town shutting down or significantly reducing its workforce and causing the unemployment to skyrocket is, sadly, not surprising anymore and appears it will continue. Also, make absolutely sure your spouse is in sync with the decision and is of the same mindset or things could go bad, in some cases very bad.

If you're more entrepreneurial minded and can figure out ways of generating more income then you'll do just fine and I'm guessing you didn't need me to tell you that. With the availability of the internet the opportunity to generate a primary or secondary income without leaving your house just keeps getting better. Currently I can do far better financially by doing I.T. contracting work to support our farm life than using farm income to support our household. This could change in the future but that is the joy of living in a great country like the U.S., I can change my approach at any time I want...my only limitation is me.

One final note to those of you struggling with making the change, too often men and women either continue on a path that they think their spouse wants or is "necessary for the family" without having a serious conversation with their significant other. Either I'm the luckiest man on earth (OK, I am) but my wife has usually supported things I'd like to try sometimes to serious detriment to our family (most of those were bad financial decisions). However due to her wonderful support and not rubbing it in my face I have become a much better man. That is just one of many reasons I give for renting instead of buying initially, if you decide it isn't for you and your family you can wait until your rental period is up and return to your city life with a few more life lessons under your belt.