Escape the 9 to 5 and become a Digital Entrepreneur

I’m pretty sure that everyone reading this will be able to associate with at least some of the pains that working for others in a stereotypical “traditional” business often presents.

I’m talking about all the things like the daily commute chaos, being stuck in traffic on the motorway or trying to get a seat on the train or tube, and that’s before even arriving at the office to be subjected to 8 hours of workplace stress and demands, and all the pointless meetings too (which half the time end up being nothing more than glorified coffee and social gatherings with no real productive outcome anyway!) – you are probably smiling now because you know it’s true!

In a way, it’s also sad that there are still many people out there, experiencing some, or all, of those issues daily, and haven’t yet discovered the benefits of becoming an entrepreneur – in fact the nearest they have got to it is shouting at the TV during Dragons Den!

Of course, it also takes a special person to become an entrepreneur and it requires motivation, ambition, and the right mindset and approach.

But with that said, there is no better motivation than being able to create freedom, and lifestyle choices by being your own boss.  You can’t put a price on being able to spend more time with your family.  Being able to watch your children grow up – rather than constantly missing your child’s bedtime stories for example because you were late home from the office or got delayed in traffic for the fourth time that week.

So, that brings me to the main content and reason for this blog post.  I wanted to share some of my story with you in the hope that it inspires and motivates you to develop your own journey as an entrepreneur.

I won’t bore you with the exact day to day history of my background (although I have written an eBook which follows my journey for those of you who would like to know a little more).

However; after spending the majority of around 25 years working in commercial technology sales, product management & marketing, and business development, you can imagine that I have numerous stories to tell about the trials and tribulations of employment, recession, life on the road in sales, and all the issues mentioned at the start of this article.

The other reason for this blog post today though, is to also share with you a part of my journey which has allowed me to move from the more traditional “bricks and mortar” style business, to that of a Digital Lifestyle.  Indeed, these days I like to consider myself as a Digital Entrepreneur.

Having become sick of the daily commute and workplace stress, which eventually impacted my health, I had a “light-bulb” moment – in fact, I “really did” have a light-bulb moment – because I decided to setup an LED Lighting company!

To be fair, that element of my business is still growing, however I expect it to be hugely overtaken by the other element of my business – Digital Lifestyle Mentoring, and the focus of this blog.

You see, when I setup the original lighting company, I did it because after a period of illness caused through workplace stress and issues caused by my employer at the time, I needed to escape that lifestyle, and having been immersed in the market and technology of LED Lighting, at the time it seemed like the most obvious choice.

However; that’s also my other point, because it only “seemed” like my most obvious choice because I was kind of following the typical human life blueprint almost following the system like a sheep, and not exploring new directions… it goes something like this… we go to nursery, followed by primary school, secondary school, maybe college or university, and then we think we “have” to go and work for others, so we join the rest of the 9 to 5 rat-race!

And, when you think that the average adult spends around 40 hours a week, 48 weeks a year, and around 40 or maybe even 50 years of their life working – that’s a whole lot of stress!

Getting back to my LED Lighting company, whilst I was now able to work from home on my terms, nothing had really changed in a sense… not only was I now sitting at my desk for much more than 40 hours a week, I was also working nights and weekends too, and in terms of the actual workload itself, I still had to deal with suppliers and stock, logistics, insurance, and countless site surveys and meetings just to close a deal.

Don’t get me wrong, I am of course very grateful for the business from LED Lighting – and there is nothing better than the satisfaction of knowing it is all your own work, and profit, and the feeling of creating results directly for you and your family.

But during all this process, I realised that longer term I wanted to expand the business direction into “Digital” – I carried out thousands of hours of research, and I even undertook a Diploma in Digital Marketing.  I guess the plan was for the LED lighting to initially create revenue because I was already in that industry; but with the aim for it to allow me to expand into other areas in due course.

So, Why digital?

What I very quickly realised was that the transition to digital much sooner meant, no more stock issues, no more dealing with suppliers, no more warehouse and logistic issues, and no more cold-calling!  My overheads were literally halved in an instant, and my profit doubled in an instant!  I had full control and copyright of my own products that I could sell or even licence to others, and suddenly, my workload also reduced due to the automation possibilities that digital can provide too, and that’s the whole point really, about being able to create freedom.

The early success of being able to create and control my own products and services, also meant that I wanted to give something back and to mentor and help others to the same too.

My core business now focuses on doing just that, through a range of products such as eBooks, online video courses, and 1-2-1 mentoring /workshops.

Most importantly, being able to show people how to pretty much automate everything, so that they do create true freedom going forward, and the ability to work anywhere they want, when they want, working less hours to create income on demand through a digital lifestyle.

You and I are fortunate to live in a time that has never happened previously in history, we now have instant access to multiple technology channels, and global opportunities, and there has never been a better time to become a Digital Entrepreneur.

To find out more about PMH Digital, visit https://pmhdigital.co.uk/