Why I Love Being My Own Boss

I admit it, I am one who has always been stubborn, and I hate being told what to do. But before you think badly of me let me finish. No I am not a bully. No I do not always get my way. In fact I have learned to "go with the flow" fairly well. I can even admit when I am wrong, I often make mistakes, I am human.


My husband and I opened a mobile oil change business several years ago. Before starting this home based business we set up the rules. He would be in charge of the service part and I would run the home office. This allowed us both to be our own boss while working together for the same goal. Of course there have been times when I would go and help him provide service. That was a big help for me to learn how things were done, I could see from firsthand experience how long it took to do certain things. I could see that on occasion that something out of the norm could occur.

This experience helped me in my part of running the office. I could adapt what I learned to help me to schedule better. It also helped me better maintain inventory because I saw firsthand what was being used more or less on the job. I found that I love to learn! I love to find ways that I could make things go more smoothly on the "job site" (as a mobile business it was never an actual "job site" but that is the best term I can think of to describe it). Many times I would hear my husband say "this would go better if I had such n such" or "I wonder if there is a tool to do this?"

Once I was back in the office I would get online and start searching, many times I could find what he had talked about and order it for him.

I love talking to customers, the friendly "how are you?" before getting down to actually scheduling the appointments. As my own boss there is no one standing over me saying "hurry up" if my customer and I felt like chatting some, we can do that, no problem. People enjoy that, they miss the days where a business could be friendly. How many complaints do we hear all the time about "lousy service" sales people being "short" with customers?

Even doing my paperwork, posting invoices, checking inventory, and ordering product is a joy. I found vendors online so many orders would be delivered by UPS. It is like Christmas all year around receiving deliveries!

The freedom of my home office allows me to still conduct a normal life while taking care of business. If I need to dash out to the store I can. With a cell phone I can accept customer calls from anywhere and as long as I keep myself in "business mode" my customers have not a clue that I am in the grocery store! Their perception is that I am sitting in my cubicle working. What is not to love about that?

Yes, I can honestly say "I love my job" and mean it. That is why I love being my own boss!

Melinda Johnson co-owner with husband Eric of Melrics Mobile Lube Started their Mobile Oil Change Business in Oct.1999 and found no resources out there to help them with their questions. After finding out on their own by trial and error they started helping others via email. They also have their own copy-written version of "How To Start A Mobile Oil Change Business" manual. To read more about this business please visit their site at http://www.melrics.com

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