Upper management came out with a new policy last week, and it’s untenable. They can’t expect people to put up with these new rules – they can expect a mass exodus in coming weeks. Think about it. You worked from home four years ago and liked it. Your skills are sharp. You could be your own boss. But before you resign and remodel the guest room, read “One Day I’ll Work for Myself” by Benjamin C. Waterhouse. Prior to the Civil War, most American businesses were small businesses, owned by people who personally knew their customers, and crafted items in small batches. Big changes came in the post-war years when the American Industrial Revolution made goods available on a larger scale and shippable anywhere. Today, says Waterhouse, the majority of companies in the U.S. are “small” by government definition. Eighty-one percent of those businesses have no employees, except the owner. Around one out of nine people in today’s workforce are self-employed. So, how did we get to the point where not working for a big corporation is common, even goal-worthy? By the early 1900s, Waterhouse says, Americans worked for someone else for benefits and a paycheck. That was especially true in the post-WWII years, but that is also when mom and pop ventures began to flourish. Politics entered business, and it did so in a big way. Cultural shifts and social changes altered the way we work even more. It changed again in every recession that’s happened in the past fifty years, and then there was the Covid-19 pandemic, and the lingering thought, “Why return to an office?” The bottom line, says Waterhouse, “There are as many reasons for going into business as there are people who go into business. But terms like ‘opportunity’ and ‘necessity’ cannot capture the complexity of those experiences.” Ever had a job you hated that sucked your soul dry? Entrepreneurship sounds pretty good under those conditions. So, learn the big picture on being your own boss, but beware – you might change your mind. First things first: “One Day I’ll Work for Myself” isn’t a how-to book. There are no advice sections or end-of-chapter tips and hints. This is a history book, straight-up, so the lessons are buried inside the timeline, the stories, and the case-studies that author Benjamin C. Waterhouse shares. Stay open to them, and you’ll see how modern work works. How we got here – with work-for-yourself having such cachet these days – will be perfectly clear. “One Day I’ll Work for Myself” is an interesting read for any level of businessperson, and for anyone who loves to read about politics or history. If you’re thinking about entrepreneurship, your new boss will love it!
