When we are young we get used to plenty of rules. There are many things we are not allowed to do and even more restrictions to anything that even faintly sounds like fun. After getting out of school and in the working life it does not get any better. In reality there might perceive to be even more rules, principals and restrictions than ever before.
Freedom is something that goes hand in hand with responsibility. You have the liberty do things but you are also responsible of the consequences for the better or worse. How can we learn without extending and testing our limits? Being a grown-up should mean that you are in a full control of your life. You decide and act like an ass or a responsible person but it’s all up to you, right?
Become an entrepreneur and you soon realise that there are regulations and restrictions on pretty much anything and everything you do. Adults are not allowed to mutually agree upon the terms of their voluntary interaction—they are not considered competent enough to be in charge of their own lives. It does not matter whether we talk about building a house, renting an apartment or some equipment, hiring a person to do something for you, or even buying simple goods from your local shop. Did I mention there are even rules how and when you can walk and penalties for non-compliance?
Freedom means that you have the right to accept something but more importantly the right to decline from something. The latter part causes a lot of trouble for entrepreneurs. They are not simply allowed to carry out their trade without being pushed around continuously by various rules and regulations, penalties and compliancy issues. Large companies have it easier since they have the adequate resources and specialist to handle all the burdens of the public authorities. Small companies do not have the capital and manpower to deal with all the requirements without compromising their primary line of business: earning their living.
The entrepreneur must become the master of all trades without turning into a jack-of-all-trades. The challenge is not so much of how to be a productive member of the society but an obedient puppet that is not completely tangled up to the master puppeteer’s strings that tend to be pulled in random and often in self-contradictory order.
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