The Pros and Cons of Owning Your Own Business

The Pros and Cons of Running Your Own Business

When it comes to owing your own business, it is not always fun and games. Yes, the fact of not having a boss is nice, however your clients become your boss so it basically cancels out. Although it sounds cliche, when you work for yourself, you must use every skill you have. Putting in blood, sweat and tears and is also needed. Hopefully, for some, this will bring out a business like primal instinct. Constant learning is required and running your own business is not a 9 to 5 job. So you can get a perspective, here is a list of the ups and downs of running your own business.

Paychecks – consider this a thing of the past. Unless you are well established and convince a venture capital firm to back you (which I don’t recommend for several reasons), steady payments are not going to be the norm. This is both exciting and scary. If you don’t hustle, you’re not going to get paid. Essentially, you went from being the supermarket shopper to being a Native American with a bow and arrow. The worst thing about getting paid after you complete your services or sell your particular product is that companies are very slow to pay small vendors. You have to keep on top of accounts receivables.

Also, don’t get scared, but factor in health insurance to these costs. Regardless of the situation, never go without health insurance, it is a surefire way to go bankrupt.

No Boss – this is quite nice. Prior to opening my own firm, I had one employer whom I interned for and loved and one employer. However, felt my second had no vision, was complacent and we did not mesh well. Unless you get a great boss and are in a great industry, I do sincerely recommend that you give business ownership a shot – especially when you are young. In my opinion, it looks good on a resume.

Consistent Learning – I really like this part. When you own your own business, if you have any downtime, to be truly successful, you have to learn, learn and learn some more. To run your own business, you need to know basic accounting, sales techniques such as consultative selling and much, much more. Above all, it is my belief that in the year 2010, no companies can be competitive without a strong online presence.

Creativity – unfortunately, some jobs will put your brain to sleep. When owning your own business, you get to try new ways to generate revenue. The more creative you get and the more daring you are when implementing these plans, the better the end results will be. The rule of thumb is that you should not be afraid to fail. I have been running two companies as well as a consulting firm and still, to this day, make mistakes. Mistakes are great as long as you don’t make the same one over and over again.

Obviously, in my opinion, owning your own business, that is if you can do it, and are focused enough, is the best career choice. At least it is for me. Besides some downsides I have listed, being a business owner has had a lot more positives than negatives.