Who hasn’t spent a lunch hour or two daydreaming of owning their own business, being their own boss? I know I have — so I actually did start my own business… three of them, actually, and one is still going strong. It’s not all fun and games, though, but there are advantages. If you’re considering opening your own shop or salon or charity group, here are some pros and cons of starting your own business to consider…
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Pro: You Make Your Own Hours
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Photo Credit: lynne_b
The first thing most people say they think they’ll love about starting their own business is that they’ll get to make their own hours, and only work when they want to. Don’t want to work Saturdays or Tuesdays? Then you can decide to close your business, or just not work, on those days.
Con: You’ll Be Working All the Time
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Photo Credit: AndreJenny.com
On the other hand, once you’re in business for yourself, you’ll find that you end up working a lot more than you ever did when you were working for someone else. You won’t leave anything undone at the end of the day.
Frequently asked questions
Pro: You’ll Be in Charge
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Photo Credit: Ryan Brenizer
If you’re in business for yourself, who will you have to answer to if you’re five minutes late or misplace a report? No-one! You don’t answer to anyone when you’re the one and only boss, so you are free to make, and learn from, small mistakes.
Con: There Won’t Be Anyone else to Help, or Be Responsible
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Photo Credit: Dan Eriksson
But then again, when you’re in business for yourself, by yourself, you bear all of the responsibility, too. There’s no-one to take over, or to make a decision you don’t want to make.
Pro: You Get to Use All of Your Talents
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Photo Credit: duttonkj21
If you’re good with people, and happen to also be a great pastry chef AND have a knack for ad design, then you’ll be able to leverage all of your talents if you open your own wedding cake bakery. You’ll make the ads, contact the media, meet with brides-to-be, negotiate for a retail space, fill out IRS and tax paperwork, and … you’ll get to bake, too!
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Con: You Might Feel Overwhelmed
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Photo Credit: shine_dorydevlin
Wearing all of those hats might be fun for a while, but you may also feel overwhelmed with everything you have to accomplish on your own, before you can hire a staff.
Pro: You Can Help Your Local Economy!
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Photo Credit: SCSSAPICS
This is one you might not think if at first, but by opening and running a small business, you’ll be contributing to your local economy, especially if you get big enough to hire any staff. Small businesses are the backbone of our economies, and you’ll be helping keep that going!
Once you consider all of these pros and cons, you’ll be a little closer to deciding whether or not to launch your own small business. Have you started a business of your own? How has it worked out? Do you have any other pros and cons to share?
Top Photo Credit: T.U.I.M.
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