I am self-employed and on the whole, I love it — I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  There are distinct pros and cons of owning your own business, however.  Here are a few to consider before you start your own business.

Pros:

• Being your own boss.  Well, you probably guessed this already.  Many people work best when they are self-regulating, and of course there is always the flexibility that being self-employed offers — in many cases, if you need to rearrange your schedule to make time for a doctor’s appointment or an event at your child’s school, you can!
• Having greater income opportunities.  When you own your own business, you don’t have to wait for a penny-pinching manager to decide to give you a raise.  In general, your income is a direct result of how hard you work to grow your business!
• Working from home…or wherever you please!  Not all small business owners can work from home, but many can.  If you can, count yourself lucky — this is one of the best advantages of being self-employed!

Cons:

• Long hours.  Most startup businesses require a lot of work before they become established.  During this initial stage, many small business owners don’t have the money to outsource certain tasks, and end up putting a lot of long hours in.  If you can make it through this, however, the result is usually quite rewarding!
• Lack of flexibility.  Yes, I know I listed flexibility as a pro — but sometimes small business owners find that there’s a lack of flexibility.  If you have a store, for instance, you will be bound to store hours.  You should keep this in mind when looking at franchise opportunities.  Are the store hours something you can commit to?
• Vulnerability to the market ups and downs.  As an employee, you have to worry about layoffs during periods where the market is slow — but at least then you get unemployment benefits.  As a small business owner, you will need to be able to ride the slow times as well as the busy periods.  For instance, people who run eBay stores face periods where everything sells really well, as well as periods where sales grind almost to a halt.  This requires the ability to plan ahead and always keep some emergency funds in the bank.

I love being self-employed, but realistically it’s not for everyone.  Consider the pros and cons carefully before making a decision!

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