Coming from a very long line of entrepreneurs I’ve always had the desire to start and own my own business. When I became a SAHM of one baby I had more time. I decided to start two businesses. One was a compost business with some family who were wanting to start it together. The other was this blog and selling my financial education products, my book, etc. I didn’t have time to continue with selling compost so my family bought me out. My blog, products, and book are doing quite well so that is what I’m focusing on.
All of my siblings have or are currently starting their own businesses. My uncles and dad own multiple businesses and my grandparents have a ton of businesses too. My great great great grandfather was a clock maker on Jersey Island, my great grandpa had a painting business and so on.
Right now my immediate and extended family is involved with insurance brokerage, trailer manufacturing, dog kennel manufacturing, real estate flipping, chicken coop manufacturing, book sales, compost, dog scooter manufacturing, teaching music and selling music compositions, blogging, ATV rentals, and more. My family has shown me that every business has its ups and downs. But most of the time owning a successful business has far more ups than downs and that is what I want to focus on in this article.
I believe everyone who has the desire to start a business should! It really isn’t as hard as you think. I have published a post on how to to start a business, please subscribe for notification of when that goes live.
Here are the 9 Pros of owning your own business.
1- You work for yourself. Need I say more? If you’ve had a lousy boss then I doubt I need to elaborate. If you haven’t had a bad boss, trust me when I say that setting your own rules, working for yourself, and calling the shots is very empowering and enjoyable.
2- Increased Income. This is of course the main draw to starting a business. At first your business will most likely lose, but if managed right and if you work hard, learn all you can, and market well you will soon be turning a profit. Starting your own business can bring by far the best returns on the money you put into it! You get to manage the profit which can help you pay off debt (like your home) much faster, invest more, and become financially free.
3- Tax Deductions. Owning your own business not only can make you additional money (and that should be the main goal of it) it can also allow you to write off expenses you may already be paying. A portion of your utilities, a home office deduction, miles driven for business, some travel, 50% of specific meals out, office supplies, and more.
4- The realization of your potential/boosted self esteem. When I started my second business and it became successful I felt better about myself. I had more concrete goals that I was working towards and attaining. Reaching those goals and seeing the fruits of my labor increased my self confidence. Seeing my family members turn ideas into a successful businesses has helped them see their potential as well.
5- You Increase in Knowledge and Skills. When you start a business the learning curve is usually very steep. It may feel like you are drinking from a fire hose at first. I remember feeling like my mind was spinning and spinning with information for months. I never felt like I’d get to the top of the learning curve! I felt burnt out a lot. Once I got over the learning curve and things slowed down I was so shocked at everything I had learned. I learned: how to photograph; how to use Photoshop; how to spell and use proper grammar better (although I do still have room for improvement); how to type faster; how to use WordPress, widgets, and plugins; how to set up a website; CRM and email stuff; marketing; some coding; multiple social media tips and tricks; accounting; and much much more.
I learned how to do so many things and utilize skills I had never dreamed of developing. Those are talents, knowledge, and skills that no one can take away from me. Even if my business were to fail, I could start another one up with the knowledge and talents I’ve gained!
6-Develop and Maintain a Strong Work Ethic. Few people work harder than business owners (at least at the outset). I worked about 80 hours a week and even more the first few months of starting my business. Working hard is a must to starting and maintaining a successful business. Developing and maintaining a strong work ethic helps increase income, boost self confidence, and makes the company successful. This is a priceless habit that entrepreneurs have either learned before or will learn during the process of starting up their own company.
7- Flexibility in Hours and Time Off. Entrepreneurs can typically set their own schedule. For some they can work remotely (from anywhere in the world). Once the business is up and running vacations are much easier to take. It is great to be able to take off to family events and not be a slave to the time clock.
8-You Can Hire Employees. Hiring an employee and/or paying contractors for their services is awesome! I really appreciate the opportunity to delegate tasks and pay for their being accomplished. It’s pretty cool to know that things are getting done and money is being made even when I personally am not working.
9- You Can Take Your Passions, Interests, or Hobbies to the Next Level– Whether it is something you are passionate about, have an idea about, or love to do, creating a business will allow you to focus your time, attention, and funds on it. Working on something you want to is one of the most advantageous things about starting a business.
Want to start your own business? I’ll be publishing this post: ‘How to Start Your Own Business’ soon. Please subscribe for updates.
If you are a business owner, are there other advantages you’ve found by becoming an entrepreneur?
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Dave Anderson
Wednesday 22nd of May 2019
That is a good point that owning a successful business has way more ups than downs. Maybe it would be good for someone who was starting their own business to have help in growing it. If I owned a business, I would want help in finding out how to grow it.
Thomas Westgren
Thursday 10th of January 2019
It's nice how you said that you can hire people when you have started your own business. I imagine that this would be really helpful if you were becoming a life coach and needed someone to set up conferences or things like that. Being able to hire people to help you out would certainly help you to reduce the amount of work that you would have to do on your own.
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Chelsea @ Life With My Littles
Tuesday 26th of May 2015
This is so true! I don't know how much I would consider my blog a business (even though it probably really is since I make money from it) but it is super nice to own your own business and get all of those things. My dad and my father-in-law both owned their own businesses, and even though there were things that stressed them out, it was definitely better for them for these exact reasons!!
Anita Fowler
Friday 29th of May 2015
Chelsea yes your blog is most def. a business! You work really hard at it and make money from it= business :). Let me know if you need any tips on what is tax deductible or not.