6 Reasons to Start Your Own Business

Why I Think You Should Start Your Own Business

If you’re reading this, I’m going to assume that you’re trying decide if you’re ready to start your own business.

Or, maybe you already pulled the proverbial trigger and you’re looking for confirmation that you made the right decision.

I believe that starting your own business is one of the best decisions you can make in your lifetime. And, in my opinion, the sooner you start the better.

Starting a small business is no walk in the park. But, if you’re successful, few things are more rewarding than going into business for yourself.

If you’re still on the fence, hopefully this blog post inspires you to make the leap. Let’s look at 6 great reasons to start your own business.

1. Flexible Schedule

This may be my favorite thing about being a business owner. Nothing is more important to me than my time.

Oftentimes, working as an employee for someone else means planning your life around your work. As a business owner, you have the unique ability to plan your work around your life.

However, don’t confuse having a flexible schedule with not having to work as much. Initially, you will probably put in more hours in your business than you would working for someone else.

But, gone will be the days of asking your boss if you can leave an hour early to catch your kid’s ballgame.

2. Doing Something You Enjoy

Maybe you’re lucky in that you enjoy the work that you do for your employer. But, I think that’s the exception, not the norm.

If you start your own business, you get to choose what that business will be. You’d be wise to pick something that you enjoy and have a passion for.

Sure, it needs to be something that people want to buy but that’s not all that hard these days. In the digital age, you can find a way to make money doing almost anything.

If you’re reading this, you may already have an idea of what you’d like your business to be. If not, try this exercise:

Make a list of your marketable skills. What are you good at that other people need?

Make another list of things you’re passionate about and enjoy.

Now, spend some time contemplating how your skills and passions can be leveraged to make money. I’ll bet there’s something there!

3. Creative Control

At work, have you ever thought to yourself, “I wouldn’t have done it that way”? Well, if you start your own business, you can do everything your way!

No more living your life as a cog in the wheel. With your own business, you set the sails and tell the ship where to go.

From branding and marketing strategies to product design and customer experience, the creative direction is yours to steer.

4. Investing In Yourself

If you’re anything like me, you’ve done the math on how much your employer makes off of your labor.

I don’t blame them—they are in business to make a profit. But maybe crunching those numbers gives you a different perspective on your potential.

And it should!

If you start your own business, the fruits of your labor go directly in your pocket. Yes, there are costs associated with running a business, but doing your own thing puts you in full control of those decisions.

Starting a small business oftentimes means working more than ever before. Knowing that your efforts are an investment in yourself can help you keep your eye on the prize.

5. Job Security

The idea that full-time employment is a more secure route than self-employment is a fallacy.

The argument usually goes something like this: “a W-2 job is guaranteed income but self-employed workers have to continually earn business.”

While that’s technically not a false statement, let me offer another perspective.

As an employee, if you lose your job, you lose 100% of your income. Ouch!

If you start your own business, you will likely have much more than 1 customer or client—depending on your business model.

Let’s say you have 25 clients. If you lost 1 client, your financial situation likely wouldn’t even be affected.

Even if you lost 5 clients in one month (which wouldn’t be very likely), you’d still have 80% of your income.

6. Unlimited Earning Potential

For hourly workers, there’s only so many hours in a week. For salaried workers, your employer will never pay you more than you bring in for the company (if the employer is smart).

When I worked for other people, there was nothing more depressing to me than the reality that my pay was largely unaffected by my effort.

As long as I didn’t get fired, my bi-weekly salary was going to be the exact same no matter what level of effort I put into my work. To me, that was a prison.

If you start your own business, your earning potential is limitless. You can control the inputs that affect the outputs.

Want to build a lifestyle business and just work enough to live comfortably? Awesome!

Want to hire a few people and scale? You can do that too. The sky is the limit.

Start Your Own Business

I think everyone who wants to start their own business, should. The truth is, not everyone wants to own a business and not everyone has the skillset to be successful doing so.

But, if you know that it’s something you want to do, don’t wait.

To recap, here are the 6 reasons why starting your own business is a great idea:

1. Flexible Schedule
2. Doing Something You Enjoy
3. Creative Control
4. Investing In Yourself
5. Job Security
6. Unlimited Earning Potential

For me, starting my own business was the beginning of a completely different life. It doesn’t come without challenges, but it’s well worth it.

What about you? What’s holding you back from starting your business?