The Pros and Cons of Being Your Own Boss

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Becoming your own boss requires a lot of planning, a bit of risk taking and a great deal of commitment to your goals. While setting up a business in a field or niche you are passionate about makes it a whole lot easier for you to get better at being your own boss, not all wannapreneurs are prepared for the hard work and dedication required to establish a successful business. Being self-employed may seem overwhelming at times, but in the long run, you’ll realize that that the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.

If you are still thinking of what you stand to gain or lose by quitting your 9-5 job and starting up your own business; here are some of the pros and cons of being your own boss.

Pros:
1. You are in charge of your earnings. By being your own boss, there’s no limit to how much you can get paid! The fact that your salary is not capped by an employer and you get to keep all the profits to yourself—down to the last cent makes being the boss a worthwhile endeavor. How does being the first to get paid sound to you?

2. You are in control of your decisions. Another advantage of being your own boss is that you get to make all of your decisions concerning your business. There’s no power drunk boss or saucy co-worker tell telling you what to do or how to execute your job. By being your own boss and choosing the business you want to set up, you can also pick and choose the types of jobs you accept.

Related: Top 10 Most Common Fears of Entrepreneurs and How to Overcome Them

3. You are accountable for achievements. Being your own boss can truly make a difference when you start your own business. While it’s easier to mix in with the rest of the employees when you work in a large corporation and feel like it doesn’t even matter whether you show up to work or not, being self-employed makes you really matter in your business and helps you maximize your potential because the success of the business rests on your shoulders.

4. You get to choose your own working hours. Setting your own working hours is another huge advantage of being your own boss. Keeping in mind that no one knows you better yourself, you can easily create working schedule that fits well with your personality. If you want to work really hard one day, and take a rest the next day, that’s perfectly fine when you are your own boss. You can even choose to work all night and sleep all day if that’s what suits you best. It’s basically all about efficiency and productivity on your part.

5. No one can fire youAnother great advantage of being your own boss is that you simply cannot get fired! You may change your mind set about certain business prospects, but that would just be shifting the focus of your business, you’d never be firing yourself. This comes as a welcome relief and takes a considerable amount of burden off your shoulders because you don’t have to worry about a disgruntled employer suddenly taking away your only source of income in the name of cutbacks even when you are doing an excellent job.

Related: Top 10 Traits All Successful Entrepreneurs Share

Cons:
1. No security of a steady paycheck. The most apparent con of being your own boss is that you will no longer have the security of a steady pay check at the end of the month. In as much as it feels safe knowing that you have money coming in at a certain time of the month, you’ll need to be a risk taker and be more than willing to sacrifice that steady paycheck for the chance to become your own boss.

2. You’ll do most of the grunt work. One of the cons of being your own boss is that you’ll do a lot more work than an employed person. You’ll have to work day and night in the beginning to set up your business, to create a network of clients, to build a website and to build a portfolio. Even simple tasks such as paying for utilities and purchasing materials for your business will be done by you most of the time. You will be responsible things you never had to worry about when you had a boss who did all of that.

3. Poor Service translates to reduced profits. With a regular day job, you can maybe have one bad day and your boss tells you to be better next time; but being your own boss means that a bad day equals no money and in the worst case, a lost client. You have to be willing to give your very best each day to make sure your customers are satisfied with your service.

4. Everything depends on you. Being your own boss can be a really exciting experience, especially when everything seems to be working out just the way you want. However, one of the cons of being your own boss is that everything depends on you. Work only starts when you start and stops when you do. Your business gets to suffer if anything happens to you. Everything comes to a standstill if you fall sick or go on a vacation.

If you are a courageous risk taker, you can achieve success in being your own boss, regardless of which type of business you choose to venture into. The fact is that is being your own boss comes with its own risks; benefits and disadvantages cannot be overlooked in any way. However, with the right amount of zeal, mentorship and execution, you will surely find being your own boss far more rewarding than you can imagine.

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