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Are you
still in the ¨should I do it¨ stage of launching a
new business?
Take a
look at this list of pros and cons of starting a business.
If you
are not truly excited by some of the pros, you may find that
the sacrifices are not worth it.
On the
cons, be sure to factor in some of these gritty realities
of having your own business. It´s not all wine and roses,
and you want to factor in some of the inevitable negatives
before you jump off the precipice.
But if
the pros excite you and the fully-understood negatives don´t
scare you, what´s keeping you?
Pros
of Starting a Business:
- If
it works, you can make more money than you are making now
- a lot more money.
- You
get to personally make the decisions that determine success
or failure. If you are right, you get to show it.
- Only
the marketplace can fire you. No need to worry about office
politics.
- You
get to be creative - if you have a great idea, you can put
it into practice.
- No
more being pigeonholed - you get to learn about and participate
in each and every aspect of a business.
- You
get direct contact with your customers and potential customers.
- You
help build the local economy, by creating new jobs and new
demand.
- It
just feels good, and creates a sense of personal satisfaction.
- You
can become an important player in your local community.
- You
can create something to pass on to your children, or something
to sell to fund your retirement.
Cons
of Starting a Business:
- You
will have to work like a dog.
- You
have to be involved in all aspects of your business - right
down to whether the toilets are clean - even if you can
best leverage your skills by focusing on your area of expertise.
- Starting
out, you probably will have less income than you are used
to. Long term, income can be unpredictable and unreliable.
- You
may have to take a big financial risk - investing your savings
or incurring personal debt to get the business launched.
- There´s
absolutely, positively no guarantee that you will succeed.
- Success
depends on your becoming competent in a wide range of disciplines,
ranging from accounting to marketing to customer service.
- Support
services you may take for granted at your current job -
from someone setting up your computer to arranging travel
to seeing that your social security taxes are filed on time
- now become your exclusive, time-consuming responsibility.
- When
you have a great idea, you will have less resources to draw
on in making it happen - and more external obstacles to
prevent it from happening - than if you were able to draw
on the resources of an established business.
- If
you currently have a high-status job, don´t expect
people to be as impressed with your position as the owner
of a small, unproven business. If the psychic income of
impressing people is important to you, prepare yourself
to live without it until after your business becomes a hot
success.
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