I was recently checking out the Facebook page of a fellow entrepreneur and he posted the following question:
For every year of being an entrepreneur, it is equal to 3 years of having a regular job. Is that true? What do you think?
At first, I was a little confused on what the statement meant. Was it referring to stress level, time spent working, money being made, etc? So, luckily 4 or 5 other people had already given their take on the subject, so I knew what I wanted to say! I figured the statement was 2 fold, as an entrepreneur your work day (and usually cash-flow) is 3x shorter, but your stress level and decision making impact is 3x higher!!!
What does STYLEZ think!
I find money to be dependent on how well you are doing as an entrepreneur versus how well you do as an employee within your career. As a network engineer (my 9-5) I make more money than I pay myself as a Technology consultant (my business). However, my business has made more money (sales) than I do from working for others. On the flip side, I figure that my business can pay me more if I can grow it more, attract a stronger customer base, and retain more repeat and return customers (yes there is a difference, http://tinyurl.com/ncs8eq).
As for the time, again, that is dependent on your 9-5 versus your business. I find that most of my 9-5s were just that, 40 a week and done! But because my business offers so many services and products, I can work 12, 16 even 20 hours in a day! In a good week, I can put in 48-60 hours, but the great thing about your business (especially if you have good employees) is you can always take a day off whenever you need, when there are no pressing projects.
Finally, as for the stress level. I find that if you are making decisions as an employee which impact, not only your job or project, but the jobs of your co-workers or the financial future of your employer, then it can be just as stressful as the menagerie of decisions you make for your own business. The funny thing is, I found my last job to be relatively more stressful than my business just because I had to think, act and make decisions on so many levels that I impacted things heavily when it came to the outcome. If I made a decision about a server product or software solution, then it would impact the number of employees the company hired, retained or released, the requirements the company placed on certain vendors and partners, and ultimately the financial outcome from quarter-to-quarter, year-to-year. I can do that with my business as well, however, I have yet to make such an impact on a client as large as the company I once worked for. So again, it all depends on what you do, because if I was the janitor or the coffee machine guy, I may not have had such an impact on that organization. I would only be responsible for so much.
So with anything, weigh your options, are you ready for what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Has your career or education prepared you for the challenges? If not, you may want to get better prepared. If it has, then you may want to consider, especially in this economy, the opportunities, the rewards and impact on society that you can make, as a small business owner!
That’s what STYLEZ thinks, what do you think?
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