PC Computing: Best Free Software/ZDCD.iso/top100/smalb.exe/F428.SBE

Text File | 1997-03-22 | 6.1 KB | 141 lines

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       │ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF OWNING A BUSINESS│
       └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Owning your own business is going to be very different
from working for someone else.  Before (not after!) you
start up or buy an existing small business, you need to
consider some of the advantages and the disadvantages of
having your own business.

ADVANTAGES.  Some of the many advantages of owning your
own business may include some or all of the following:

  . To a large extent, your income will depend on how
    hard (and how smart) you work, rather than on how much
    a boss feels like he or she needs to pay you;

  . You will have the opportunity, if you succeed, to
    create substantial job security for yourself, and
    perhaps create good jobs for members of your family,
    as well;

  . In these days of downsizing, "job security" with even
    the largest, most solid companies is often just an
    illusion -- many people feel that today, the only
    real job security you can find is by creating your own
    successful business;

  . YOU will be the boss, and won't have to report to a
    superior;

  . If your business becomes sufficiently successful
    and with capable management other than yourself,
    you may reach a point where you will have a great
    deal of free time to travel or pursue other interests
    than your work;

  . The authority and independence to make your own
    business decisions, without having to "sell" your
    ideas to someone higher up;

  . Having direct contact with customers, employees,
    and suppliers (some people may consider this a
    disadvantage of owning a business);

  . You will have the chance to make your living by doing
    something you truly enjoy -- many people who work long
    hours in their own business report that it "doesn't
    feel like work," unlike punching a time clock for
    someone else;

  . Personal satisfaction and the feelings of achievement
    and fulfillment that can come with being a successful
    business owner, plus the recognition in your community
    that often goes with such success;

  . A chance to be as creative as your abilities permit
    and to develop and sell your own ideas, products, or
    services; and

  . The opportunity to do something that contributes to
    other people in one or more of the following ways:
    by providing good jobs, by creating an excellent
    product or service, by generating a good investment
    return for stockholders or other investors in your
    business, or by doing something else that is useful
    to large numbers of people or that creates value
    for the community at large.

DISADVANTAGES.  Being a small business owner is not always
a bed of roses, however, as there are also quite a few
disadvantages to consider, some of which are as follows:

  . Instead of having one boss, you will have many -- your
    customers, government agencies that tax or regulate
    your business, investors in your firm, bankers or other
    lenders, and, in some instances, your key suppliers,
    any of whom may dictate much of the way you will
    operate;

  . In most cases, you will be taking large financial risks,
    and may spend many sleepless nights worrying about how
    to meet the next week's payroll.  Failure rates for new
    businesses tend to be quite high, and you may not only
    lose your own money, but also that of friends or
    relatives who have backed you financially;

  . You may not like having an income that goes up and down
    like a roller coaster, from month to month, or year to
    year, even if you are making more money than you would
    otherwise make if you were working for a salary;

  . Forget about working 9 to 5 hours, if you own a small
    business.  If you want to succeed, you can usually
    count on working 10 to 12 or more hours a day, often
    six or seven days a week, and you may find it very
    difficult to take any long vacations for quite a few
    years, unless you are able to grow the business to a
    point where it can run without your constant day-to-day
    involvement.  Accordingly, you may not have very much
    time for family or social life, which may cause a great
    deal of stress and conflict in your primary personal
    relationships;

  . As owner, the buck always stops with you, and there is
    no boss or other "father figure" to whom you can turn
    for help when a tough technical or financial situation
    arises, or when there is a serious problem with a
    customer or supplier.  If anything goes wrong, and you
    can't find a solution, the cost comes directly out of
    your pocket;

  . While you can usually quit a job you don't like, and
    look for another, you may have much less flexibility
    once you buy or start up your own business, so you may
    find yourself stuck in a situation you dislike, doing
    work you don't like, for many years, until you are
    able to sell the business or otherwise extricate
    yourself from it without major financial pain;

  . Constantly increasing government regulation of business,
    rising taxes, and private litigation from disgruntled
    employees, customers, or others make it very risky to
    be a business owner.  The business that you may have
    worked years to build up may be lost overnight due to
    a new law or regulation, or a frivolous lawsuit, or
    even on account of a dishonest lawsuit filed against
    you by an employee or a customer; and

  . Your work may become less interesting and more like
    bureaucratic paper-shuffling as your business grows,
    as you will find yourself spending more and more time
    dealing with personnel, administrative, planning, and
    legal matters, and less time doing what it was that
    you wanted to do when you started the business.  Thus,
    you may find yourself having little time to do business
    consulting, build sailboats, repair automobiles, or
    whatever it was that you originally started the
    business to do.