6 Pros and Cons of Owning Your Own Business

Owning your own business can be an incredibly exciting and rewarding experience. It can also be the cause of some of the worst headaches you may ever have in life. Here are some of the pros and cons of owning your own business to think about.

List of the Pros of Owning Your Own Business

1. You set your schedule.
You aren’t forced into working a straight 9-5 schedule when it is your own business. You work when you want to work. For freelancers who work on their own, that means they can schedule working hours around their time instead of scheduling their time around their work.

2. You set the expectations.
As the owner of a business, you have the final say over the quality of products or services being provided. If you don’t like something, you have it done again. You hold people responsible. You’re in charge. That means you get to drive home the expectations.

3. You control your own destiny.
When you own your own business, you don’t have to fight for a promotion. You’re not stuck in some team environment you hate. You’re following your passion instead. You have your destiny in your own hands. Seize the day and make it yours.

List of the Cons of Owning Your Own Business

1. There can be liability issues.
For sole proprietors, their business and personal finances are combined. Should a legal issue arise, all of their assets – not just their business assets – would be at stake. Owning a business will always increase your personal liability, even if you own a corporation.

2. It always takes up more of your time.
You can set your own schedule when you own a business, but you will almost always be working more hours per week than in a standard employment scenario. The average business owner works 50 hours per week. The average employed worker puts in 33.8 hours per week.

3. You need to do stuff you probably hate.
There are going to be unpleasant tasks waiting for you as a business owner. You might need to fire someone. You might get bogged down in payroll work. You can’t always afford to delegate it to someone else.

These owning your own business pros and cons show that it can be a rewarding, but challenging lifestyle. If you can roll with the punches, there’s a good chance that you’ll be pleased with a choice to start a business.

About the Author
Brandon Miller has a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a seasoned writer who has written over one hundred articles, which have been read by over 500,000 people. If you have any comments or concerns about this blog post, then please contact the Green Garage team here.