10 Reasons to Start Your Own Business

It’s thought that across the globe there are more than 150 million businesses between micro and medium size. The small business market is thriving in both the developing and developed world. New companies start up every day. People turn their blogs into businesses. They launch a business in a field that they have worked in previously. They start health and beauty parlors out of their spare rooms. People start businesses selling products that they’ve made, or their services as a photographer, tutor or designer. They launch an app based on an idea they had. They work in ICT, in manufacturing, in sales and finance. Some people open shops, hotels and restaurants. They find clients or customers using the internet. They promote themselves on and offline. They employ staff, they work alone or they tempt their old colleagues away from their posts.

Shortly put, you can start a business doing near enough everything, and whatever it is, you are unlikely to be the only one doing it. The internet and its growing use in everyday life mean that starting and running your own business is easier than ever, and it’s easy to see why so many people are doing it.

Of course, if you’ve always worked for someone else, as part of a company, then it can be scary. Even leaving a well paid and safe job to start working on your own as a freelancer is terrifying as there’s a loss of security. But, starting a business, with startup costs, investments and risk, is even more frightening. It’s usually this fear that puts people off.

The younger generation grows up with dreams of starting a business or working for themselves. Research shows that millennials are starting more businesses than any other generation and that around 40% of that age group hopes to work for themselves. Some never work for a company and go it alone straight out of school. Some teens today already have a business before they leave school, even if it’s just making a little pocket money. They’ve got ideas. They know that they can go it alone, and the world that they live in makes it all possible. They feel less fear because they don’t know any different.

It’s older people that worry. They want to work alone, they want to start a business, but they worry. They’ve got debts, mortgages and families to support. They don’t want to throw away a safe job to take a risk that might not work out. It’s harder when you’ve got more to lose and less to worry about.

Does that sound like you? Do you have ideas that you’d love to take forward? But are you filled with fear? If you are tempted, here are 10 of the reasons that you should start your own business.

1. It’s Not As Hard As You Think

If you’ve never given serious thought to starting up on your own, you might not have done any research. You might be assuming that it’s hard to do, that there are lots of legal requirements and countless forms to fill in. You might even have found yourself wondering how so many people seem to be managing it.

But, you’d be wrong for the most part. It doesn’t have to be difficult. Of course, what you need will depend on the nature of your business. If you need to rent office space, a store or any other kind of building, things can be a little more complicated. If you need to hire staff, there will be recruitment and different types of insurance to think about. If you work with food, you’ll need a health and safety and food hygiene inspection. Whereas if your business is based online, you need very little. Your startup costs and the investment that you need will also vary massively. But, whatever business you’ve got in mind, all you need to start with is registered agents, an idea and a business plan. Then, take it one step at a time, and it won’t be anywhere near as hard as you might think. One of the many advantages of so many new businesses starting up is that there is a wealth of advice and information available to you.

2. Flexibility and Freedom

It’s probably safe to say that you have at some point needed more flexibility than your employment has allowed, or that you’ve been annoyed with long working hours, late nights or working weekends. It’s also fair to say that when you first start your business, you will have to give it a lot of yourself. Your time, your money and your focus. They’ll be a period where you work much more than you ever have before. But, once you are established and doing well, you’ll reach the point of being able to work flexibly. Setting your own hours, taking time off when you need it and working as flexibly as you can.

3. The Chance to be Your Own Boss

You’ve probably also at some point had a bad boss. Someone that didn’t listen to you or respect you. That barked orders and shouted commands. These kind of managers are still around, unfortunately, and they never make for a peaceful and productive working environment.

Starting your own business means that you are the boss. You get to be the kind of manager that you want to be. To learn lessons and treat your staff better. More importantly, you’ll never have anyone telling you what to do again.

4. An Opportunity to Correct Mistakes

Poor treatment of staff isn’t the only thing that you might have seen your managers do wrong. You might have seen them make mistakes with finance, marketing and even their products. If you are starting a business in the same industry, there might be more specific mistakes that you want to correct, lessons that you have learned from others and things that you know that you could do better. You might have found yourself saying “I’d do that differently” or “I know this would work”, well starting your own business is your chance to prove it.

5. A Way to Become an Expert

When you work for someone else, there’s a ceiling. You might be limited as to what training you are offered and how much you are allowed to learn in working time. On your own, there are no such limits. You have the chance to learn everything about your industry, to make connections and find your own mentors. To learn from the best, and to learn from your own mistakes. It’s your chance to truly become an expert in your field.

6. You’ll be Able to Make More Money

To start with, your business might not make much money. There’s no denying that the first few years will be tough. But, when it does begin to earn well, there’s no limit as to what you can make in personal profit. There’s no company above you to take most of the earnings of your hard work. There’s no wage limit or upper bonus limit. Eventually, you’ll be able to make a lot more money by running your own business.

7. To Enjoy Your Work

We rarely start businesses doing something that we don’t enjoy. Why would we? You’ll still have hard days. There will always be times when you don’t want to work, or where everything goes wrong. And there might even be elements of your work that you don’t enjoy as much. But, in time you’ll be able to delegate or outsource these. Generally speaking, you’ll enjoy your work.

8. To Learn New Skills

When you first start your business, you might not be able to afford to employ a large team. To save money, you might try to do most things for yourself. This can be difficult, but it’s also a great chance to learn new skills. You’ll learn about accounting, marketing, finance, web management and design, social media management and digital marketing. There’ll be things that you have never heard of before that you’ll suddenly be able to add to your key skills list. Even if your business doesn’t go as planned, these skills could be useful in the future.

9. You’ll Be Happier

You’ll be spending your time doing something that you feel passionately about. Your work life balance will be improved. You’ll enjoy your days, and you’ll feel as though you are achieving something big. This can have a significant effect on your mood, your mental health and your happiness.

Many of us that work are stressed out. We work too long, we worry about work. We don’t enjoy our jobs, and we struggle to feel positive. This can hurt your mental health. Getting out and going it alone is hard, but long-term it can help you to lead a much happier and more well-balanced life.

10. To Leave a Legacy

What are you going to leave behind when you are gone? Leaving your family money and property is great. But, leaving them a successful business is even better. It’ll give them a chance to create something for themselves, to have something to leave their own family and a great start in life. Your business can be your legacy and your family’s future.

This is a contributed post.