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Writer's pictureDan Gould

Is Self-Employment right for me? The pros and cons of running your own business.

Updated: Nov 21


Freedom or comfort? Responsibility or peace? Autonomy or security?


These are the kinds of comparisons that emerge when asking someone in employment if they'd like to start their own business, and a large part of why people were hesitant.

Nobody ever said they didn’t want to start a business because they preferred employment. They just weren’t willing to take the gamble on working for themselves. You could end up penniless, or worse, in debt, or worse yet, in worse debt.


But thinking about the big picture, what is the answer here? How can you know what’s best if you never take the step?


Well from our experience we’d like to break it down, and take a moment to discuss the pros and cons of running your own private business.



  1. Death and Taxes.


Benjamin Franklin said only two things are certain “death and taxes”, and now you’ve gotta’ do those taxes yourself. When you run a business, you’re no longer just an expert in your trade, but now you’ve got to become an expert in securing business for that trade. You need to develop business infrastructure that is both profitable, and sustainable. All of a sudden, you’re doing double the work at least.


But if you can make it work, you’re looking at double the rewards. On average, the UK business owner is earning £50,000 per year, a clean £15,000 above the national average. 


But double the work for only a 50% increase in potential pay? Is that worth it?


Many business owners would say so!


Over the last few weeks, we’ve been going out onto the streets in search of two kinds of people, those who want to run a private business, and those who already do - and we wanted to find out three key things:


  1. How many people would like to run a private business?


  1. What was stopping them from running a private business?


  1. And for those who had successfully made the jump, what is the most challenging part of running a private business?


And through this experiment we found something very interesting.


Those we talked to who did run a private business talked with confidence, were more personable, were more honest and open, and were ultimately more comfortable with themselves. When the work you do is paying for itself, it can lead to work that feels a lot more rewarding; you can clearly see the fruits of your effort. You aren't just a cog in a machine. You did this.


Many business owners say they can more clearly see their own self-worth as a person when working themselves, and this builds confidence, and satisfaction.


But of course that's not all.



  1. When and Where.


You choose when you work, and what you do, and even where you work. I’m talking where in the world, not just where in the city. If a 9-5 working routine is a slog, you can put together a schedule where you’re in a position to do your best work. And if you hate Mondays, don’t work on them.

If the business is going well you can even choose who you’re doing business with - phase out the people you don’t like. Self employment truly allows you to build the business environment that works for you from the ground up.


And we do mean everything, there are a few things in particular that sneak up on you when running a private business and a major one is actually a social aspect. Most people's social lives outside of school is based around the workplace, and if all of a sudden you're starting a private business all on your own, that's gone.


Putting together your own working environment means rebuilding your social envrionment, in fact it means rebuilding almost everything. It takes work, a lot of work, but the ultimate reward is a schedule that personally works for you.


Just like everything with running your own business, the freedom to do what you want, and how you want, is paid for with your own hard work.


Maybe it sounds like a raw deal right now - work is already gruelling enough, already soul sucking, why would you want to take on even more?


Well for us in particular there's a major plus point to running a private business - a big one, and it really does pay for itself.



  1. Running a Private Business Makes You Stronger.


Stress. The word most collated with running business is stress. There will always be something that needs doing, and it is always YOUR problem. This freedom is a double edged sword, for it’s now only on you to make sure that you do the work. Keeping the business afloat is now your responsibility, so while you might be able to choose when you work, you are now also your own motivator.


If you make a mistake in a company, there’s always someone to point a finger at. But when it’s your own operation, if you make a mistake, you have to face yourself. If something goes wrong it is 100% your fault, and it’s going to cost you. Directly. You are now fully responsible for your own security. You need to depend on yourself.


You need to face your shortcomings, and find a way to overcome them. And this can be a painful thing, no one enjoys critically reflecting on the parts of themselves that are letting them down. 

We like to believe we are in control of our own lives. But sometimes that just isn’t the case. You can hide in someone else’s company, but you can’t hide in your own company.


Now for most people - the impression is that strong people run businesses, we disagree. Running a business makes you strong. The people who are willing to face the challenges are the people who overcome them.


Muscles need to break down before your body builds them back stronger, and this analogy can be attributed to many aspects of life. In a capitalist framework, running your own business - even for a little while - is actively going to force you to learn the rules of the game. How to more effectively manage financial systems, how to build up your own self-worth, how to depend on yourself, how to protect those closest to you. It's a tough gig, but that's exactly what is so beneficial about it.


Life never gets easier, you get stronger. And a fear of failure, is a fear of growing.



  1. Personal Power.


It’s all a battle of lifestyle, what you want versus what you are willing to do to get it, and whether the ends will justify the means. But it has to be said there are a few more perks with private business that could actually tip the scale, and here’s a big one.


You can help your friends. As someone running a business, you can take on friends who have fallen on hard times and give them support in a way that does not infringe on your own personal wealth. You can give them jobs (if you can afford it of course)!


And this is only the start. Running your own business gives you a much larger slice of personal power than what you’d have as an employee - and as a provider who owns their own means of production, you have greater leverage over the lifestyle you want to live.



  1. So what's truly best for me?

To summarise the debate, self-employment gives you personal freedom, but at the cost of more work - but what they don't tell you is that the challenges of running a private business will make you more capable and independent as a person. The challenges make you stronger, and the work as you oversee it from start to finish is far more rewarding.


It all comes down to that first step, when I step off the diving board will I sink or swim? Am I truly prepared for this?


And that's ultimately the hardest part, do I love this enough to follow it to the bitter end? How far am I willing to go? If you have an idea for a business, and the answer to these questions is 'no', then shelve it, bide you time, and wait for that 'yes'.


It's that 'yes' that will give you your best shot.


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