The Advantages and Disadvantages of Working for Yourself Essay

Working for yourself is the American dream. Most employees have dreamed of being their own boss, and it has many benefits, but there are a few disadvantages to it as well. Advantages of working for yourself are that you are responsible to yourself. Your destiny is in your own hands, as well as your financial future. You determine how much work you do, when you go to work, when you quit for the day, when you take a vacation, how long the lunch break will be, and if you really want to put up with a grouchy customer.

The business is in your hands and you decide. Instead of griping about the bad advertising campaign that corporate came up with, you decide on an advertising campaign yourself. Disadvantages of working for yourself are really the same as the advantages. You decide when you go to work, when you quit for the day, when you take a vacation, and how much you will make.

All the while knowing, if you are a small business, that if you are gone the business is either not open, or if you have employees, that they are not being supervised by the person who cares the most about the business—you. You have to make all of the decisions regarding health insurance, benefits, marketing, bookkeeping, management, and customer service. Owning and operating a business is a tremendous responsibility and not everyone is ready for or capable of handing the stress or the commitment.

Still, if you are one of those unique individuals with the spirit of an entrepreneur, then being in business for yourself is the only way to live. Many people in fact simply can’t imagine another way to live. Some people in this world are sheep, following others blindly. Others are shepherds, preferring to lead. Pathfinders who make their own way. If you are an entrepreneur, you are one of the shepherds and will only be happy in business for yourself.

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