Top 5 reasons not to own your own business

Four and a half years ago I was an employee. Then I was not. A few months later, employed once again. This time, I was employed by ‘self’.

I had always wanted to do my own thing, be my own boss, not have to answer to ‘the man’. Though it was a dream, it was never a goal I set out to achieve. Most likely because I really didn’t believe it could ever happen.

So actually being self-employed was a ‘happening’, not a plan. When Mike and I started the business, I was aware that it would be an entirely different way of life. After all, I read books. I have an MBA. I did my homework. I studied. I even got A’s! But knowing something and doing something are totally different.

There is nothing (other than experience) that can truly prepare you for the reality of being self-employed. You can read about it, hear others talk about it, and know people who do it, but until you live it, you don’t really know it.

I asked a lot of entrepreneurs about self-employment when I was deliberating. The top five reasons people gave me to reconsider my decision to become self-employed are:

• a startup doesn’t usually turn a profit for a long time
• you work extremely long hours
• you wear multiple hats at all times
• a book can’t be a business coach
• you need the “big guy’s” opinion, then realize YOU are the “big guy”.

I have experienced each one of these issues, and with them came self-doubt. But once you get past the shock of realizing that everything people warned you about is true, you revisit your vision and goals, then get down to business. You can even start to view these negatives as positives. OK, reality check - maybe they aren't positives, but thinking this way gives you a self-survival technique.