Entrepreneurship VS Employment: How To Choose The Right Path

Entrepreneurship. That’s an inspiration for many employees, who want to break away from the shackles of employment and be their own bosses. But let’s face it: entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. Both options have distinct advantages and for sure, cons that affect one’s satisfaction.

I believe that there is no one right variant. And we shouldn’t put entrepreneurship on the pedestal. In spite of that, we should see the bigger picture, understand our strengths and weaknesses to choose the career path. I mean the career where you will succeed in and enjoy the process. It will influence all aspects of your life in a better way.

Let’s explore all the options before making a decision not to hop aboard the wrong train?

Entrepreneurship

Being an entrepreneur means being self-employed (for instance, a freelancer or contractor) or running a business (with other people working for you). It’s super glorified nowadays, but let’s indicate the realities of entrepreneurship.

First of all, running your own business is quite risky. Approximately 50% of all startups fail within the first 5 years. But at the same time, there is no cap on your potential and income. If you feel that it’s not your cup of tea to wait 5 years to reach a senior position as an employee and you’re quite limited in your potential and responsibilities, think about entrepreneurship.

Successful entrepreneurs say that the matter is in their specific mindset and ability to wear multiple hats. That’s totally true. If you want to run your business, think if you are ready to be responsible for all the aspects of your organization – financing, marketing strategy, branding and promotion. It may require much more skills and time.

Entrepreneurship isn’t about working 40 hours per week. According to the survey, more than 30% of business owners work more than 50-59 hours per week.

Let list the most important pros and cons of being an entrepreneur.

Pros:

Flexibility

Business owners can set up their own schedule. If they have enough resources to delegate tasks and responsibilities, being self-employed can bring more free time to spend with nearest and dearest, work anywhere you wish in and don’t ask anyone to give you a day-off if you have planned events or trips.

Earning Potential isn’t Limited

Income for entrepreneurs isn’t capped. That means that they have a much higher potential to earn more. Sure, in this case, everything depends on the success of the business. But if you do everything properly, have resources and spend time to develop the business, you can see huge payoffs in the future. And no one evaluates you.

Independence

If you have ever been an employee, you understand that pain when you have to follow all the rules and internal politics of the organization. Sometimes you just cannot change the processes, atmosphere of the workplace, common values. The one way to avoid that is to find the company, where you feel comfortable.

But if you run your own business, it’s you who make the rules. Entrepreneurs have the freedom to build the company as they wish and make their own decisions. They aren’t supposed to report to anyone and follow the rules which they don’t like.

Personal and Career Growth

If you are an entrepreneur, you boost your skills very quickly, because, actually, there is no choice. Every success or failure, every decision fuel your growth. Besides that, entrepreneurs have opportunities to be visible in the industry, grow the network and increase the power in the market.

Cons:

Blurry Work-life Balance

Unfortunately, if you just start your business, you have to spend lots of time to make it successful. Many owners of startups are true workaholics. They understand that everything is in their hands and work much more than 40 hours per week to make things work.

Responsibility

While entrepreneurship is so glorified, let’s face that huge responsibility, that’s a part of being self-employed. It’s not just about inventing cool marketing ideas or preparing a business plan. Business owners should take care of everything: legal paperwork, marketing, sales, hiring employees to delegate some tasks with. There is lots of responsibility behind the scenes.

Risk and Stress

As I mentioned before, lots of startups fail. Even if you have an awesome idea to implement in life, there is a risk that the business won’t bear fruit as you expect. Based on that, entrepreneurs and stressful situations go side-by-side. It’s important to see the bigger picture and have a trustworthy business plan beforehand.

Employment

All of us have different talents and mindset. It’s totally normal to be an employee and build your career by helping other businesses to grow. Why isn’t that a mission? I know lots of professionals, who found their way in management and being a part of large teams and organizations.

Employees enjoy a steady income, a safe position and different perks like paid time off, insurance and other benefits. But at the same time, the salary is defined by the company, your title and the situation in the market.

This career path is good for many reasons. But the most important is your satisfaction. If you’re totally fine with your position and want to grow upright in your career ladder, work on your skills to succeed in your profession.

Some obvious pros and cons of being an employee are:

Pros:

Work-life Balance

When you are an employee of some organization, you usually have a fixed (sometimes quite flexible) schedule. It helps to keep that work-life balance and have rest after work or spend time with family and friends.

Team

Being a part of some company means that you’re not alone. To grow as a professional, it’s important to have people, who you can share your ideas with and ask for advice. With employment, you will have someone to complement your skillset or just socialize.

Steady Salary and Benefits

If you are an employee, you can expect a steady paycheck each month and usually some bonus for reaching KPI, for instance. Besides that, most employers offer benefits packages to make the workplace comfortable for the employees.

Cons:

Limited Income

Despite the career ladder and bonus, as an employee, you will get an agreed-upon salary each month. Sure, if you succeed in your organization you may get a promotion and raise the salary. But it should be discussed and agreed upon with your manager or employer beforehand.

Dependency

Employees are supposed to follow the regulations and rules, which are set up by the employer. Many companies are quite open to suggestions for improvements and changes, made by their team. But anyway, you cannot make your own decisions without negotiations with the management.

Office Rules and Politics

If you work at some organization with a steady structure, you should navigate with workplace politics and be aware of local power and authorities. Sometimes being a good employee isn’t enough for the promotion. You should nurture relationships with people who have power in your company and can influence your career.

Which Way is Better?

There is no better way. We should choose the path that is the best for us and suit our talents and wishes. Think about your strengths and ambitions. Do you like to play safe or does justified risk sound good for you? Be honest with yourself and follow your dreams.

And remember that you can change everything anytime. Go for it!


Author Bio: Julia is a professional business development manager with proven experience in customer acquisition, strategic partnerships, and outbound marketing. Now she takes care of global marketing and business growth at Wincher, keyword rank tracker.