Why Building a Business Isn’t Harder Than a 9–5
The following is adapted from Don’t Settle for a Seat by Karrie Brady.
Americans idolize startup culture, and the prototypical founder story goes something like this: You start with a genius idea. You quit your job, sacrifice everything, and work ‘round the clock until you have proof of concept. You show your proof to investors, who give you oodles of money to make it big. You hire a bunch of young, smart people, and everyone works eighty hours a week to grow the business as fast as possible.
Then, a bigger company buys your business for a massive sum or you go public. Either way, you’re rich and can finally relax for the rest of your life.
You hear about this online through moguls like Gary Vaynerchuk, and you see it on TV shows like Shark Tank, but it’s not the only way to be an entrepreneur. Actually, it might be the worst way, in my opinion. It leaves you with no time for friends and family, let alone romance. No time to care for others. No time to savor the little joys in life. No time for you.
This is one reason why women often get more pushback than men do when they talk about becoming entrepreneurs. When men choose to make those sacrifices to chase their dreams, people usually congratulate them on their courage and dedication. When women do, people often question why they would want to — or whether they can — give up their role as caretaker.
Don’t you want a family? Who’s gonna take care of your kids while you work? This attitude is frustrating and can undermine your confidence if you encounter it, but the good news is that starting a business doesn’t have to mean sacrificing everything else in your life.
If you have priorities other than making as much money as possible, you need an alternative model of entrepreneurship, one that allows you to build a business that serves you.
That story goes something like this: You have a craft or skill that you love and use it to create a product or service that other people value. You offer that for sale and seize every opportunity to refine it so you can attract more people and charge enough to make a good living. You build a strong personal brand that makes it easy to get and keep a healthy client base. Most importantly, you set the boundaries you need to live the way you want.
To me, this method clearly wins over the “go hard, grow fast, cash out” model of Silicon Valley-style startups. Still, you can probably tell that it requires some serious effort, not to mention major courage. So, you might be wondering if it’s worth it.
Wouldn’t it be easier to just have a job? That depends on what you’re prepared to tolerate. Think about risk, for instance. You take risks in building a business, no question. Especially in the beginning, you risk not generating enough revenue to make ends meet or even break even.
But it’s also risky to depend on someone else’s business for your livelihood. A job can disappear overnight on the whim of your boss or some C-suite executive you’ve never met, and you have no control over it. Plus, you run the risk of having terrible supervisors, coworkers, or clients that you can’t get rid of because it’s not your choice.
You might even suffer from pay discrimination, as so many women do without even realizing it. According to the American Association of University Women, in 2020, women earned 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. Among the multiple reasons for this are common employer policies like basing salaries on prior earnings and prohibiting the discussion of wages among employees, which can leave you vulnerable to earning less than your male peers.
Now think about the rewards. A business gives you much more control over your income — as you gain expertise and refine your offerings, you can grow your earnings much faster than any traditional career path would allow. Plus, there’s real value in the pride of creating something that’s yours and helps others. But you won’t get handed traditional corporate benefits like health insurance or a retirement fund, and unless you plan to grow your business to a massive scale, it won’t give you the “prestige” of a C-suite title at a Fortune 500 company.
Does a job or a business give you a more balanced life? It depends. Some jobs have reasonable hours and flexible policies, and they let you leave your work in the office at the end of the day. Usually, though, it’s not so perfect — the hours are long, the schedule is strict or unpredictable, your boss hounds you after hours, or you can’t take time off when you want to. Running a business can take over your life worse than the worst of jobs if you let it, but if you set healthy boundaries and build the infrastructure to keep things running in your absence, it can give you more flexibility than any employer can offer.
Which risks and rewards do you prefer?
For more advice on building your own business, you can find Don’t Settle for a Seat on Amazon.
Karrie Brady is a seven-figure entrepreneur and an online educator passionate about putting more money in the hands of women everywhere. Dedicated to making the world of entrepreneurship more accessible to her clients, Karrie has helped thousands of women build an online business according to their own rules, personalities, and preferences. At just twenty-five, Karrie has appeared in Forbes, Authority Magazine, and Medium and been featured with Thrive Global and Create & Cultivate. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, their two kids, and three rescue dogs. For more information, visit karriebrady.com.
