Is It Better Starting Your Own Startup Or Working At A Good Company?
Startup is a new trend. With lots of funding available in a market, one just needs to have a great and unique idea. Many people often face the dilemma between being an entrepreneur and settling with a good job in a reputed company. If you ask me, there are many factors which will influence the decision. You are not alone on this earth and your source of income and nature of work will affect many around you. So let’s ponder on certain pros and cons of being an entrepreneur and being in a white collar job and then try to reach certain conclusions.
Starting your own startup!
When you are freshly out of the college and wondering what to do with your life, actually that is the time when you can do practically anything with your life. It is the time when you have zest, energy, motivation and enthusiasm of dreaming big and those big dreams usually come true when you start your own business and you are the boss. There are many advantages of starting a startup rather than working in an office under someone and let the person boss around you.
Free to practice creativity and experiment
The first and foremost advantage of owning a business is that there is no end of creativity and innovation you wish to incorporate into your business. You are free to do any creative experiment with your product, marketing, sales or even the interior design of your office. And you are not answerable to anyone for that.
Designing your brand logo, motivating your employees to come up with unique ideas and giving them a chance to bring out the best in them, soothing your creative nerves and taking hold of everything around you is lucrative enough to start your own business.
Success stories
There are many such examples where people have taken risks, brought new and creative ideas and changed the face of the particular industry. The story of Panasonic and its founder is really impressive for new entrepreneurs. Young mind, Konosuke Matsushita in Japan in 1917 (he was just 23-years-old) shared his idea on new light socket prototype to his boss but he wasn’t interested in this idea. Matsushita didn’t give up and started making prototypes. He grew up with battery-powered bicycle lamps and other electronic products on his company name Matsushita Electric until 2008 when the company officially changed its name to Panasonic which is one of the biggest player on the industry.
Another such example of innovation at its peak is Cambricon which was founded by two brothers, Chen Yunji (陈云霁) and Chen Tianshi. While they were working a research project, they expanded their project as a startup and now their product -the chip- can be the world’s first processor that simulates nerve cells and synapses to conduct deep learning. They raised more than $200M.
Apart from that being a business owner, you will get the greatest number of opportunities to multiply your income by many folds and save lots of money through taxation system. A white collared job person has to pay a fixed percent of taxes, but there are many legal ways in business where you can save taxes.
Cons of being an entrepreneur!
Solely responsible for decision making: It is very important to note that authority comes with responsibilities. When you have the freedom to make decisions in your office, it will be only you who will be responsible for anything which shoots back or goes wrong. It will be you who have to bear the pressure of finances, unexpected expenditures, competition and other such known and unknown problems that may arise during the business.
Fame and success don’t always go hand-in-hand: It will be you who have to bring out the best in your employees and make best use of their capabilities and potential. Because of this you may be also labeled as a bitch boss and you have to bear that just for the sake of your business.
Always be on your toes: You may dream big, but every startup have to start from scratch and running a startup is like nurturing an infant and growing them into a responsible adult. Every day will come with new set of problems and challenges and you have to face them whether you have the energy to do so or not.
Being in a white collared job : The option of being in a good job is good when you are actually in a good job. Working for companies like Google and Facebook here the work environment is warm and welcoming is a boon for their employees, but do all corporates are able to give them to their employees?
If we talk about benefits, then the major benefit of being in a job is that the risk factor is low when compared to starting a startup. You are working under someone and you can rely on your boss to take the crucial decisions for the company.
Apart from that if you have a house to buy, wife, and a pile of kids then having a fixed source of income is always an asset. Business has no certainty. If it gives you an opportunity to earn millions in a single shot, it may take away your investments with one wrong move. But it is not the case with job as you will have your salary credited in your account at the end of every month.
People also have option such as work from home and they are successfully able to strike the balance between personal and professional life. There are even growing options of work from home. You can opt for the freelancing career and earn a decent income for your family.
Life is not a bed of roses for an entrepreneur, it is neither for a person in the job. Even they face many problems as the corporates usually utilize every penny they spend on their employees.
If you happen to be a creative person, then don’t expect that you will get lots of opportunities to show your creativity or your creativity will always be welcomed in the office. Many times office workers also complain that usually their bosses eat the sweet fruit of reward which comes with their creativity.
Slow appraisals and promotions is another very common problem faced by office people across the globe. They work day and night on a particular project, sacrifice their family and personal lives to meet deadlines and usually they do not get what they should for their efforts.
Unfriendly work environment, lack of privacy, over-crowding, mobbing, taxing work hours, work load and work pressure are some of the many problems faced by office people.
Coming back to a question, a startup or a job? Well, both of these have their own pros and cons. It’s you who will decide what to do. Nobody can better decide for yourself.
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