5 Ways Being an Entrepreneur is Different Than Having a Full Time Job

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Before you venture out on your own it is crucial to understand the main differences between entrepreneurship and full time work. It is a huge step to take and we want you to have every piece of information you need in order to succeed.

So today we are sharing five ways being an entrepreneur with your own business is different from working for someone else at a full time job.

You can watch the video of our full discussion below or just listen to the audio version as a podcast. If you want more content like this you can subscribe to our Youtube channel.

Time Management
When you work for someone else inside of a company it’s very much about perception. Not only do you have to show up on time and get work done, but you have to let people know the work is being done. You have to have your butt in your seat and your online notification on in order to be considered “productive”.

You are working on someone else’s schedule, most likely 9 to 5 Monday to Friday, and there isn’t much flexibility with that. And a lot of times, even though you may be at your desk, you may be wasting time just looking at social media or the news or maybe researching something personal.

You don’t get to control your time, it is controlled by someone else. So you may have back to back meetings, which can be draining and a waste of time, but you don’t really have a say in that.

When you work for yourself you make your own schedule, you control your own time. But that also means you have to be more accountable for your time and you have to know how to manage your time. You won’t be successful if you sit on the couch and watch Netflix all day. No one is going to be pushing you or checking in with you, you just have to be proactive and motivated to get things done.

As an entrepreneur you have to be disciplined, accountable for your time, and self-motivated.

Income
When you work for an organization it’s hard to increase your salary. Usually it’s only going to go up around 3% a year. You really have to move jobs in order to make more money when you work for other people.

When you are self-employed there is no ceiling on what you can make. Of course, if your business is struggling there is also no guarantee you will make any money. But if you do well and have a great idea you can make a lot more money working for yourself than you could working for someone else.

One misconception about full time work is that it is more secure than entrepreneurship, but that’s not necessarily true. When companies go through hard times the first thing they do is lay people off. You can’t control whether you are laid off or fired. There is far more job security when you work for yourself and you control the things you are doing.

When you are in the beginning stages of entrepreneurship there will be ups and downs in your income, but as you get more experienced you start to have more of a flow and your income stabilizes.

Managing Stress Levels
Working at a company comes with a lot of stress. You have to figure out how to play office politics, you have to worry about whether or not your boss likes you, you may not get along with your coworkers, you have to commute to work each day, etc… These stresses come from things that are mostly out of your control.

Of course entrepreneurship comes with stress as well, but it’s a different kind of stress. It’s less about whether people like you or not and it’s more about things like figuring out where your revenue is coming from, how to close deals, what your next project will be. And while these things are stressful, they are within your control.

Family Planning
For anyone who wants to have a family with children, entrepreneurship can make life a little easier than working a full time job. But there are pros and cons to both situations.

When you work for an organization, as we mentioned before, you are seen as productive when your butt is in your seat, but what about the days you feel awful while pregnant or the time off you need for appointments? You have a lot more flexibility to go through these things when working for yourself. In a lot of full time jobs you also may not have a say on whether or not you can stop traveling at a certain point while pregnant.

On the other hand full time jobs may come with benefits such as paid maternity/paternity leave, they hold your job while you are gone, you may have a good insurance plan. As an entrepreneur you won’t have that support-- you are on your own for everything.

These are all things to take into consideration when choosing which path you want to take.

Community
One of the benefits of working for an organization is the community that it builds around you. You are around people all the time, you have a diverse group of people to bounce ideas off of, you get that engagement and camaraderie, you feel like you are part of a team.

When you are an entrepreneur, most of the time you are on your own or you have a small team who may also be working remotely. You can build a community around you, but it takes a lot more effort, it’s much harder to do. You have to go out and network and be a part of events. It can be very lonely at times.

All of these five things are important for you to think about and consider when you are thinking of going off on your own. There are definitely pros and cons to both sides, and it really just depends on what works best for you.