Why You (Probably) Don’t Want to Start a Business

Hustle culture has been discussed, examined, delved into, and critiqued endlessly. Hustle culture “thought leaders” and productivity influencers promote the societal standard of working 25 hours a day, eight days a week. They’ll tell you that if you grind harder, faster, or longer, you can’t fail. That hustling is the one and only requirement for success. Sacrifice your mental and physical well-being, invite burnout, stress, and anxiety, and you’ll make it big. 

Hustle culture has an equally awful, but much less talked about, toxic twin: the idea that starting a business should be the ultimate goal for everyone. Self-titled gurus claim running a business is the definition of success, while 9-5 job is a synonym for failure.  

These so-called gurus offer one solution to everything. Do you find your boss or coworkers annoying? Start a business. Are you not paid fairly? Start a business. Are you struggling to break out of the cycle of poverty? Start a business. You’ve experienced racism, sexism, or ableism at your workplace? Start a business. 

Here’s the truth. 

The majority of those gurus and influencers are snake oil salesmen who scam people in desperate situations out of their last £1000—or even worse, £1000+ they don’t have—for fake get rich quick schemes. Or they’re peddling info product MLMs to people who think they’d never fall for an MLM.   

For some people, creating and running a business is the right choice. They’ll enjoy the challenge and find a lot of satisfaction. Other would-be entrepreneurs will find it a miserable experience, which does nothing more than squander their time and money. 

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be an employee. It does not mean someone failed in life. There’s also nothing wrong with not monetizing hobbies. It doesn’t mean the effort, money, and time devoted to those passions were wasted. 

It’s not that nobody should start a business

But entrepreneurship may not be right for you. So it could be that you shouldn’t start a business. 

No matter what, you shouldn’t choose to do it blindly. Or simply because you feel pressured to. At the very least, consider the pros and cons of employment vs. the pros and cons of entrepreneurship. And while there’s no guarantee of success, you’ll greatly increase your chances if you’ve made an informed choice. 

If you reflect honestly on your circumstances and personality and decide entrepreneurship isn’t for you, that’s amazing. You’ve saved yourself potentially thousands of pounds/euros/dollars and at least several years. 

Most people find that running a company isn’t right for them. There are a few reasons why you (probably) don’t want to start a business. 

The upsides of employment

You wake up, drive to the office (or commute a few footsteps to your desk at home) do some work, take a few breaks, and then you’re done! You can forget about work during your evenings, weekends, holidays, and vacations. 

A lot of employers offer sick days, so you can stay in bed and rest easily to recover. You get a steady paycheck every month, which makes budgeting easy. 

In many countries, you don’t worry about filing tax returns. The Taxman deals with it all for you. In theory, your earning potential is lower, but many jobs provide a comfortable living standard.  

The downsides of entrepreneurship

Ask a few business owners why they built their companies, and you’ll get similar lists of reasons. They wanted to create something completely new, they had a skill no one hired for, they wanted to keep all the profits of their labour, and they wanted freedom and control over their schedule. They wanted to make money from their hobby and were risk takers. 

It all sounds great, doesn’t it?

However, keep them talking, and they’ll outline the negatives of their decision: 

There’s no such thing as a no-risk business. If someone claims otherwise, run away! You also can’t start one for free. You’ll pay with your money, time, or (almost surely) both. 20% of start-ups go bust in the first year. 60% in the first three years. Of course, some companies have higher odds of folding than others, but never 0%. 

Yes, people can lose their job, but finding a new job is usually quicker and easier than building a company to a profitable level. 

Entrepreneurship is time-consuming. Many business owners will tell you that they never took a vacation in the first few years. If they did go somewhere, such as for family visits, they continued working, always ready to take calls and emails. They saw friends less often. And even if they worked from home, they spent less time with their families. They set aside hobbies. They needed to think about the business all day. 

Entrepreneurship is expensive. Depending on your industry, expenses can include marketing your product or service, commercial rent, hiring personnel, purchasing materials, legal fees to set up your company as its entity, and licenses.

Calling entrepreneurship stressful would be an understatement. At least in the beginning, you’ll do the jobs of at least 5 or 6 people. You need to be your salesperson, health and safety manager, billing department, hiring manager, etc. Anything that goes wrong is your problem. 3 AM robbery? Your problem. Did Wi-Fi go down? Your problem. Your employees rely on you for their paychecks to support themselves and their families. 

Entrepreneurship isn’t suitable for everyone

Not everyone likes dealing with other people more than necessary (and no, not all introverts fit into this category). Some people hate selling. Running a business requires managing other people, which is its own skill set. 

Plenty of hobbies won’t be profitable. That’s okay; those activities are still worth doing. A dream career can be a profession that simply lets hobbyists put most of their focus on these non-lucrative passions. 

Your business needs to be about more than getting rich. If you don’t have a reason beyond cold hard cash, you’ll be more likely to give up at the first hurdle. 

Some potential entrepreneurs aren’t ready yet

Maybe you’ve reflected honestly about the positives and negatives of getting a job vs. starting a business, both in general and for you personally. Perhaps you’re willing to make the necessary sacrifices, and entrepreneurship will be the perfect fit for you. 

It doesn’t mean you should start a business now. Society celebrates business prodigies who start companies in their early twenties or even during their teen years or childhood. But the 2018 U.S. Census Bureau revealed that the average age of successful start-up founders is 45. While you can succeed if you’re young, you might be better off getting a job first to learn the ins and outs of your preferred industry. 

No matter what you decide, employment and entrepreneurship can be wonderful paths. If you’re not sure which direction is right for you, Misulis Group can help you untangle your inner voice from outside influences who don’t always have your best interest at heart. If you determine that traditional employment is the best choice for you, we’ll help you reach your career goals.