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Individual Topic: discuss the advantages of being an entrepreneur instead of

working for a company/organization

INDIVIDUAL ESSAY

Entrepreneurship is a common aim for self-sufficient people with a strong drive to succeed. It
requires some significant modifications in thinking, habits, and comfort levels. However, most
people have probably dreamed of quitting their day jobs and going on the self-employment train.
As a result, the life of an entrepreneur is not as glamorous as people imagine when they see the
word appear in the press, but the diversification available to those who pursue their dreams with
new inventions and wild ideas can often lead to self-satisfaction and an abundance of confidence
that will help in all areas of life. Being an entrepreneur is beneficial in gaining experience and
having flexibility. However, the financial risk can obstruct the start-up procedure.

According to a 2020 poll performed by Guidant Financial's Small Business Trends Alliance
(SBTA), 76 percent of people who choose to start their own small business are "somewhat
pleased" or "extremely happy" with their decision. Entrepreneurs have a range of incentives for
beginning their firms. Some of these may be personal, but entrepreneurs share a few thoughts
and behaviors but running a business may be interesting for various people and various reasons.
The most common reason people launch their own business is to be their boss. Due to the Small
Business Trends Alliance research, 55% of small business owners began their own company
because they were "willing to become their CEO." By establishing a new business and hiring
employees, entrepreneurs will not only have the opportunity to give back to others, as well as to
the local and national economies, but also have the potential to give back to the local community
in ways other than employment creation. The possibility to shape the business exactly in the right
direction is one of the motivations for people to become their own founders. Nothing surpasses
the independence of being boss, at least when it comes to small company owners' entrepreneurial
endeavors.

First of all, being an entrepreneur helps you gain experience from different aspects. Through
experiences, entrepreneurs can communicate with their customers. It eventually puts consumers
in a better position to give precisely what customers want. Even a small group of clients may
help an entrepreneur create a robust regional base. The entrepreneurial experiences go beyond
the traditional perspectives in which an entrepreneur is either opportunistic in seeking to bring a
product or service to market or begins a firm to meet fundamental economic requirements. This
extension involves women with opportunistic business impulses in addition to need motivations
(National Women's Business Council, 2020)The more experience an entrepreneur has through
working in an industry, the fewer mistakes that entrepreneur is likely to make, improving
success. Existing research indicates that experience in launching a new enterprise increases the
likelihood that an individual will continue to find and capitalize on entrepreneurial possibilities
(Duchesneau and Gartner, 1990; Shane, 2003; Shane and Khurana, 2003). Furthermore,
Start-up experience in the past also gives the entrepreneur vital expertise about building and
funding new businesses, how to lead and employ people, and how to attract and keep clients.
According to research and literature, entrepreneurs with previous start-up experience are better
able to discover business opportunities. (Duchesneau and Gartner, 1990; Shane and Khurana,
2003). As a result, previous start-up experience influences the entrepreneurs' thinking and
knowledge base, allowing them to recognize and capitalize on further company prospects.
Therefore, experience is essential when starting a business.

Entrepreneurship could fit into a variety of lifestyles. Whether people are searching for a flexible
lifestyle or are keen to innovate, entrepreneurs have many benefits. Owning a business,
especially for women, may provide the lifestyle flexibility needed to raise a family while
maintaining a successful job. From 2014 to 2019, women-owned firms grew at a more excellent
pace than new enterprises in general, at 21% per year vs. 9% per year, respectively, according to
the report of American Express in 2019. According to a series of case studies conducted by the
National Women's Business Council, flexibility was a crucial element in the decision of many
women to pursue entrepreneurship. Millennial and Generation Z employees are also known to
seek flexibility in their professions, and many of them find that operating a business is a good fit
for them (Financial Executives International, 2020). Entrepreneurship may help those who
desire to travel or live a particular lifestyle. Similarly, persons approaching or already retired
may find that having a business allows them to keep their hands occupied while not requiring the
same tight schedule as traditional employment. It takes much effort, and some dangers are, but
the potential returns are enormous. Flexibility and adaptability are valuable assets that each
entrepreneur possesses and are critical in the future direction and development of the
organization.

Consequently, it necessitates some significant modifications in thinking, habits, and comfort


levels, resulting in some significant disparities between the sorts of individuals who flourish as
workers and thrive as an entrepreneur. There are significant disparities in how entrepreneurs and
workers approach their professions. For instance, Edward Lazear says in his thesis "of one
person for everything" that MBA students who take a diverse range of seminars and lectures and
work in various vocations are more likely to become entrepreneurs themselves (Lazear, 2005).
Another significant distinction is the element of risk. Some employees are concerned about the
possibility of being without a consistent wage or health insurance. Only half of enterprises with
workers survive at least two years, and only two-thirds survive at least five years (U.S Small
Business Administration, 2012). People who become entrepreneurs are willing to take a risk
because there is rarely a payoff without taking a risk. An entrepreneur could rise to the top of
their field if they are willing to take a risk that their competitors can not do. The willingness to
take risks demonstrates to a team that the entrepreneur is a real company visionary and leader
who believes in the possible payoff on the other side. Risk-taking promotes and fosters
innovation, which may be a key difference for a product or service. Alphabet Inc., better known
as Google, is a perfect example of a successful startup tale. The search engine giant began as a
business in 1997, with a $1 million venture investment from Founders, Friends and Family
(FF&F). In 1999, the company was rapidly expanding and received $25 million in venture
capital investment, with two VC companies each owning around 10% of the company. Google's
initial public offering (IPO) in August 2004 garnered approximately $1.2 billion for the firm and
almost half a billion dollars for the original investors, representing a nearly 1,700 percent return
(The Batchery, 2021). The dangers of starting a business for an entrepreneur are enormous, but
the potential rewards are.

With the present recession and COVID-19 situation, it may be challenging to establish a new
business owing to the high risk involved. However, 'Shark Tank' investor Lori Greiner once
stated, "Entrepreneurs are the only individuals who will work 80 hours a week to avoid working
40 hours a week," suggesting that everyone should break out of the mold and work hard in the
future for incredible benefits. Starting up a business requires some significant modifications in
thinking, habits, and comfort levels, leading to significant disparities between the sorts of
individuals who flourish as workers and succeed as entrepreneurs. On the other hand, if everyone
stays at their current job and never tries something new, this decision may result in regrets a
decade later, when it is too late.
Reference:

Guidant Financial (2020). 2020 small business trends. Guidant Financial


https://www.guidantfinancial.com/small-business-trends/

D.A.Duchesneau, W.B.Gartner (1990). A profile of new venture success and failure in an


emerging industry, Journal of Business Venturing Volume 5, Issue 5, Pages 297-312.
ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/088390269090007G

F.Delmar, S.Shane (2003). ‘Does Business Planning Facilitate the Development of New
Ventures?’ , Strategic Management Journal 24(12): 1165-1185 . Wiley Online Library
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/smj.349

American Express (2019). THE 2019 STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES REPORT.


https://s1.q4cdn.com/692158879/files/doc_library/file/2019-state-of-women-owned-businesses-r
eport.pdf

National Women's Business Council (2020). Necessity as a Driver of Women’s


Entrepreneurship: Her Stories. NCBW
https://cdn.www.nwbc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/09084854/NWBC-Report_Necessity-as-
a-Driver-of-Women%E2%80%99s-Entrepreneurship-Her-Stories.pdf

L. Gayle (2020). How Generation Z Is Transforming the Workplace. Financial Executives


International
https://www.financialexecutives.org/FEI-Daily/August-2019/How-Generation-Z-Is-Transformin
g-the-Workplace.aspx

W.D. Guth and A.Ginsberg (1990). Guest Editors' Introduction: Corporate Entrepreneurship.
Strategic Management Journal Vol. 11, Special Issue: Corporate Entrepreneurship (Summer,
1990), pp. 5-15
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2486666

E. P. Lazear (2005). Entrepreneurship. Journal of Labor Economics Vol.23 number 4 pp.


649-680. ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24099956_Entrepreneurship

Small Business Administration (2012). Do economic or industry factors affect business


survival?. SBA
https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Business-Survival.pdf
The Batchery (2021). De-risk investment in Early Stage Startups. Batchery
https://batchery.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Batchery-eBook-3.pdf

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