Let’s start with how you ended up here: you must have that entrepreneurial itch and are thinking about starting your own small business? It’s exhilarating, right? Business ownership can be both exciting and terrifying, but either way it is 100% worth the adventure!
Being your own boss, setting your own hours, and doing something you're passionate about is a dream come true for many people. While there are a lot of risks to taking the entrepreneurial dive, owning a small business also comes with a plethora of unique benefits. Which, again, is why you’re here!
Let us lay out six most impactful benefit to small business ownership!
Back to Basics: What is a Small Business?
Before we get started, let's first work out what exactly is a small business anyway? Let’s start with the technical: The Small Business Administration (SBA) defines a small business as any business with fewer than 500 employees.
Which for most of us, we wouldn’t consider hundreds of employees as a small business. Our definition here would be something like 100 or less employees to be still considered “small.” Anything more than that we consider "Mid-sized."
Fun Fact: Small businesses are the backbone of the any economy, with over 30 million small businesses in the United States alone. So, when you dive in you will find yourself with plenty of fellows!
You can form your business any number of ways and still be considered a small business. Your small business attorney will be able to help you there. But the less technical way to look at what makes a small business is how the structure or leadership is more in line with “family” than it is with “corporation.” I know that’s a bit vague, but it really is the best way to distinguish what sets them apart!
What are the Advantages of Owning a Small Business?
In line with the subject of our article today, you wouldn’t find 30 million businesses springing up from nothing if there weren’t some solid benefits out there ripe for your enjoyment. So, let’s get to the meat of the matter and run through some of the best benefits to small business ownership!
1. Owning a Business Gives You More Freedom
We are going to start out swinging: easily the biggest benefit to owning a small business is the massive amount of freedom you’ll have.
Much of the items here will be touched on in more depth, but it all truly starts with the freedom. Before you get too excited, this is also a double-edged sword. Similar to the famous Spider Man quote, with great freedom comes great responsibility!
Freedom of Time:
As a small business owner, you get to choose when you work. Allowing for you to have much more flexibility in your personal life. Say you need to take a day off to take care of your sick kid? No problem! Or what if that typical 9 to 5 grind just doesn’t mesh well with your vibe? Now you will have control and no longer be bound by the traditional corporate lifestyle. Small business ownership means your work can be molded around your personal life, instead of the other way around.
Freedom of Where:
Want to work from home in your pajamas? Go for it! Just make sure you’re presentable from the waste up for those web calls. Of course, this doesn’t work for every business type, but the idea still works. You’re the boss now. You want to do your bookkeeping while sipping a coffee at your favorite spot? Still no problem! Even if you’re going to be a brick-and-mortar shop, you still have a lot of choice in where you want that business to be located.
Freedom of Culture:
With your new business you get to build the culture from the ground up. Perhaps corporate politics, ladder climbing, and backstabbing wasn’t your forte. Now you have the control of building a better work environment for your future employees. You have full say in the personality that you give the business, for better or worse.
Freedom of Finance:
We will dive into this one a bit more below, but we wanted to emphasize the freedom aspect. Every small purchase or payout is in the palm of your hands now. No longer can you be stymied by upper management about that investment opportunity. As a small business owner, you can make those choices as you see fit for your own company going forward!
With small business ownership, you get the freedom to do things your way, and that's pretty darn liberating!
2. Have More Control of Your Success
Speaking of liberating, one of the most powerful benefits to ownership is that you’ll have more control over your success.
In the corporate world your fate is often determined by other people. From corporate intrigue to simply having a boss that doesn’t have the same vision as you, your ability to succeed is often out of your hands.
As a small business owner, you have much more control over your destiny. You’re the top dog now. So, when that opportunity drops in your lap, you get to be the deciding factor. No more relying on someone else to make the decisions that affect your success. You’ll be the captain of the ship, steering your company as you see fit. Want to open a new location down south? Go for it! Want to venture into a new product line? That’s now your call!
Of course, as freeing as the control over your success can be, you’ll also no longer have anyone to blame. Failure is still placed at the feet of the executive. Except now YOU'RE the executive! Which can be a burden, but it all depends on your perspective.
Any failure can be directly led back to you… but so can Every. Single. Win. You get to revel in the glory of every achievement. Celebrate every milestone as something you built with your own hands!
This means that the sky's the limit when it comes to your future success. While there are some potential limiting factors such as competition or market demand, now you’ll have the flexibility to adapt and overcome. You can affect change within your business to avoid pitfalls and secure your future!
3. You Can Express Your Creativity and Imagination
One of the coolest things about owning a small business is that you can be creative in ways the corporate world would never allow. You can take your business through routes of creativity without any need for approval or validation.
This is especially true for businesses that involve or thrive in creative curiosity. If you want to do something wild that truly shows your passion for the business, it’s within your control! Let your imagination set the limits instead of some suit in a corporate office.
This creativity can also flow into your product design. Now you can tailor your products to certain specific, demographics. Something along the lines of say designing your coffee cups to have local artists featured because you built your coffee shop in the arts district.
You can be completely free with your imagination to showcase your idea and your personality. Customization along these lines help set your small business apart, but also you can use it as a demonstration of who you are, personally. You business can become a piece of art itself, with you the artist.
As a great example, I have built this company to have many flourishes of my own personality. Browse any of our blogs and you'll soon encounter kitten pictures or a cheesy dad joke. Whereas our competitors might be a bit more business stiff, we are more relaxed and free with our silliness and unashamed to showcase it!
Even if your personal style is a bit more subdued, with small business ownership you still can express yourself through your brand design. From the logo, the colors you choose, to the aesthetics of your office each piece must be created. As the leader of the business, you get to decide what and how those elements are designed!
Of course, being creative doesn't come without risks. There's always the chance that your ideas may not resonate with your target audience. However, as a small business owner, you can adapt and flex to meet the feedback you receive from customers without having to go through all the red tape of a “big” business. This can sometimes feel daunting, but the freedom to make these choices is worth every bit of stress!
4. Increased Financial Potential
If there ever was a possible catch 22 to small business ownership, the financial side of things is where you should look first. Starting a small business usually involves some *ahem* financial investment. However, the financial benefits of small business ownership are often vastly misunderstood.
Sure, at the start you’re going to have to put a fair amount of money into the business. You might even expect to take a net loss for the first 3 years or so. A fact that has scared off many a would-be entrepreneur. But, just like anything worth working for, that risk comes with significant rewards.
Running a small business unlocks a lot of financial opportunities that you would likely not have had otherwise. The gamut of those opportunities transforms from just a simple“promotion” into things like tax write-offs or self-made bonuses. It could even come in less obvious forms like meeting your future business partner at a networking event, etc.
The potential for financial success is no longer limited to your salary or arbitrary promotions. Your financial future will, scarily enough, be tied directly to the future of the business. The key point of this benefit isn’t that it will guarantee financial success, it won’t, but that it presents far, far more opportunity to succeed financially than you would have working for someone else.
5. Build Lasting Personal Relationships
Another sweet benefit of owning a small business is the opportunity to develop personal relationships with your customers, employees, network, or just your community. When you're running a small business, you’re going to be truly engrained into your operations. You’ll be developing relationships within every aspect of your business.
Quick note: To those fellow introverts who want to start a business: It’s not as scary as it looks. Our service here at Out of the Box Advisors involves constant communication with clients. And I can assure you, I am the guy swaying by himself in the corner at the big party, yet I talk to people for a living. I give you my word, small business for introverts is every bit as rewarding!
From business relationships to working directly with your customers, you will be building deep, lasting connections. In fact, these personal relationships are going to be crucial to your success. For example, forging a bond with a ‘regular’ customer forms not only a culture of care, but loyalty to your business. These relationships become like friendships and enrich your life just the same.
More importantly, you’ll have the chance to develop a relationship with your local community. You, via your business, will now be a staple within your neighborhood. No longer just a face that goes to work at some nameless company, you will now have your brand’s name as a literal part of the community.
You may even have the chance to make significant, positive change. Perhaps you’ll start a donation campaign for the local park because you felt it was being neglected. With small business ownership you will be empowered to take on things of that sort!
6. Gives You New and Exciting Challenges
We all know what the corporate slog is like. You wake up, eat a stale bagel, sit in your cubicle, go home, and repeat. Owning a small business mean that you’ll never have the same day twice. Especially early in the game you will be wearing so many different hats, it’ll be anything but boring.
Having every day being a new challenge can also be a daunting prospect. But there is nothing quite like overcoming and conquering a challenge or achieving the goals you set for yourself. Small business ownership provides a sense of accomplishment like nothing else out there!
And let’s face it, it takes a certain type of person to start a business anyways. Most likely you’re the type of person who cannot tolerate redundancy or monotony. Chances are exceedingly high that you also love a challenge. Entrepreneurship is wild that way. It always presents a challenge, but it becomes infectious. One success makes you want to find the next. And the coolest thing about it? Is that every time you start a business the challenges will never be the same!
Relatedly, the problems you’ll encounter along the way will teach you about yourself. It will show you your shortcomings, your strength, and your emotions like nothing else can. None of which will be easy to deal with. But the amount of personal growth you’ll get through these feats can be revolutionary for you, as a person.
In the End, Why Should YOU Start a Small Business?
Listen, we are not trying to sugar coat it: small business ownership is not for the faint of heart. It is downright brutal at times. But we can say without question that it sure comes with a trunk-load of benefits and completely worth the work!
From increased freedom and control to the opportunity to express your creativity and develop personal relationships, there are countless reasons why owning a small business is worth it. So, if you're thinking about taking the leap, go for it! Who knows, it might just change your life!
When you’re about to step foot into the area, make sure you reach out to us. We specialize in helping the small, local businesses out there succeed. Our small business coaching services guide you through the ups and downs and helps you avoid that rookie mistakes.
If you’re unsure, it all starts with a free consultation. Book yours below!
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