Set for success: Pros and cons of starting your own business
by Startacus Admin
Becoming your own boss is something a few of us will have fantasised about. 
Making all the decisions, creating our company in our own image, choosing when we work – it all sounds like a dream, but a lot of effort is required to get any enterprise off the ground irrespective of industry, size or location. Here, we detail the pros and cons of becoming an entrepreneur:
The pros
- You get complete control over everything – budgets, product/service ranges, marketing, image and so on
- You’re not forced into taking orders. This is one of the worst things for many of us about being an employee
- With social media, you can get access to the right people with the right tips – help is always available if you search hard enough for it
- Good ideas don’t cost a thing. However, you do need to spend plenty of time on developing your idea on things like market research, branding and, of course, sales
- You can set your business up at home – home-based enterprises are surprisingly common, plus there are fewer fixed costs from running your company from your living room
The cons
- Spending an age devising a marketing plan. As suggested by Conference Genie, marketing plans should be thorough and followed through from the beginning,
but take a while to do. - Going through rough trading patches. Now and again, your business is likely to experience a lull in activity, but if they become too long, giving up might become more tempting
- Trying to access finance. Setting up your own business costs money, which means either going cap in hand to investors or asking for a bank loan. Many banks are reluctant to lend, sadly
- Working long hours. Early on with your business, to make sure everything is in its right place, you might have to work for longer than first anticipated. This can be tiring and, in some cases, fruitless
- You’re not guaranteed a regular income in case of failure. Make sure that your business offers something people will want to buy or use before you begin to trade
If you like what you see here on Startacus, why not become a member of our growing community? It's free! And you'll get all this - exclusive access to our Business Toolkit, discounts and offers galore for your business via our member only business deals, the chance to network and connect with loads of fellow self-starters, and maybe even become our celebrated 'Self-Starter of the Week' and tell the world your startup tale! Join right here for free...
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
The London-based startup which is facilitating the “high end alternative to coworking.”
Insurtech startup DeadHappy officially launched this week, bringing the UK’s first fully digital pay-as-you-go life insurance to consumers.
1 in 10 UK kids spending more than 50 hours per week watching TV, playing video games or interacting with a smartphone according to the findings of a report conducted by Care.com
“Free-from” food-to-go startup Pollen + Grace to launch into national supermarkets Tesco and Co-Op, continuing its mission to bring exciting healthy meals to the high street.
Skyports - The drone focused startup that is creating end to end cargo and passenger drone delivery solutions
The lowdown on Catalyst Inc's annual competition that showcases and rewards local NI innovations and proof of concept ideas...
Bristol and Bath based early-stage startups and entrepreneurs take note - here's the lowdown on key startup support and help available where you are...
Artificial intelligence platform Ricochet is on an AI mission to find new business leads that fit the needs of your company.
From understanding more about how a business can invoice effectively to avoid late payments, to what debt recovery means, to how to take legal action against overdue debt.
Published on: 16th January 2014
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- 1 in 10 UK kids spend more than 50 hours a week in front of a screen 20th Feb 2019 1 in 10 UK kids spending more than 50 hours per week watching TV, playing video games or interacting with a smartphone according to the findings of a report conducted by Care.com
- INVENT 2019 applications sort 17th Feb 2019 The lowdown on Catalyst Inc's annual competition that showcases and rewards local NI innovations and proof of concept ideas...
- Startup Weekend Dublin immigration aims to builds ideas not borders 7th Feb 2019 Migrants are gonna surround us, With ideas! We take a look at Startup Weekend Dublin immigration...
- Sports facility management platform Pitchbooking nets £250k investment 6th Feb 2019 SportTech Belfast startup Pitchbooking, secures £250k investment to help become the market leader in sports facility management.
