The Advantages and Disadvantages of Starting Your Own Business

Written by Tracy Perkins@ktwindow9 years ago

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One great thing about living in the land of opportunity is that anyone can decide to start a business. There is great freedom and excitement about being the boss and building your company the way you want. You can set your own schedule and work 2 or 10 hours a day. Depending on the business, you can work from home or have a business office. Hopefully, you have chosen something that you are passionate about or have a given skill, which adds a level of enjoyment.

I personally feel a great sense of accomplishment watching my business grow year by year. I enjoy building up a customer base and getting to know my customers personally. Being in the service field, it really is about happy customers. If your customers are satisfied, they will recommend you! Getting a referral is probably one of the single best marketing tools for a company.

Growing & Scaling

Also, all the free social media sites available allow a company to get its name out there to the masses; however, owning your own company can bring about many challenges early on. It can take a day to start a company, but having a business that lasts and brings in the needed revenue can be difficult. Even if you put a lot of time and money into your business, there is no guarantee that it will make it. You have to come up with a company that will be needed in your area and then you have to know the competitors you will face.

Web Presence

As of right now, almost every business has some sort of website. That makes for a lot of websites out there with other competitors trying to get consumers to use them. In this present technology age, over 85% of consumers use the web to get their information. If you have a business and don’t have a storefront, your website is the face of your company.

So how do you make your business stand out from the rest? That’s were a good website comes into play, and if done by a professional can cost thousands of dollars. Depending on the company, you may need a loan of some sort to get started, so most of the time, you will have to take on some debt in the beginning. When I started my small business, I didn’t need a loan right away and was able to make it with minimal equipment and I had a vehicle I could use.

Funds

As time progressed, I realized in order to get the latest technology for my window cleaning business and be able to really market the company in a competitive way, I would need more of a financial backing. Once you get the things needed to get your company up and running, you will need to let everyone know about you. That’s when the marketing comes into play.

Trial & Error

You can spend lots of money on the wrong marketing tools. I know over the years I have spent money on things that didn’t work; however, I had a better response with black and white flyers versus color. Having to constantly try to find new ways to promote your company can be tiresome if you are wearing all the hats of your company. I know the list seems longer for the downfalls of having a company, but it has all been worth it to me.

There are a lot of obstacles and struggles in creating a successful business, but if it was easy, everybody would have a thriving business. Success is often disguised in a pair of overalls and commitment. Keep striving; you may have to fail before you succeed.