I think this kind of motivational article is always good. There are many good things into getting on your own and stop working on that 9 to 5 program. There is money to be made and happiness to be found. I like such articles. It makes people understand that a bit of a risk is OK. And that they can do MORE than just working “for the man”.

What I totally dislike is the fact most such articles just brag about the positives and don’t tell their readers about the possible problems they might run into.

Working on your own might be the best thing that happens to you or the thing that ruins your life forever. Let’s set the record straight and try to see through the “fancy talk”.

Here are the things THEY DIDN’T TELL YOU:

1. You can earn lots of money

One of the best reasons to start a business: make lots of money. Or at least that would be the plan. Still at first ANY business needs money. You won’t get rich in 2 days. You might pay for your business months to come in order to develop. Work yourself senseless and not be able to have a decent salary since your business would require all the financial effort you can muster.

2. You work for yourself only

One of the reasons most quit their daily job: they are sick of abusive bosses (or just sick of having someone “more important” then them into the firm. Well, you can surely be your own boss in your own firm. This means no one to correct you anymore. This means you need to be able to see on your own where you do something wrong and maybe not repeat the mistakes others did when it came to relating to you.

Being your own boss is a “gift” but also a curse. You need to be mature enough to deal with all the problems. Even if a pain most of the times our bosses DO have a reason in the end. You’ll have to become a good manager since there’s no one to “abuse” you anymore, but you won’t get any guidance anymore.

3. You make your own schedule and set deadlines

This is one of the slippery slopes: we are too pleased to make our own schedule we forget that in the end this is NOT easy at all. Instead of having someone set our plans, we need to start thinking about how to manage all the projects, what’s a good deadline, if we can “fit” into these numbers etc.

There are 2 possibilities: you either set loose schedules and are not productive, or you overwork yourself by trying to achieve too much in less time: this leads to exhaustion and loss of productivity.

4. You can have spare time when you want

We all hated when we had to go to the normal job. We don’t like a 9-5 program. After getting your own firm you can now set your own hours. This usually goes like this: you work most of the day since you know otherwise you can’t make it. Too few entrepreneurs afford a lose schedule. If you do spend too much time on your own, your business will die. If you work too much you’d affect your social/family life. It’s hard to keep a balance.

5. No one will control you

Oh yeah, this is the big thing: not having anyone to comment you’re not doing the job as you are supposed to, no one to control and keep record of your deeds. This alone may make you want to start a business now. It’s great to not have to respond for what you do, but this also means you need to know how to run that business. As I previously mentioned a boss does have a reason.

6. You can work from home .. how nice is that ..

It’s just awesome .. you wake up and work, eat and work .. no more buses to go with, no more trains or heavy traffic. Working from home is cool. This also means most of the time you are alone there, you need to set some ground rules with your family (they have to understand that your job is serious and you need peace and quiet). You will mostly stay indoors. If you are truly overwhelmed with work you might not leave the house for days. How cool is that now?

These are just few of the things I wanted to outline. I don’t advice ANYONE AGAINST this. I have my own firm for 6 months now and it’s a blast. It’s great to be able to manage your own business, make some mistakes and learn from them. And earn some nice money from all your efforts.

There are also many things that make it hard: I work too much, I don’t have enough time for me and my family, I don’t have anyone to turn to for guidance and advice. I am my own boss now, but I learn now the hard way: by trial and error. I was lucky enough to be on profit from the first day, but it’s still small and a lot of work.

I don’t tell you to not open a business. Please do so .. but do try to see all the things this means, aside of those nice motivational articles. Best of luck