Pros and cons that will help you determine between 9 – 5 vs entrepreneurship + 10 of the top skills you need as an entrepreneur!

Today I will share with you what you must consider before making the decision between 9 – 5 vs entrepreneurship as well as go over some of the top skills you need as an entrepreneur or as the perfect candidate for your dream job

Wondering how to stop the indecision and constantly have that nagging feeling in the back of your mind asking “ should I quit my 9-5 ?”, “is it really for me?” “is it possible?”. 

We can come up with a conclusion by identifying the pros and cons of each path and analyzing what we would be willing to sacrifice in our life to get a particular outcome.

CORPORATE PROS

Personal Growth:

• You have clear instructions that will lead you to a specific outcome if followed step by step
• There is always help available if you need it
• Each corporate employer usually has a ton of free training available to you as a resource
• You have external motivation from your company’s mission, training, coworkers, supervisors etc.
• Have no choice but to learn how to develop discipline & structure
• You have an easier time to develop a network more quickly because you are constantly around other business people
• It is easier to develop “people skills”, such as, how to work in teams, managing teams, avoiding or dealing with conflict etc

Benefits:

• You have 401k, insurance & benefits
• Stability of a set schedule
• The security of always receiving a check
• Office space that keeps work and personal life separate and decluttered
• Free resources you can take advantage of that will make your job easier

9 – 5 vs entrepreneurship? Let’s take a look at the CORPORATE CONS:

• You are at the grace and control of someone else
• Your livelihood is in their hands will be sacrificed if it benefits the bottom line.
• There is not much room for freedom when it comes to creativity and innovation 
• You don’t usually have much control over choosing your own hours 
• You more than likely need to “climb up the ladder” unless you have connections in top-level management. Therefore the pay will be limited/ capped regardless of your talent & value until further promotions.
• You have to commute (most the time during traffic hours) and be presentable even if you are just sitting on a desktop all-day
• You have goals assigned to you and no matter what you are responsible to achieve them. Sometimes it can threaten your position even if it is not related to you.
• Your opinion isn’t always heard or welcome even though it is asked for. That could result in retaliation even if the feedback was appropriate and honest.
• You risk trading happiness and fulfillment of your own vision

Ready to choose between 9 – 5 vs entrepreneurship yet? No?! Let’s take a look at entrepreneurship now…

ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROS:

Pros: 

• The pursuit of your passion/ purpose
• A deep sense of pride and fulfillment
• Once you made it, you can have the power to make a difference and leave a legacy
• You never get bored or stagnant because you have to find solutions, answers, and ways to make things work on your own
• You have constant growth and progression in your life 
• There is full freedom for creativity and innovation
• You have the flexibility to work from wherever, whenever
• No commute unless you chose to have an office
• You are not capped at a certain wage amount
• you have full control of your decisions, successes, and failures

9 – 5 vs entrepreneurship? Let’s take a look at the ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONS:

Personal:

• You might have conflict and setbacks with both family and friends that could result in losing some of them from your daily lives.  
• It takes a strong mindset to have no support/believe in you or telling you to go back to a regular job
• You have to work a lot more hours to make it all come together at first
• No clear separation between work and life balance unless you make it a point to separate the two
• The awkward stage of having no audience at first

Work-wise:

• It is extremely confusing to start something from scratch 
• It is overwhelming to do everything on your own in the beginning if you don’t have the resources to delegate and outsource work
• There will be more work involved like for example you’ll have to do your own market research because it won’t be clearly defined for you like it is in the corporate world
• Tracking yourself is a good way to keep you accountable because you don’t have someone that is telling you exactly how to improve and where
• Learning to work with 3rd parties, managing the outsourcing, delivering a clear and concise message and vision of what is it you want and are trying to achieve to other people is also essential to your success
• You get less in-person interaction with others in the beginning stages if you are running a business online so it might feel lonely at times if you are not used to it.

Monetarily:

• Unless you are well off or have a substantial amount of savings it will be hard to deal with life without receiving a check for a while until you start making $ again
• You have to pay for your own training and resources
• Have to develop discipline with finances because now the money you receive is not only directly for you, but also goes to be reinvested in your business such as different software, resources, outsourcing, insurance, layers for paperwork, paying your own taxes, etc
• You have to somehow be okay with risks and be able to push through hard times

From going over the PROS and CONS of both paths we can safely determine that some of the key factors that are essential to success regardless of which is the road you choose to follow:

TOP SKILLS YOU NEED AS AN ENTREPRENEUR OR PROFESSIONAL

1. Discipline
2. Social skills
3. Problem-solving
4. Time management
5. Love for what you do
6. The ability to take corrective action if needed
7. Creativity, growth, and a desire for progression
8. Discipline to create boundaries for work-life balance
9. Have a tolerance for risks and an open mind to improve the quality of your work when you fail
10. Compassion to want to commit to contributing to a more meaningful mission

So, what do you think is the best choice for you between 9 – 5 vs entrepreneurship?

All in all, I think there is no right or wrong choice, you just need to do what feels best for you, but make sure that you make that decision on your own and not because someone is telling you to or because it is trendy at the moment to do something. 

Another thing worth pointing out, is that fear of failure is something we all experience and go through when confronting change in our lives and it is normal to go through it, you just need to take calculated risks rather than impulsive. 

So, what is YOUR decision? Let me know in the comments below and please share if you think of any other tips that might help others make this huge decision in their lives!

’till next week! 🙂 In the meantime, you can check other blog posts here or my youtube videos by clicking here