Many of the readers may feel that I have got the title wrong. In the world of business and management, 'Buy Vs Build' is a very popular term. It refers to the decision of a company to buy a capability (through the means of Outsourcing) or build a capability in-house. However, this blog and its title has been created from the point of view of individuals, especially fresh college pass-out graduates, many of who often face the dilemma of starting their own business (i.e own a company/work of their own) or working for someone else (i.e. building someone else's business/work).
I thought of jotting down a few points which I sincerely hope would help some of the readers to take a better decision. Below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of working independently viz-a-viz working for some company.
Benefits of being an Entrepreneur:
1. Control
over one’s time: I
feel the biggest advantage of being an entrepreneur is that one has complete
control over his/her time. An entrepreneur does not have to be follow a fixed
schedule everyday. He can take out time for his personal work/issues whenever
he feels the need to. An entrepreneur can start his work any time of the day
and does not have to necessarily follow the 9-5 schedule. He has lots of
flexibility with regards to his work timings.
2. His
own boss: An entrepreneur is his own boss. He
is not answerable to anyone until and unless there are partners who can
question him. An entrepreneur does not have to suffer from performance anxiety
nor does he have to constantly think of impressing his boss with ways apart
from his work.
3. No
performance appraisals:
People who have worked in any kind of company know very well that everything
you do should ideally have a positive impact on your appraisal; else there is
not much use of doing that work. An entrepreneur does not do things merely
because he will get to put that in his performance appraisal self-input sheet.
4. Dedication
and Creativity:
Since an entrepreneur starts his own business with his own will and out of his
own zeal to do something and out of his own interest, he is more than 100%
dedicated to his work i.e. he owns his work. He does not have to be pulled to
his work; rather he is always involved with it. This leads to creativity as
well. When you do something out of your own interest and not out of compulsion,
you will tend to be more creative.
Risks involved with being an
Entrepreneur:
1. No
fixed salary/surety of money:
This is probably the biggest risk involved with being an entrepreneur. An
entrepreneur does not have the security of receiving a pay check at the end of
every month or fortnight. He always has to ‘EARN’ his salary. He cannot take
off for a long period and still expect to be paid.
2. No
insurance or sick leaves or privilege leaves: An
entrepreneur does not get paid when he is not working. Hence, he cannot take a long
sick leave and still get a pay check at the end of the month, without any pay
cut. He does not get to enjoy paid or privilege leaves either. Hence, he cannot
go off on a vacation for a very long time without any stress of continuing the
business at home.
Moreover, almost all the companies
today insure their employees for a huge amount. They take care of the medical
bills of their employees as well. And some companies pay for the medical
check-up or medical processes of the employees’ parents and wife and children
as well. Such kind of medical and life insurances do not exist for
entrepreneurs until and unless they buy the insurance products from the market,
which are most of the times very expensive and also such insurances usually do
not cover parents who are quite old and even if the cover parents, they will
not cover parents’ pre-existing medical conditions.
3.
No office life/work life: Company
sponsored luncheons or dinners are the norm in the current corporate culture.
Going out with colleagues on weekends for corporate events like team building
exercises, sports activities, etc is again the norm nowadays. An entrepreneur
does not get a chance to do such things, most of the times. He does not have a
good office life to enjoy. He does not get to meet a bunch of colleagues every
day. This may lead to a lack of social life. An entrepreneur may end up doing
only work and no play.
All sorts of comments, suggestions or feedback are warmly welcome.
