Could Starting Your Own Business Give You the Job You Want?

I recently spotted a sign in a small business’s window: “Help Wanted.” So there are firms hiring right now. While it is a small, local business, it is robust enough to add another employee.

 

As I go through the job seeking process, I am struck by the depth and diversity of businesses in the US. While attending to various responsibilities on the West coast last week, I was amazed at the hustle and bustle of the economies in the LA metro area. I noticed many ongoing construction sites further expanding small business shop outlets in outdoor strip malls in the LA neighborhoods.

 

Being a small business owner or entrepreneur is one way to make your own paycheck. Several friends run viable small businesses (they have been in existence more than 5 years). Not only do these small firms exist, but they thrive. So perhaps I should take a page from all these firms and tie it to the economic engine of recovery and start up a new small business. But having worked so many years in a multitude of large corporate settings, it is almost daunting to consider setting up my own business. Three months into my job search quest, I am not anywhere remotely close to having an idea for a firm or business service. So far, nothing has leapt out at me as a screaming market gap to address with a business offering. I need more data, time and observations to percolate through my creative processing center. That said, I have thought about what I would need to do once the idea hits.

 

One of the first things that has to happen is to be sure to have a solid business plan set up in writing. It is one thing to have a great idea for a business or service, it is another thing to deliberately execute the steps required to bring a business to life. Start-up capital could be another consideration, if the business requires a storefront presence as part of its offering. And these are just the tip of the iceberg. Fortunately, free assistance is available to those who seek it out. The Small Business Administration has ties to branches called development centers. They provide free counseling and guidance along the way of starting up your own business.

 

The possibilities for employing yourself as a small business owner are endless. However, many responsibilities accompany such an existence, including being willing to work many unpaid hours upfront. But not being paid is already an experience under my belt after being laid off. Then there are the benefits, including the basic one of health insurance -- and in my case, not just for myself but also for my young sons. This normal benefit can be quite costly from a self-financed standpoint, so working for a company is attractive in that regard. However, it is almost impossible to lay yourself off, so employment is guaranteed.

 

How does working for yourself sound as a possible employment opportunity for you? Why or why not?

 

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