Entrepreneurship which is the practice of finding and starting a business opportunity, locating and consolidating the required money and materials and taking both the risks and rewards associated with the venture is where all who wish to make and enjoy great wealth should tune their mind and heart to.
Everything in life has two sides like the proverbial two sides of a coin. Entrepreneurship is fraught with dangers, perils, hazards and threats or risks just as it has booties, returns, compensations or incentives also known as rewards.
Here are risks and rewards of entrepreneurship which I would like discuss briefly in this article for the benefit and information of those wishing to embark on the great journey of entrepreneurship:
Risks of Entrepreneurship
Getting Paid – The income of the business enterprise would determine whether the entrepreneur gets paid or not. The entrepreneur does not have the luxury of an assured paycheck like his counterparts in paid employment. If the business does not make profit, there is nothing for the entrepreneur.
Sporadic Income – The start-up entrepreneur may not have enough business to provide him or her with steady income. His or her income may fluctuate from day to day or from month to month.
No Income – An entrepreneur may face a season in his or her business life when there would be no business at all or when customers have failed to meet their payment obligations and therefore no income. Start-up entrepreneurs are usually advised to save at least enough to cover six months expenses and income needs as part of their financial planning.
Having Security – Whatever an entrepreneur has comes from the business. Unlike people in paid employment who may have a compulsory retirement savings account backed by their employer, the entrepreneur has to provide his or her own insurance and retirement security. Before moving from paid employment to full time entrepreneurship, it is important that aspiring entrepreneurs add as part of their financial planning, some element of insurance and retirement security through savings.
Rewards of Entrepreneurship
Passion – Passion they say sells. One of the greatest joys of entrepreneurship is working daily on the passion of your life. When one’s work and daily pursuits are in the realm of his or her innate desires, one works with enthusiasm, appetite and hunger that drive to great action. Apart from being a reward on its own, passion ensures that one is working with boundless energy which leads to greater production.
Great Boss – Entrepreneurs work for the greatest boss on earth which is themselves. In paid employment, we meet all kinds of bosses – some nasty, some great and some boring. The greatest boss anyone would have is oneself. Entrepreneurship enables you work for yourself and that creates an unbeatable feeling which money cannot buy.
Hours – One of the immediate benefits of entrepreneurship is having control of one’s life. Though the beginning of entrepreneurship may be rough, the ability to be in charge and have the capacity to set your times and schedules for your work and business is a reward of inestimable value.
Location – Where you live and work is one key factor to personal satisfaction. Entrepreneurship helps you to make this choice and not have to depend on someone else determining your office location which may be so far away from where you reside leading to daily long commuting in public or private transportation. In Lagos Nigeria, where most corporate offices are located are too expensive for most workers to reside in. Some of such locations do not have residential areas. Employees are forced into long distance commuting and traffic hold ups that increase their cost of fueling and is the cause high blood pressure as a result of hanging out in the holdup year in year out. The entrepreneur can even keep his location virtual, meaning he may work from the comfort of his own home using the internet. An entrepreneur can also chose to be mobile.
Regardless of the risks associated with entrepreneurship, it is still the way for all those who wish to create wealth and find the greatest possible satisfaction in life pursuits.
Think about.
