Have you ever dreamed of being your own boss? Do you have a great business idea that you would like to bring to fruition? There is no better time to start a business than now! 14 million U.S women own or run a business; women owned businesses employ a whopping 27.5 million people. According to The Center For Women’s Business Research, nearly half (46%) of all businesses are at least 50% owned by a woman or women. Women are taking risks and succeeding as entrepreneurs!
Women entrepreneurs of today are innovators, problem-solvers and have taken the over the reigns governing their futures. Almost 60% of women who have transitioned from traditional jobs to the world of entrepreneurship declare that nothing would attract them back to the corporate world. Thinking of pursuing a venture of your own? Here are six propelling reasons why entrepreneurship is the way to go:
1. Financial Independence
Entrepreneurship has proven to be a major vehicle individuals use to achieve financial freedom. One of the fastest ways to build wealth is starting a business; 74% of wealthy people are business owners (not employees). From legends like Madam C.J. Walker to the well-known visionaries of our time such as Bill Gates and Michael Dell, we have mounting evidence that individuals have used their business to create millions if not billions of dollars in personal wealth. While all companies may not be billion dollar enterprises, we see phenomenal success in individuals whose entrepreneurial endeavors bring in modest cash flow whose business revenues has allowed them to pay off debt, send loved ones to college, fund retirement accounts and much more.
2. Creation of Multiple Streams Of Income
This is one of my favorites! As a business owner, you have a world of options at your fingertips. You can leverage your knowledge and expertise to create several streams of income from a single idea. Let’s take a simple pie example. Say your passion is making cherry pie. Everyone loves and requests your cherry pies all the time. You decide you can make some extra money by selling your delicious cherry pies, so you charge $10 per pie and people gladly pay. Business is great! But don’t stop there. You can create additional avenues of income by sharing some of your “special secrets” by teaching pie making classes, selling a recipe book on pies or pastries, getting local and/or chain stores to stock your pies on their shelves, offering catering services, offering to show others how to start their own pie business, starting a mail order cherry pie business, selling pie making accessories and specialized baking items, and the list goes on. I have just listed 7 possible income streams from a single idea. Think about the business you would like to start. How many streams of income can you identify?
3. Flexibility
For the most part, as a business owner, you enjoy the flexibility to work when you want, how you want and in some cases where you want. The Center For Women’s Business Research tells us that 51% of women said the primary reason for starting their own business was the desire for more flexibility. You can determine your work schedule; if family commitments are important, you will have the ability to attend functions and events that are important to you without having to ask for time off from another person. You’re the boss! An author can work on a manuscript while at her daughter’s soccer game using a laptop. A consultant can schedule clients around activities she enjoys and prefers not to miss. What matters most to you? Are your missing out on important activities due to time constraints and job duties? Have you missed out on something important due to work obligations one too many times? Your own business may be the key to stop merely existing, but instead gaining control over your life and living abundantly with no regrets.
4. Tax Benefits
The numerous tax benefits recognized by entrepreneurs are reasons in and of themselves to start a business. The government favors small business and actually wants to help you succeed! You can reap the greatest tax benefits by incorporating. While determining the legal entity that best suits your venture should be discussed with your tax advisor, I strongly recommend incorporating for almost all businesses. Small businesses are eligible to deduct car expenses including mileage and depreciation, home office, personal assets, entertainment, travel and retirement deductions. An expense is usually deductible if, in IRS terms, it is “ordinary, necessary and reasonable.” A critical difference between the taxation of an employee vs. a business owner is that employees are taxed before their expenses while businesses are taxed after their expenses. That is a big difference! Again, it is worth discussing specific tax issues with a qualified advisor as it is well worth the investment, plus, its deductible!
5. Purpose
Some of us are called to the marketplace in the same manner others are called to medical, teaching or other professions. Your deep desire to start your own business may be for specific, God ordained reasons. Your product or service could just be exactly what millions of people need! Where your passion is, often, lies your purpose. Don’t let opportunity pass you by. Don’t be deterred by lack of resources (time, money, manpower, etc…). The provision will be provided for your vision during the right season. Think of all the incredible things we have today that we can’t even imagine living without such as bridges, airplanes, electricity and the list goes on. It all started with a vision, a concept in the mind of someone with a passion and a purpose to bring it forth. Your business could be the catalyst needed for positive change in many, many lives. What’s your grand idea? The world is waiting!
6. Challenge and Reward
Make no mistake about it, entrepreneurship is hard, very hard work. It is challenging, but immensely rewarding. The initial stages of starting your own business could possibly be the hardest you will ever work in your life and be one of the most rewarding experiences as well. As an entrepreneur, you can see the direct results of your labor, immediately and over time. Successful entrepreneurs see challenges as opportunities to succeed. It may be time for you to step out on faith, away from the perceived security of a steady job into the world of entrepreneurship. There are countless organizations out there whose primary mission is to help you succeed in your entrepreneurial journey. The point is that yes, there are challenges, but despite the challenges, you don’t have to go it all alone. Ask any entrepreneur, and they will assure you that the rewards outweigh the challenges by far, any day.
I sincerely hope that you are motivated to start your business whether as a part time vehicle to earn extra income or as a full time venture. There are countless resources available to help you with your endeavor. In parting, I want share with you one of my favorite quotes by Teddy Roosevelt from a speech given in 1910
~”It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”