The pros and cons of starting a company. Via Spencer Greenber | Not boring, and a bit of a condescending prick

The pros and cons of starting a company.

Via Spencer Greenberg.

1. Autonomy
Pro: you're the boss and decide what to do.
Con: you HAVE to always decide what to do. There will be a huge array of options at any given moment, and you'll never know for sure which to work on. You can seek advice, but ultimately YOU are the one who must decide.

2. Lifestyle
Pro: since you're the boss, you'll have flexibility in your hours.
Cons: you'll inevitably be working a lot of hours. It takes a lot of work to succeed as an entrepreneur.

3. Resilience
Pro: it's an incredible way to train resilience, persistence, and problem-solving skills.
Con: the world will punch you in the face between 5 and 100 times, and if you ever give up, you lose. This is stressful, and most humans would give up after 5 or 10 face punches.

4. Expected Value
Pro: if you're well suited to it and work on a good idea, the expected (mean) value in terms of potential impact and monetary reward can be REALLY high. Some companies have truly altered the course of history.
Con: the probability of failure is high, and luck is a significant factor. And unless you have substantial savings, you'll likely be living frugally at first.

5. Learning
Pro: you will learn a tremendous amount. Even if the startup doesn't work out, this valuable experience will apply to MANY other things. I don't know of another way to learn so many things so quickly.
Con: you will inevitably make many mistakes (ouch), and you have to face up to them (double ouch) in order to learn fast enough. It forces you to acknowledge and improve (or develop workarounds for) your weaknesses.

6. Meaning
Pro: you can choose to work on an idea that is DEEPLY meaningful to you. Most jobs don't provide this level of meaning.
Con: if you fail, you will have invested a lot of time in (and then failed at) something deeply meaningful to you.

7. Respect
Pro: many people have a lot of respect for entrepreneurs, and it's considered cool in plenty of circles.
Con: this respect increasingly kicks in as success increases, and before that, some people won't even respect it as a career choice.

8. Relationships
Pro: you will likely meet lots of interesting people and build meaningful relationships with your team members.
Cons: you may have to deal with difficult personalities or navigate complex human dynamics when it comes to employees, investors, and/or co-founders.

9. Responsibility
Pro: it teaches you a deep form of responsibility, which strengthens your character.
Con: you are ultimately, at the end of the day, responsible for everything. You're the captain, the last line of defense, and the goalie.

10. Adaptability
Pro: it hones your creativity and adaptability, and can really build self-confidence and help you develop a sense of how much you're capable of (probably more than you think!), as you figure out solutions for complex challenges, develop new ideas, and map out how to make them a reality. It pushes your boundaries in new ways and makes you grow.
Con: it can stretch your creativity and adaptability to the limit. Plans, essential as they are to make, rarely survive their collision with reality. It sometimes pushes your boundaries more than you would like.

So, why NOT be an entrepreneur? Because it's a high risk, chaotic, stressful, responsibility filled, boundary-pushing, challenging life. And it's hard work.

Not everyone is suited to this path, and it's irresponsible to pretend that everyone is.
BUT, if you're well suited for it, it can be one of the most deeply meaningful, high value, high impact lives to lead. You'll meet lots of people, build resilience and adaptability, push your skills to new heights, and learn a STAGGERING amount.
For some people, it is absolutely their best life path.

You can learn more and get in touch with us at: https://www.sparkwave.tech

Source: https://www.facebook.com/spencer.greenberg/posts/10105424972822772