For all the issues they face, small business owners seem to really love what they do. According to one company’s survey of small business owners, 86 percent love their work, and 82 percent find the rewards of running their own shop greater than the challenges they face.
They like having control, flexibility, and the chance to pursue a dream. And, when things work out, the money, too.
And how about this: when asked, “Would you ever go back to working for someone else?” 56 percent said, “Never!”
It’s not all perfect in entrepreneur-land, though, according to the Wave 2012 Small Business Report, conducted in an online survey this spring by Wave Accounting, a Toronto-headquartered, cloud-based accounting software company for micro and small businesses.
One-half of respondents said they underestimated how hard it would be to be their own boss. Among the challenges owners mentioned facing in the last year: not enough income to meet the needs of their family; the cost of doing business; competition.
Yet, only 4 percent said they would have never gone into business for themselves if they’d known in advance about the difficulties they’d face.
The biggest challenge they face overall, however, is finding balance between their work life and home life. Two-thirds said they struggle in this area.
One other interesting finding from the survey: 15 percent of owners said they started their business after they found themselves unemployed and unable to find a job.
Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution
