Is Running a Business Harder Than Your 9 to 5?

Here at Kids Party Characters we talk a lot about the advantages of going from stay at home mom to work at home mom.

Having your own business can be not only very financially rewarding, but also personally rewarding for the sense of accomplishment it gives you and the relationships you build in the process.

Today we’re going to look at it from another angle, and consider whether moms who are currently working a traditional 9 to 5, or something similar, can successfully transition to work at home moms without losing anything. 

A related question for current stay at home moms who are looking to bring in some income and/or have a career is, are you better off just getting a job rather than diving into the often-crazy world of entrepreneurship?

The Advantages of Working for Someone Else

Having your own business can be hard, especially when you’re just getting started and feel like you’re out of your element.

There are some things entrepreneurs miss when they leave the 9 to 5, things that keep most people from ever making the move to entrepreneurship.

1. Known Pay on a Set Schedule

When you have a job working for someone else, there’s nothing ambiguous about when you’re going to be paid and how much that pay will be. You often have a contract that sets it out in detail, including health benefits and retirement benefits that entrepreneurs are never given.

This gives you peace of mind, and even if it’s not as much money as you’d like to get, at least you know what to budget for each and every month.

2. Guaranteed Time Off

While some companies are better than others about this, you always at least have the ability to call in sick and spend the whole day in bed when you need.

Usually you get paid time off when you work for someone else, especially after you’ve been there for awhile. This may include paid vacations, sick leave, and personal days.

And for moms, there’s the all-important maternity leave, which guarantees you’ll have a job after taking a few months off with your newborn.

3. Leaving it at the Office

Working for someone else means you put in your shift and go home, leaving your work at the office until the next day.

The physical act of walking away from your office, getting in your car, and driving home allows you to shift work off and family on. 

This is a luxury that’s hard to replicate when you work from home and can therefore feel like you never completely leave the office.

4. Limited Responsibility and Liability

No matter how important you are to your company, you aren’t the owner.

Unless things really go south, as long as you do your job, you’re going to have a job to come to every day. The success of the company doesn’t rise and fall on your shoulders.

And even if your company did happen to fold, you could take your skills to a similar company and pick up where you left off.

You are a piece to the puzzle, comfortably surrounded and supported by the other pieces, which can be a lot easier than being the whole puzzle yourself.

Could Running a Business Be Easier Than it Looks?

Admittedly, having a job may sound pretty appealing right now, which is why most people are employees and not business owners.

But obviously, you recognize the downsides of the 9 to 5 or you likely wouldn’t be reading this.

There’s the field trips and class parties you miss out on with your kids, the nasty commute to work, co-workers who drive you nuts, and being limited to earning what someone else thinks you’re worth, just to name a few uglies that come with the title “employee.”

While starting and running a business isn’t kids’ stuff, there are some pretty priceless advantages that come with it.

1. You’re the Boss

There’s not a lot more to be said about this one. You’re 100% in control of your business. 

Need two hours off to spend the day at the zoo with your child’s class? Done. No paperwork to fill out, no HR department to seek approval from.

Don’t like a client you’re working with? Fire him. No approval needed, no red tape to walk through.

Let’s look at some more specific advantages that come with being the boss.

2. You Can Delegate

As the boss, you decide what work you’ll do in your business, and what you won’t. If there’s a part of your job as business owner you don’t like, you simply get someone else to do it.

And no worries if you don’t want the hassle of taking on employees, the whole hiring and firing process is usually a big headache.

There is an over-supply of freelance workers that are willing to do any task you can imagine, even if it only involves paying for an hour of someone’s time.

You don’t have to be a rich and successful business owner to delegate, or outsource, the things you don’t want to do, or perhaps aren’t very good at doing.

You can have long-term virtual team members that you pay for a certain number of hours each week to take on these things, or you can pay by the project only when you need something specific done. 

This can mean you’re spending $20 a week on outsourcing when you’re just getting started if that’s all your budget can handle at the moment.

It also means you choose your coworkers, and “un-choose” them if you don’t enjoy working with them.

3. You Can Automate

One of the most beautiful things about your work at home business is that there are a lot of very smart, technically-oriented people that saw a huge opportunity coming with the growing popularity of working at home.

And these tech-savvy folks are constantly thinking of new ways to make it easier for us work from home moms by coming up with new and better tools that allow us to automate our business.

There’s no need to spend hours on the phone trying to reach clients. You can send one email that reaches all of your clients and prospects at the same time.

You can communicate with people through Facebook Messenger using an automated bot.

You can have an unlimited series of informational articles and sales messages sent to your customers and prospects by just having them enter their name into your database one time.  

People can schedule appointments with you online while you’re sleeping.

You can automate invoices and the payment of those invoices by setting a customer up in your system once.

Hopefully you’re getting the picture that there isn’t much you can’t automate in your business.

While this doesn’t mean you’ll never want to talk to your clients, that is the best way to build relationships, it does give you the freedom to have a business that runs on autopilot in many ways.

Imagine having your boss walk into your office while you’re busy playing Candy Crush, and explaining to her that it’s all good, you’ve automated your work. 

You’d clearly automate yourself right out of a job!

In contrast, you’re automating yourself right into more profits when you own your business.

4. You Can Regulate

One of the best things about owning a business is you can always be happy about the way things are going in your business.

You never have to deal with changes that come from higher up that make you morally uncomfortable or adversely affect the way you do your job.

If there’s a product or service you think you need to improve in your business, do it.

Something new you want to offer, or something you want to discontinue? Do it.

Is your heart pulling you to take a different direction in your business? Do it. 

Whether it means redefining your target market, repricing your products and services, or making exceptions to the policy for a dissatisfied customer, you can always do what feels right to you.

Which means you can always sleep good at night when it comes to issues of business integrity and the highest quality of service to your customers.

There is really nothing better than being able to make money in a way that aligns with your personal values and provides for an outstanding client experience.

What’s Right for You?

Starting a business isn’t for everyone, but it may be for you even if you have some initial reservations.

Whether it's "harder" than the 9 to 5 life basically depends on what you value.

Imagine yourself a year from now having a business you love that makes you a consistent income. Then think about how fast a year goes by.

Would the rewards for you and your family be worth spending a year taking some steps outside your comfort zone and working a little harder than you wanted to some days?

And that’s not to say it will take you a year to build a profitable business. It may take 90 days. It may take two or three years to get to where you really, really want to be.

But the time is going to pass anyway, and where will you be if you don’t take the leap?

And, Kids Party Characters owner, Cheryl Jacobs, has created a great work from home opportunity that’s designed to cut way down on the learning curve most beginning entrepreneurs must face.

Cheryl’s offering an opportunity for you to partner with Kids Party Characters and have your very own business, including an exclusive territory in which to book parties, the right to use our 200+ costumes, and access to our casting director and acting coach.

Basically, you get all the tools Cheryl’s used to turn Kids Party Characters into a six-figure business. 

On top of that, you get step-by-step training from Cheryl (who’s had a hand in starting 10 separate businesses) on the right way to get your business open and in profit.

Book a no-pressure chat with Cheryl right here and she’ll answer any questions you have about this opportunity and give you more details about how to get started.

Also be sure to join us on Facebook for daily updates on the magic we bring to children’s parties, as well as our best tips and strategies for running a successful work from home business.