Essay, Research Paper: Owning Your Own Business

There are many advantages and disadvantages when owning your own business. When you own you own business, it’s known as a sole proprietorship. But with any type of business, there will always be advantages and disadvantages.
Five advantages for owning your own business are: 1) The owner receives all profits, meaning that all earnings go to the sole proprietor, or the owner, and isn’t shared with anyone else. The profit is not split among partners, or split among a corporation. So when you own your own business, you’re the first and only one that receives all earnings and profit. So if a person has a successful firm, he/she is the first to reap the success and rewards. 2) Another advantage of owning your own business is that you’re your own boss. You can set your own hours, decide what you want to do with the company, no manager to answer to. Basically, you’re in charge of everything. The owner solely makes all decisions. Or in other words, you’re running the show. 3) An additional advantage is that a sole proprietorship can be easily organized. It’s easy to start your own business. First of all, it costs very little money to start your own business. As a sole proprietor, you have minimal legal requirements. The owner doesn’t have to establish a separate legal entity. All that is needed is to register the company with the state and apply for an occupational license and any additional licenses required for the state. With the easy organization of a sole proprietorship, almost anyone can start his or her own business. All you need is money and a realistic vision. 4) Another advantage of a sole proprietorship is that you pay lower taxes. This happens because as you own your own business, the earnings are considered as the owner’s personal income. Because of this, the sole proprietor may be subject to lower taxes than other forms of businesses, such as a partnership or corporation. 5) In addition to all the other advantages listed, another advantage of owning your own business is that you, the owner determines how much you want your firm or company to grow. You decide if you want to stay a small business or expand, whether it be locally or nationally. This can be advantageous because the owner can determine whether it’s better to stay small or grow. If you’re business is successful, you may want to expand to reach more and more clients, helping you make more money and to establish your firm as a successful one. Or you might think that it might be better to stay small and local, because you might not want to take a chance because you might not want to mess with a good thing. Whatever the situation, the owner decides what suites the company.
But with advantages, there are also disadvantages of owning your own business. Five disadvantages of a sole proprietorship are: 1) The owner is personally liable for all debts and incurs all losses. The sole proprietor is responsible for all debts that the company owes. The owner takes all losses. There are no other owners to help the owner cover all losses. So if you lose too much money, then you can basically say good bye to your business. With too much loss, our business will be terminated and you lose everything that you invested into the business. 2) Another disadvantage is that the owner’s dream is greater than his/her ability to produce. You may have a vision or dream of how you want to business to be like, but if you’re abilities are limited, then your business will be a failure. If your abilities can’t back up your dream, the owner shouldn’t waste his time trying to establish a business that he/she can’t maintain. 3) An additional disadvantage is that it is difficult to raise capital because of limited funds. When owning your own business, you can only set aside a certain amount of money for certain things. If things aren’t going well, or if you’re in debt, money becomes very limited. You may not have money available for important things, which may cause the business to fail. 4) Another disadvantage is that the owner is subject to unlimited liability. This means that there’s no limit on the debts that the owner is liable for. The owner is responsible for any and all debts, no matter the amount. 5) Lastly, a sole proprietor’s skills are limited. It may be difficult for an owner to run a large business if different types of skills and expertise are needed. The owner can only do so much.
With owning your own business, it is understood that there are advantages and disadvantages. But what about short-term and long-range implications? Well, a short-term implication of a sole proprietorship would be if an owner wants or expects to break even in the beginning stages. He/she would know that you have to be patient when starting your own business. The owner might expect to break even in the beginning, but if that business is successful, the owner could expect to make an abundance of capital and profit, which is the long-range implication. Expecting the business to succeed and reap all profits is the long-range implication.
In conclusion, there are numerous advantages and disadvantages of starting your own business. But with advantages comes both short-term and long-range implications. Owning your own business can be very profitable but can cause you to lose all your money and shatter your vision.


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