Most of us know the benefits of owning a small business, but don’t consider them seriously enough to make the change.

Working for yourself can be one of the most rewarding professional experiences of your life — and for so many reasons. In this article, we’ll go over some of the biggest benefits of owning your own business. Grab a pen and some paper because these benefits might just sway you into professional independence.

1. Flexibility

Not having to rely on someone else for a paycheck is a huge benefit of owning your own business, but there’s so much more to it than that. When you own your own business, flexibility extends beyond a paycheck and into vacation time, sick days, work load, and in-office schedules.

On top of that, having to run the business yourself rather than relying on someone else forces you to learn more about extremely valuable skills, such as finance, time management, and customer service. These kinds of skills will follow you wherever you go throughout your career and can be useful in various professional situations.

2. Power

Another benefit of owning your own business is the ability to be your own boss. Say goodbye to being the employee, because with your own business you’re the one that’s employing. Having employees can be one of the most motivating aspects of owning a business. How so? Employees help you stay motivated by giving you people to impress on a day-to-day basis. Your employees look to you as an example of how they should be acting. Therefore, if you want hardworking employees, you’re going to need to be a hardworking boss.

The biggest win here though? All this can be done without fearing for you job. You may have to impress your employees to some degree, but at the end of the day your job is safe from any “higher ups” that may have threatened it before.

3. Money

Ahh, money. Universally loved by everyone, money is one of the biggest benefits to owning a business. With your own business, you’re able to cut out the so-called “middle man” and put that money directly into your own pocket. That’s right, working for yourself can actually make you more money (though many people tend to think the opposite).

Don’t get me wrong, building clientele and a solid reputation in your industry can take awhile, so all that extra money probably isn’t going to fly into your wallet over night. However, if you put in the effort, the pay-off will follow. For example, most of the small business owners I know personally are fairly well-off (i.e. middle class or above). But they worked hard to get to that point. If that’s something you’re willing to do too, then welcome to benefit #3 of owning your own business.

4. Prestige

With owning a business also comes extremely rewarding bragging rights. Simply put, owning a business gives people a sense of pride— something to tell others about with confidence and assurance. To a lot of people, being able to say that you’re on top is worth more than gold. In fact, I know people who’ve started a business for this reason alone. These businessmen and women were less concerned with the industry making them “happy” and more concerned with the professional light in which others would view them. To an outsider, professional recognition may not seem like a big deal, but to a business owner, it can be one of the most rewarding benefits of working for yourself.

5. Passion

Last but not least— and my favorite on the list— is passion. One of the biggest benefits to owning a business is the personal satisfaction and passion it can bring into a person’s life. Though this is last on this list, it is easily the most important. That’s because passion for the field or work you do can make a huge difference in your industry, your life, other people’s lives, or even the world.

Waking up every day to go to a job that you’re passionate about is a golden ticket to true happiness. That kind of passion can change your outlook on life and your own individual purpose— both professionally and personally.

Don’t believe me? Why do you think the non-profit industry is full of so many passionate workers and business owners? I can tell you right now those people aren’t in it for the money or the power. They go to work every day to satisfy an inner passion to make a positive impact wherever they can. And it works. Because at the end of the day, the more people or things that are positively affected by your professional decisions, the better you’ll feel about yourself overall.

Don’t forget to follow us on social media for more blog posts just like this one. As always, thanks for reading and happy marketing!

—Amanda Myers, Copywriter at BoydTech Design, Inc.