By John DeSpagna
Campus News
As you work your way through college, you should be thinking about a career path that you would like to follow. There are many options that you can pursue but make sure that you select a career path that you have a passion for. You may like the idea of working for an organization with the potential for job security, great benefits, ability to travel or something else.
Some people do not like the idea of working in a large organization and taking directions from someone else. If you fit into the category of wanting to have the freedom to control your own destiny, then you may want to go out and start your own business.
As the owner of your own business, you can be your own boss. You do not have to take orders from anyone but you are responsible for the entire organization. You will wear many hats and have a skill set in many areas such as marketing, managing, hiring, customer service and having a vision for the organization.
Making the decision to be your own boss means that you will have to come with up the financing for your business. This means you will have to make usage of personal savings, a bank loan, borrowing from friends or family, investors or the Small Business Administration. All of these are resources that you can approach to help your business grow.
There is risk. Starting a new business is for those who are risk-takers. If you have an idea, take the risk and go out and start your own business. You will never find out if you would have been successful unless you took the risk.
Look at some of the risk-takers of the last 50 years. Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Bill Gates of Microsoft, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Steve Jobs of Apple. They all took a risk to start a business and look how each one of them has changed the business world. Each of these had a vision of what they wanted to achieve and have been very successful. They all had great ideas and did not let anything stop them on the path to success.
Another benefit of starting your own business is the opportunity to become a financial success. You are responsible for the bottom line of the business and you can manage the distribution of profits. You can create your own compensation structure and retain as much of the profits as you would like. Many small business owners do very well financially.
As a business owner, you also have the opportunity to make a difference. You can take the company in the direction you see fit. You may want to try and do things to help others or utilize your profits to invest in socially responsible activities to help the community.
As your organization grows, you will also be helping the community by creating jobs. Job creation is very important for economic growth and this is a way to help others.
As a business owner, you are probably going to be putting in more than a forty-hour work week. You have the responsibility to keep everything operating correctly. Business workers tend to be hard workers so they get things done. Be ready to make the necessary sacrifices with your time to dedicate yourself to the business.
As you control your own destiny with your own business, you will have the ability to have job security with a successful business. There are no guarantees with a job in corporate America. Work hard and take care of your customers and you can help create your own job security.
Going out and starting your own business is an exciting and risk-filled proposition. You will have to take a risk, work hard, invest in yourself and become an expert in your chosen field. The rewards can be great in so many ways. Go for it!
John DeSpagna is Chair of the Accounting and Business Administration Department at Nassau Community College in Garden City, N.Y.
Facebook Comments