job vs business essay

job vs business essay

Exploring the Differences Between Having a Job and Running a Business

1. Introduction: Setting the Stage

Our investigation is guided by the following question: What is the difference— in terms of personal and work-related circumstances—between having a job working for someone else as an employee and running your own business? By having a job we imply that the individual is an employee under some form of employment contract, and by running a business we imply being a self-employed entrepreneur or owner of a business with no employees at all. To some individuals running a business implies having one or more employees. However, in many economies the majority of businesses are ‘small or medium’ in terms of their employment position and more or less all of these owner-managers do not have employees. Some of them may be relatively wealthy, but the majority of the owner-managers must work. Moreover, we like to think of a business as a system where the decision-taking functions of ownership and management can be distributed among single individuals as in the case of the self-employed entrepreneurs, or among different individuals. Our investigation validates and invalidates many common beliefs and discusses several issues important to entrepreneurship. For instance, decision-takers of businesses generally receive lower retirement benefits because of the higher pay-off opportunity while running their business. If the e-commerce era uses emotional click responses due to the absence of close co-workers in business settings, being an entrepreneur may obtain a higher level of social skills. And do self-employed individuals respond more to financial incentives at the beginning of the walk than wage-earning employees? We employ the Bartol and Zinberg model to answer these questions. Future entrepreneurship research could use the model to predict entrepreneurship response behavior.

There is a widespread belief that people who are working for themselves, or manage their own business, have much more control over their lives than those who hold jobs as employees. It is further believed that being a business owner implies you have less stress than those in the work force who hold typical jobs, that business owners are more successful financially, and that working for yourself has a major impact on your personal life including ethics and interpersonal relationships. The latter is claimed to be so as business owners are not coerced by managers or supervisors, do not have to work between certain hours of the day, have more satisfaction in life and work, have greater opportunities and options, and have the opportunity to create their own working conditions. Additionally, running a business is claimed to require certain skills, such as creativity and loyalty, which employees do not need. While these beliefs are widely held, evidence for the claims is hard to come by. In this paper we will compare these two positions more closely and many of the supporting arguments for these two positions. We explore whether being in control, having less stress, not being required to work certain hours, being more satisfied, being more successful financially, and certain moral attributes are more likely to be obtained while managing your own business or while maintaining a job working for an employer. We are aware of the fact that it is an equally logical twist to take each of the findings of our paper and say: ‘but why should the rank of the positions not be reversed by switching the dependent variable?’

2. Section 1: Understanding the Nature of Jobs and Businesses

A job is a position where one works for a company which pays a salary. In a job, one follows the company’s working hours and policies. He or she is paid according to the exchange contract which is employed accepting the company’s organizational logic. Meaning that in a market economy, jobs are created by the business dimension of the economy. Business, on the other hand, is derived from the word “busy” and is a broad term covering all economic issues arising from the exchange of goods and services necessary to supply them. It is a company or enterprise which is engaged in commercial, industrial or professional activities. It’s an organization or economic system where goods and services are exchanged for one another or for money (produce me to buy goods and services to meet my needs). In order to have new needs, it is necessary to create new needs (for living needs and not for consumerism).

People often say, “Don’t work hard to make someone else rich, work smart and make yourself rich.” So, a job is often looked at as a way to make a living, to help pay the bills. A business is often seen as what offers people opportunities for higher incomes (which people sometimes equate to positive desirable change). So, jobs and businesses represent two distinct ways of organizing human endeavors and activities with the means of obtaining an income. Businesses are established and maintained to generate profits, while it’s often assumed that jobs (work and employment) are there to create value. This article explores what these differences are, trusting it will be a meaningful exercise for both management and the managed.

3. Section 2: Key Differences in Structure, Income, and Risk

The payments taken from the business by the owners are motivated as a return on their investment and evidence that their holdings are appreciating over time. Indeed, the annual payments will usually be less than the net retained earnings generated by the business. Only by maintaining a separation between business return and personal wealth growth can the business productively invest in future growth and protect itself. In this way, a business can be seen as running like a bank – using capital invested by the bank’s owners (and deposits from its clients), plus profits reinvested to sustain its operations and hopefully see the bank grow over time.

A deeper analysis of the differences in the structure, income, and risk faced by employees (who have jobs) compared to those owning and running major businesses may illustrate more clearly some practical differences between these two groups. Despite the potential for a business owner’s earnings to be significantly greater than those of an employee, a number of factors are likely to mitigate a business owner’s enthusiasm for taking substantial levels of compensation from the business. Common sources of business cash flow to the owner (or owners) include salary, bonus, and dividends. Instead of being seen primarily as a source of income, the business is more often considered and managed as a process of creating value.

Key differences in structure, income, and risk

4. Section 3: Personal Growth and Fulfillment

Someone who earns money for herself, is a separate entity and has a business to run has shaped perspectives to adapt to different environments. From decision-making to handling clients, emotions determine decision-making which gives the power of choice. There is creating an environment of receptiveness to change and challenge, and several times the business owner is free, liberating, driven, empowering, dedicated, inspires, and makes even the impossible possible. All of us are driven by life’s work to create, implement, revive or rejuvenate indeed. The environment that exists between your current point and the destination point is taken running a business. It is an individual journey that enables personal growth and fulfillment. In summary, the personal journey and fulfillment that shape perspectives and adapt to different environments are the differences between running a business and having a job.

The greatest benefits of running a business are the sense of fulfillment, the widened perspectives, and the impact of growth. A business owner is at the forefront of personal growth. It is similar to having a mirror in front of you saying “Hey! You need to change or it will affect everything around you.” Only then, discovering what makes you tick and combining it with solving a major problem becomes personal growth culminating with fulfillment. Whether you are creating jobs, solving problems and revolutionizing systems, or building landmarks which are to be admired by all – the extent to which the business is helping clients and the community shapes the fulfillment.

5. Conclusion: Making Informed Choices

This activity calls upon students to sort 25 statements into two piles – one for a job, and the other for a business. In groups, students are to share their results and then write a one paragraph discussion that explains the differences they have found between a job and a business. The strength of this activity is that it takes most students well into the activity before they get a sense of the definitions that you, as the instructor, will be looking for. Thus, it generates a lot of discussion and encourages several individuals to share their thoughts. What is the purpose behind this activity? Most students start a business because they do not like their current jobs, yet few really understand what the differences are between the two. With a better understanding of the differences, potential entrepreneurs can make more informed choices for themselves. In choosing between a job and a business, and realizing what it takes to obtain and run each, individuals can realize that a business is not for everyone. This may be the most important conclusion that students can draw from this comparison.

Most people work at a job, and a few run their own businesses. The number of people who run a business in any country is quite small, less than 5% of the population. The number of successful businesses that become bigger is even smaller, around 1% of the population. The possibility of owning a business, rather than working at a job, is the goal of many who currently work at a job. People want to be their own boss, call the shots, provide more for their family, use more of their ideas, and take big risks for the chance of a big reward. If you have a paying job, consider yourself lucky. Jobs, even those that you do not like too much, are available and provided to you on the basis of one factor – your ability to do that particular job. Have you ever considered how your becoming skilled and your using this skill results in you being able to have a job? Why are so few businesses started? Is it the fear of failure, the fear of going broke, or just the fear of the unknown? Just what is it that differentiates a job from a business?