Job vs. Entrepreneurship garner a lot of debates and talks. People are either in favor of jobs or in favor of entrepreneurship. But, which of the two will lead you to a better and more prosperous career in life?
Irrespective of your thoughts, we can’t deny that entrepreneurship has significantly increased in the present world. People create creative ideas and then implement them to kickstart their entrepreneurial journey. Of course, the primary intent is to attain freedom of choice in a career, but entrepreneurship comes with many setbacks too.
This article will deep dive into the primary difference between job (Employment) and entrepreneurship and which one would be an ideal fit for your career.
Table of Contents
What is Entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is setting up your business entity by bringing your vision to fruition with the hope of generating a steady profit, despite the lingering risks in the background.
In simple words, “the process of setting up a business” is called entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur is often regarded as an innovator who streamlines varying processes to generate profits and provide employment to more people.
Typically, entrepreneurship can be further divided into:
- Small business
- Scalable start-up
- Large company
- Social entrepreneurship
Job (Employment) vs. Entrepreneurship: Similarities
With basic knowledge about entrepreneurship, let us walk you through the list of similarities that are tangible in both employment and entrepreneurship.
The differences between the two indeed outweigh the similarities. So, here’s a list of all the similarities.
1. Payment options
Irrespective of the amount of monetary compensation, it is a constant factor in employment and entrepreneurship. This is because both an employee and an entrepreneur get paid for their work.
This means that not only is a content marketer working in a company earning a steady paycheck, even the CEO and founder of the company is generating a steady income via the profits they are earning from the projects.
2. Optimal professional growth
Both employees working a job and an entrepreneur running a business have set career goals. It could be personal upscaling of the skills or learning new techniques to augment the business’ growth.
In a way, both roles induce professional and career growth without any roadblocks. Of course, the type of professional growth might vary, but it is otherwise a constant inclusion.
3. Client management
Another similarity between a job and entrepreneurship is handling and managing clients. This means that a standard employee is responsible for managing clients, and so is the founder or CEO of the company.
It doesn’t matter what the designation is at work; dealing with clients is a ubiquitous experience that every business professional has to handle.
4. Meeting expectations
One of the biggest myths people have about entrepreneurship is thinking they are free birds. They don’t have a boss they are working under, so they don’t have to fulfill anyone else’s expectations.
However, that’s one of the biggest misconceptions. Much like how the employees work to meet the expectations of their clients and the higher authorities in the company, an entrepreneur consistently works to meet the expectations of the clients, the investors, and the employees.
Job (Employment) vs. Entrepreneurship: Key Differences
As we said, there are similarities between jobs and entrepreneurship, but the differences are even more. Typically, the differences set the tone of choice among the aspirants.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Paycheck
One of the most significant differences between having a job and being an entrepreneur is the difference in compensation. And it could be for good or the worse.
If you prefer stability and assurance of work, we’d recommend looking into getting a job. With that, you get a fixed monthly salary and don’t have to worry about anything.
With entrepreneurship, the compensation plan is very dynamic. It depends on the kind of profits generated, the investments made in the company, and what’s left to take home at the end.
Furthermore, employees are paid overtime compensation when they work extra hours. This isn’t something you get to enjoy when you are an entrepreneur.
2. Risk
The career prospect in a job is a lot more secure than that of an entrepreneur. When you get started on your entrepreneurial journey, you are likely going blind. You have likely risked much of your savings or gotten investors to invest in your business. The risk is at an all-time high and depends on the company’s profits.
When it comes to a job and being an employee, these are the headaches you don’t have to worry about. Instead, you can take home a fixed monthly income and plan your future accordingly.
The stability of an entrepreneurial journey is heavily dependent on the workflow, stability of the projects at hand, and the kind of profits the company generates. So, the risks are comparably higher in entrepreneurship.
3. Job Security
It isn’t even a question that job security is slightly more assured in employment over entrepreneurship. You depend on a company for the job, so the job security depends on the company.
As an entrepreneur, your job security is in your hands. Entrepreneurs run, plan and implement strategies in your business. The growth trajectory heavily depends on the success, projects acquired, and the overall projects in the pipeline.
4. Work Schedule
Entrepreneurs have complete autonomy over choosing their working hours. That is a true statement. However, it is also true that entrepreneurs often work round the clock to make ends meet.
Employees typically have a fixed schedule, which can be a 9-5 job, a night shift, or a morning shift. But, the schedule generally involves 8-10 working hours each day.
5. Decision Making
Employees might have some degree of control over the company’s decision-making process. They can be contributors to a decision but aren’t the company’s decision-makers. That is the role of the founder or CEO.
Entrepreneurs are the decision-makers since they are running their businesses. So, entrepreneurship might be for you if you want to streamline your chances of making decisions in a company. But decision making is also potent in jobs for employees at a higher positions. So, the choice is on you.
6. Freedom
Entrepreneurship means “being your boss.” So, it isn’t surprising that entrepreneurs typically have more freedom and independence than employees. Instead of responding to someone, entrepreneurs have to self-introspect and rectify the issues they have done.
This level of freedom isn’t available in a job. Since you are working under someone, you need to be answerable to higher authorities. You aren’t a free bird and will have to undergo performance reviews and feedback from the executives in a company.
7. Mindset
When you work a job as an employee in a company, your mindset is to look into ways to grow your career and augment your source of income. This is an ingrained mindset when employees prioritize personal growth and the company’s growth.
An entrepreneur’s mindset is 100% dependent on the company’s growth. They aim to find ways to generate more profit, channel into more projects, and optimize the company’s growth. Their mindset prioritizes the company’s growth over personal growth.
8. Benefits
Benefits include health insurance, bonuses, promotions, etc. These are additional perks available to employees. However, when you are an entrepreneur, no one can provide you with such benefits. So, ideally, you have to navigate through these yourself.
When entrepreneurs work with clients, their projects and compensation don’t include any additional perks and benefits which an employee gets from a company.
9. Responsibility
An entrepreneur’s list of responsibilities is much more than that of a standard employee. Besides being responsible for keeping the company running and providing job opportunities, an entrepreneur has to meet potential investors, work with business owners, etc.
If there are any roadblocks, an entrepreneur must work on bypassing them to ensure that the company stays profitable. These are some additional responsibilities that an employee doesn’t have to worry about.
10. Opportunities
An employee depends on their employer to generate opportunities for them. However, an entrepreneur generates opportunities for themselves. It could be expanding their business to a new location, taking up international projects, etc.
11. Work-life Balance
The degree of work-life balance depends on the individual. Although we are mentioning it under differences, remember that the same is interchangeably dependent on a person’s choices.
Nothing can be changed if an employee decides to work extra hours and not pay attention to their personal life. Similarly, an entrepreneur might schedule some time each day to do things for themselves, which can help them maintain an optimal work-life balance. But, again, it is all in the personal choices.
Is Entrepreneurship Better Than a Job?
Answering this question is quite tricky since it’s a subjective answer. However, if you want more autonomy and flexibility in your work, entrepreneurship could be a better choice for you.
Additionally, even studies suggest that entrepreneurs have a better lifestyle than standard employees, so that’s another factor worth considering.
But, on the flip side, you also need to prioritize looking into the risks and the lack of stable income that comes with entrepreneurship.
Job vs. Entrepreneurship: Pros and Cons
Some of the pros of entrepreneurship over jobs are:
- Being independent
- Contribute to employment generation
- Learn new skills
- Gain optimal profits
- Be your boss
- Bring your vision to fruition
Some of the cons of entrepreneurship over jobs are:
- Finding capital and investors for starting
- Risks of not having enough projects in the pipeline
- Managing deadlines
- Being responsible for the employees
- Unethical practices
The next thing you need to focus on is making the final choice. Which out of the two is better for your career?
Job vs. Entrepreneurship: Which Is Better for Career?
The answer to this lies in your choices.
The job is good enough for you if you enjoy a stable income and security of your finances each month. Also, being employed under someone ensures that you have lesser responsibilities.
However, if you are experimental and have a vision for a business, we’d recommend going forward with entrepreneurship. This allows you to be your boss, generate employment for people and bring in significant profits for your company.
What’s better for your career depends on the kind of mindset you harbor. If you are more inclined toward taking risks, becoming an entrepreneur is your best bet.
About Carson Derrow
