Working for yourself has plenty of exciting benefits. You don’t have to get anyone else’s buy-in on what directions to take your business. You can often set flexible hours for yourself and work from anywhere. Of course, this path also has some disadvantages. With some planning, you can minimize these effects as you build your company. Here are three disadvantages of solopreneurship and some ideas to overcome them.
Loneliness
When you work alone, it’s easy to become lonely. Working in an office with others brings built-in opportunities to connect with people throughout the day. While working on your own does often give you the benefit of location independence, for many people, renting an office in a shared space can give you a great balance of independence and community. Look for shared workspace MA locations near you to be able to work around others.
No Benefits
One advantage of a larger company is that they typically provide benefits, such as health insurance and retirement savings matching. When you work for yourself, you’re trading these benefits for other rewards. Everyone needs access to healthcare coverage, though, so be sure to look into insurance options you can purchase. You’ll also want to be disciplined about retirement savings. No matter how much you love your work, you will want to have the option to retire eventually.
You Are Responsible
There are aspects of running any business that will not align with your skills and that you might find uninteresting. Since you’re the only person in your company, it falls on you to handle these tasks. Some of them, such as accounting and taxes, can be outsourced. For the others, know that they’re a relatively small portion of your day and that once you check them off your list, you can get back to what you love. Knowing that solopreneurship has both good and bad sides, you can plan for success by addressing any negative issues before they arise. Figure out how you’ll handle the disadvantages of working alone to set yourself up for the greatest chances of success.