Confused About A Job or A Start-Up Venture? Here Are Tips To Help You Decide

Work fills a major part of our lives. Having a steady work life is quite satisfying, it helps you become independent and allows you to follow your dreams. Your effort is the muscle you put in and the financial independence is the reward that you reap.

If our work is going to fill a major part of our lives and help us live a life which is an extension of our personality, wouldn’t it be great if we could choose the work that we like. Education will instil all the skills and knowledge you need to pursue a career but how you put it to use is completely up to you. You can take up a job or start something on your own. But, how will you choose between startup vs job. Careers360 is here to give some clarity while deciding between a job or start-up as a career option.

Also Read: Starting Your Job Search: Tips To Hit The Nail On The Head

Know Your Dreams And Reality

Let’s begin with what really drives you. Your dreams! Beyond the periphery of college campuses begins a phase of applying yourself to work that offers a real chance at making dreams come true. Knowing what you want to become in life is the first step towards identifying this dream. There is no rule to dreams, dream it as you want and let it drive you to choose the right career path.

Understanding the skills and talents you possess helps you advance in the right direction. This can help you make a well-informed decision.

If you wish to achieve something but lack the necessary skills for it, work on yourself. Do not abandon the dream, but develop your skills.

Job Or Start-Up: How To Choose

A job role or Start-Up both give you an opportunity to fulfil your dreams. So how do you choose between a job or a start-up?

Skills Levels

You need skills and knowledge for both, whether you choose a job or a start-up. The nature of skills is different.

A job demands expertise in the field you choose, educational background in the same or related fields, teamwork, professionalism and willingness to learn and moreover, respecting the company hierarchy structure, along with other soft skills.

A start-up requires all that and more. You need to learn all the skills that help you get a job and then acquire other skills because you need people to invest in your idea. You need to become good at communications, better at negotiations, know about the minute details of your start-up goal and at the same time be a leader for your team.

The good things about skills are they can be acquired over a period of time. And the entrepreneurship sector requires rigorous demands on you when it comes to learning new things.

Entrepreneurship Begins With An Idea

If you want to launch a start-up, you need an idea. The idea is the identity of your start-up venture. Be certain of one thing, the idea is the first step and as you keep going on, it’ll evolve into something bigger than what you had imagined.

You’ll need a team that relates to the idea and helps you in shaping it and delivering the results.

Hard Work And Work-Life Balance

A regular job requires hard work and discipline but they offer much better work-life balance when compared to start-ups. If you prefer to have free time to spend with friends and family, or practise a hobby or do absolutely anything you want to, choosing a job would be better for overall satisfaction. Job roles guarantee you free time after set working hours.

Start-up ventures on the other hand are a whole different story. It’s your baby and is notoriously demanding of time and hard work. You are the CEO of the company as well as an executive in the every other department of your venture until such time that you have established a team that works in tandem with each other and fulfills all your requirements.

Money Matters

Jobs are a good source of stable income. It helps you stay organised and allow you to follow other passions. It ensures the stability and well-being of you and your family.

Start-ups take time before generating income. Initially, you need to invest or find investment and empty your pockets for your start-up. It is only after a while that it starts paying back well. Remember, the list of the top 100 richest people is made from people who started their own thing and excelled at it.

Risk Factor

Finally, your appetite for risk matters a lot. Jobs and the system that run any company ensure your stability in case of uncertainties like market fluctuations or any man-made or natural disasters. Employers have policies and strategies in place to take care of the employees in case of trouble.

The risk factor involved in running the start-up is high. If it fails due to reasons like market fluctuations, or no investments, it can be quite demotivating. You might have to start the whole process.

Jobs offer stability in the face of uncertainty but beyond the risk lies the field of riches. Those who think they have it in them to balance the pros and cons of working in a startup and take risks and not be bogged down by failures should try their hands at start-ups.