1437: The Tradeoffs Of Owning Your Own Business Vs Working A Day Job by Steve Chou on Side Hustles

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Work Daily. The Tradeoffs Of Owning Your Own Business Vs Working A Day Job by Steve Chou of MyWifeQuitHerJob.com

[00:00:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Ever wonder whether the people who brag about their small business wealth are really living the high life?

[00:00:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Most of what you read on the web about starting your own business tends to be over-glorified because everyone is always trying to sell you something.

[00:00:22] [SPEAKER_00]: When all you see are get-rich-quick taglines everywhere, it's no wonder that many people have misconceptions about what it's like to run your own business.

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_00]: In another post, I've already given you a sneak peek into my glamorous life as a small business owner.

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Don't get me wrong though, I'm absolutely 100% pro-entrepreneurship and pro-small business.

[00:00:39] [SPEAKER_00]: But while I strongly advocate giving entrepreneurship a chance, I don't think it's the right choice for everyone.

[00:00:45] [SPEAKER_00]: There are many tradeoffs involved. Depending on what you value in your lifestyle, these tradeoffs may or may not be worth it to you.

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Based on my own experiences, I will try to provide you with an honest account of the lifestyle tradeoffs I make from day to day.

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_00]: I will begin with the negative aspects since you've probably heard the positive ones many times already.

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_00]: The payouts are unpredictable.

[00:01:05] [SPEAKER_00]: One of the biggest negatives about depending on income made from your own business is that your earnings are inherently unpredictable.

[00:01:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Especially if your business is brand new, chances are that you'll have absolutely no clue how much you will make in any given month.

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_00]: This makes expense planning and budgeting extremely difficult, not to mention stressful.

[00:01:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Imagine having to cover your mortgage, education and everyday expenses based solely on sales projections and guesswork.

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Imagine trying to make a large purchasing decision that requires financing when you have very little idea whether you'll be able to make the monthly payment.

[00:01:37] [SPEAKER_00]: My wife and I would like to buy a house one of these days.

[00:01:39] [SPEAKER_00]: The problem is that we can never be 100% sure how much we can afford because the revenue from our linen store is extremely bursty.

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, most of our business is made during the wedding and holiday season and the periods in between can be slow.

[00:01:53] [SPEAKER_00]: This is when my neurotic side kicks in.

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm hoping that with time we'll be able to accurately predict our revenues but right now we're not quite there yet.

[00:02:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Fortunately, I still have my day job which makes our income somewhat more predictable.

[00:02:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Emergencies may take you away from leisure.

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Every business will have its share of fires that need to be put out.

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes these fires can come at inopportune times.

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, my wife and I have had to wake up extremely early in the morning on a Saturday in order to prep emergency orders for our customers.

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes we screw an order up and have to rush things in order to get a replacement product out to the customer.

[00:02:28] [SPEAKER_00]: There have been times when these fires have prevented us from going out with our friends.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, we had to cancel our child's play date several weeks ago because we had to deal with a bridal emergency.

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Granted, these fires don't pop up very often but they can be extremely disruptive to your plans.

[00:02:43] [SPEAKER_00]: In the beginning, when you are trying to establish your business from scratch, you can pretty much kiss your social life goodbye.

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_00]: My wife and I probably went about three months without seeing any of our friends in order to launch our store.

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Fortunately, this startup phase is only temporary and once you're past it, things start to settle down.

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_00]: You have to deal with customers.

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Depending on the nature of your business, you may have to deal with customers directly.

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_00]: While I'd say 99% of our customers are extremely pleasant to work with, the 1% that are unpleasant are the customers that I remember the most.

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to know about some of the customers that we deal with on a day-to-day basis, be sure to check out our customer stories.

[00:03:21] [SPEAKER_00]: In any case, dealing with customers can be extremely draining and humbling.

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_00]: You may have to endure bouts of verbal abuse.

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_00]: You may have to bend over backwards to make a customer happy.

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes you'll get tormented.

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_00]: We had one customer who threatened to badmouth our store all over the internet if we didn't agree to his ridiculous terms.

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_00]: If you're not used to dealing with this sort of abuse, then you could be in for a shock.

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Fortunately, I was married for three years prior to starting the business, so I was prepared.

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_00]: With a regular day job, you never feel personally responsible for things that are beyond your control.

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, if you're an engineer and your company's marketing team makes a critical mistake in positioning the product that you designed,

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_00]: you might be disappointed, but you probably wouldn't lose sleep over it.

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00]: When you own your own business, though, you'll stress out over everything, even the things that are beyond your control.

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Your livelihood depends on the proper execution of your business plan, so there are no excuses.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Every little thing becomes your problem and you have to suck it up and deal with it.

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Your hours are unpredictable.

[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Unlike a day job, there is no notion of a weekend.

[00:04:26] [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, all of the days kind of blend together.

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_00]: You will need to put in as many hours as necessary in order to accomplish your goals.

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Our wedding linens business requires about three hours a day of my wife's time on average.

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_00]: She has to put in these three hours on weekends as well.

[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_00]: If business is especially strong, sometimes she'll work for eight hours.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes it gets so busy that both of us have to put in longer hours as well.

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_00]: The time we devote to the business is inherently unpredictable.

[00:04:51] [SPEAKER_00]: The main advantage of the business is that we can time shift all of the work.

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, we can save up three days' worth of work and put in a single nine-hour workday.

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_00]: This gives us the flexibility to manage our time as we see fit.

[00:05:03] [SPEAKER_00]: The other advantage is that we can hire people to help us out.

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Imagine trying to hire someone to do your job for you at your day job.

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: It just wouldn't fly.

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_00]: So is it worth it?

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_00]: As a wise blue panda once said about his day job,

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_00]: It appears to me that although your hours working on the business may be long,

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_00]: you are spending that time much more purposefully.

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_00]: It's like while I am renting time from my life, you are investing time into yours.

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot of truth in this statement.

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Any improvements that you make to your business tend to translate directly into your top line.

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Your earning potential is virtually unlimited, and you have the option of working at your own pace.

[00:05:39] [SPEAKER_00]: You will also experience a sense of personal satisfaction when you run your own business as well.

[00:05:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Even though I have to deal with irate customers from time to time,

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_00]: I also get to speak with extremely thoughtful customers as well.

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Some of these customers have said such nice things about our store that I've blushed while on the phone.

[00:05:56] [SPEAKER_00]: In retrospect, while I can acknowledge the disadvantages,

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: the positives of running your own business far outweigh the negatives.

[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Give it a shot.

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Worst case scenario, you'll learn something about yourself that you never knew before.

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's listen to the post titled

[00:06:12] [SPEAKER_00]: The Trade-offs of Owning Your Own Business vs. Working a Day Job

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_00]: by Steve Chu of MyWifeQuitHerJob.com

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_00]: This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_00]: We're all marveled at how quickly kids learn and that sense of wonderment they have while doing it,

[00:06:28] [SPEAKER_00]: but as adults, sometimes we lose that curiosity.

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, if there's something you've been wanting to learn,

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_00]: know that therapy can help you reconnect with your sense of wonder

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_00]: because your back-to-school era can come at any age.

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_00]: And make no mistake, therapy is for everyone.

[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Whether or not you've been through significant trauma,

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_00]: therapy can be a great tool for setting boundaries, learning new skills,

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_00]: and ultimately becoming the best version of yourself.

[00:06:52] [SPEAKER_00]: If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try.

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_00]: It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule.

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_00]: and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge.

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Rediscover your curiosity with BetterHelp.

[00:07:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Visit BetterHelp.com slash WorkDaily today to get 10% off your first month.

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_00]: That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash WorkDaily.

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And a little bit about Steve.

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_00]: When his wife became pregnant and she planned to stay home with the baby,

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_00]: they knew that they'd need to find some more income,

[00:07:29] [SPEAKER_00]: so they started a little online store called Bumble Bee Linens.

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, in just one year, they were actually able to replace his wife's salary of $100,000 a year

[00:07:38] [SPEAKER_00]: and they started My Wife Quit Her Job to document it all, including income reports.

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_00]: But he didn't stop there.

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_00]: He started the My Wife Quit Her Job podcast

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_00]: and even held his very first e-commerce conference called the Sellers Summit.

[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_00]: So clearly he's been busy.

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_00]: He's done quite a lot the last few years.

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_00]: And we thank Steve very much for letting us share his work.

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And remember to come by MyWifeQuitHerJob.com for a lot more content.

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks as always for being here and for subscribing to the show

[00:08:07] [SPEAKER_00]: and hope your weekend gets off to a great start.

[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to see you back here tomorrow, though,

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_00]: and that's where your optimal life awaits.