Being a business owner isn’t easy. There are amazing highs, but the lows are often quite intense as well. Somedays it feels like the problems never stop – regardless of how much success you achieve. The problems just grow, evolve, morph. So we asked business owners if they sometimes wonder what it would be like to just have a regular job and have shared some of the highlights below.

Destiny Rose Lopez

As someone who does work a regular job and has a business owner, I love having the creative direction and being able to promote my message and my art. Being a business owner, they’re times where it gets overwhelming and I think about how it would be like to work in another field but I realize that it’s not what’s calling to me. I want to connect with people through my art, my message and my love for sustainability. I love and I’m passionate about what I do. Read more>>

Karen Lopez

Being a business owner brings a unique sense of fulfillment, but it comes with challenges that sometimes make me think about a “regular” job. There’s a lot of freedom and creativity that comes with owning your own business, but also a constant pressure to keep everything running smoothly. One moment that stands out was earlier this year, during a particularly busy week at California Body Contouring. I was juggling client appointments, managing a growing team, handling marketing, and dealing with some unexpected logistical issues. One day, I had back-to-back client sessions, then had to stay late to troubleshoot an issue. On top of that, I had paperwork piling up, and it felt like there was no end in sight. Read more>>

Billi Watson

I’ve had the ability to experience both working a corporate job for 20 years and being a full time business owner for the last three years. It has definitely been an adjustment but I can honestly say that I’m happier as a business owner. The ability to set my own schedule and spend more time focusing on my family has been the biggest benefit. I have had moments of considering going back to work and even worked part time for a little over a year. While it was nice to have the safety net of consistent income, I wasn’t happy. I didn’t like being tied to my desk and phone every day. I was quickly reminded that sitting in meetings after meeting and not being able to be creative wasn’t for me anymore. Once I was able to leave and return to being a full time business owner, I did so and don’t plan on returning to work in the near future. Read more>>

Juliana Flores

I love being a business owner. This love comes with a lot of ups and downs because it’s always uncertain, every month is different when you’re a business owner. Of course I’ve had the thought “if i just had a regular job, everything would be easier!”, a regular job has a beginning and an end to the day, it has an expected income and takes are taken care of by someone else! However, I’ve had my business for 11 years now and I can’t picture myself going back to a regular job because i feel my creativity would be jeopardized, having the freedom to change things last minute for the best of the class or program adds a certain spark to what i do. Read more>>

Vasav Vasav

Grow old along with me , the best is yet to be. -Robert Browning, As an artist, I find fulfillment on a much deeper emotional and psychological level than I would in a traditional 9-to-5 job. The risks and rewards may be greater, but so are the opportunities for growth, discovery, and self-actualization. My creative journey has been one of continuous unlearning, letting go of the limitations and conditioning shaped by my upbringing and environment. Breaking free from these mindsets has allowed me to explore my full potential, and I believe that’s something anyone can achieve by embracing creativity and openness. Read more>>

Hanyun Zhang

I was clueless when I received my undergraduate degree diploma on the podium. The flashlights, the smiling school faculty, and the cheering crowds only strengthened my feelings deep inside, a world that is so quiet that I can only hear my panic thoughts echoing around. What am I supposed to do now? I pursued what I really wanted in college, film, but the harsh reality just started to hit me—what can my film degree really do for me? How can my knowledge of film history or film theory get me a job? None of the big studios hire a recent college graduate for film creative jobs, but I lack both the knowledge and the interest in pursuing the business side of the industry. After a series of inner battles, I started as a freelancer. Since I chose what I wanted instead of a stable, money-making job from the very beginning, I will just keep going. Read more>>

Azalea Chan

Photography makes me incredibly happy; I honestly can’t imagine doing anything else. I’ve had a regular job in the past, but it just wasn’t for me. What I love most about being a business owner is the freedom to create my own schedule and be my own boss. There are definitely times when the idea of a regular job crosses my mind, especially during the rough patches. But even then, I wouldn’t trade this for anything else. The joy I get from capturing moments and making a difference in people’s lives through my photos is what keeps me going. Read more>>

Ron Epstein

I had regular jobs. In fact, I spent the first 25 years of my career working for other companies. Most were good experiences and I’d like to think that I helped them grow and brought ideas to the table. I certainly learned a lot from each stop along the way. But somewhere on this journey I got the itch to do something on my own. I liked evaluating ideas and making decisions, and felt I had a good understanding of people and publishing that, if the opportunity came along, I’d be ready. Read more>>

Trang Nguyen

Thank you for this opportunity to share my journey. For those who may not know me yet, my name is Trang, and I am the founder of two businesses— QT Pro Marketing and The Story wedding & event. But more than that, I see myself as someone who has been driven by a deep love for creativity and art since I was a child. I’ve spent my entire life pursuing that passion, and everything I do, whether in business or in life, is rooted in this belief that creativity is not just something you do—it’s something you live. Read more>>

Melli Montana

Being a business owner brings me happiness because there’s no limit to how much I can earn. However, it also comes with a lot of stress. In a job, you get paid for the hours you work, but as a business owner, you might put in thousands of hours and only see financial returns for a small portion of that effort. That’s why I recommend entrepreneurs build businesses around their passions. Passion will keep you going through the unpaid days and long nights. If money is your only motivation, you’ll burn out and give up faster than someone who is driven by the fulfillment of building something meaningful. I recently thought about getting a job because sometimes I feel like spreading positivity and sharing joy with everyday people. So many workers seem lost and unhappy, and I’d love to be that coworker who uplifts and motivates both employees and customers. But then I remind myself that working a job doesn’t align with who I am. It would limit my potential and the impact I can make. Even my close friends say, “Melli, don’t get a job,” because once people get to know me, they see I’m just not built for a 9-5. Thank God 🙏 Read more>>

Maja Lorkowska-callaghan

The short answer is: yes, I’m very happy as a freelance artist and writer. Although, as I’ve only recently decided to pursue this path full-time, I may still be in the honeymoon phase! I’m very lucky to have started with a few projects on the go, which makes me feel like I’ve made the right decision but regardless of that, I’ve wanted to get to this point for a long time. I worked in an office for ten years, while taking on creative work here and there and while some of it was commission-based, early on, a lot of it was for free. It’s no mystery that working for nothing is not great for paying the bills or boosting morale! I know exactly what it feels like to have a regular job, one that comes with the comfort of a regular salary and, if you’re lucky, you finish work at 5 o’clock and leave it behind the office door. You come home and you can do whatever you want! But what if what you want to do is… make art? You have to find ways to make the time, to weave it in around all of the chores and everyday tasks that have to be done. You find the time and energy (most of the time) to keep making and using the creative part of your brain. In my case, the regular job was a means to an end that I always hoped would lead me towards a more creative path. So I try not to look back and instead focus on the current moment when I get to live my dream, at least for now! Read more>>

Ziyi Huang

I consider myself an artist, and I do have a “regular” job! After graduating from Pratt this summer, I started my career as a gallery assistant at a gallery in West Village. To start with, I believe being an artist is a full-time, regular job—it demands the same level of commitment and dedication as any other profession. However, compared with my position at the gallery, being an artist requires a lot more independence and self-discipline. It’s a constant balancing act because, as an artist, I’m not only the creator but also the promoter, the salesperson, and the business manager. I must wear many shoes at once—juggling creativity with the need to drive self-growth in the long term. Read more>>

Nicole Gulotta

When I started working full-time after finishing graduate school, I struggled to find my footing. With little guidance for how to navigate both work and writing simultaneously, I became frustrated that I couldn’t keep up and write with the same regularity I was used to. It took trial and error to figure out how to stay connected to that part of myself without losing it completely, and also recognizing that my expectations needed to change. Most creatives struggle with this at some point because we need to support ourselves financially, yet we deeply desire the time and space for our own projects. There’s always a push and pull to navigate. Read more>>

Scott Tarbox

If the question were simply “am I happier in this job than I was in other jobs” the answer woul be a definite unwavering ‘yes’. I do also consider myself incredibly lucky. I worked hard, but certain things were in place for me to be able to carve out this kind of career for myself and I recognize that privilege That being said, I do find that there is an inherent and unavoidable conflict when something creative is what you depend on for a living, especially if individual projects don’t net you the amount of funding to float you comfortably for months. Most full-time creatives find themselves in a place where there is continuous need to create, to sell yourself, to create merchandise. And the honest truth is that sometimes this unflinching current can damage the hunger and drive to create for the sake of itself. Read more>>

Kenny Wooten

This is something I have been debating for months now. Would life be better as an employee working for somebody else? I could have paid time off, health insurance, a consistent paycheck, and a predictable schedule. These are all things that I don’t have working for myself. Read more>>