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.

Samantha Mcfarlen

I am so happy being a business owner. I love my work and I love the freedom of being my own boss. I’ve been a business owner for over a decade now, and it’s a huge part of who I am. But sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a regular job. Work-life balance is the biggest hurdle I run into. I just had my second child, so now I’m navigating life as a mom to a five-year-old boy and a six-month-old baby girl. With my business, my mind is always running—whether it’s brainstorming ideas, thinking about upcoming projects, or mentally managing to-do lists. It’s not always stressful, but it can be hard to turn that part of my brain off. I sometimes wonder what it would feel like to work a regular 9-to-5, where you clock out, come home, and fully disconnect without worrying about emails or delivering galleries to clients waiting for their photos. Read more>>

Haven Arnold

I am thankful to say I’ve truly never been happier with my work than I am now as a business owner. I know not everyone feels drawn to owning their own business–a lot of responsibility and risk-taking comes with it–but for me, being able to make decisions, choose the amazing clients I get to work with, take an idea to the execution stage, and curate my own work experience has been incredibly growing. Read more>>

Joelle Perry

Aloha mai, my name is Joelle Perry and I run an ethical clothing company, alongside my husband, here in Hawai’i nei. This question comes up in my mind quite a bit. I often think if I were working for somebody else my creativity could be unbridled. I could finally create the pieces I’ve always dreamed of and not be so careful about spending money that is currently so closely connected with my personal life and family’s well being. I sometimes think about the lessening of pressure to create things that “sell” and I would simply allow myself to express its creativity without bounds. Read more>>

Jordan Wannemacher

I am definitely happiest as a business owner! Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone, but I do think my personality and quirks are uniquely qualified for it. To speak on positive aspects, I’m a really type-A organized person. Owning a business is a lot to keep track of and manage at once. It could get really chaotic if you aren’t the right fit. I’m also really extroverted which made networking come easily and have always felt comfortable and confident putting myself out there to generate business. Read more>>

Kristen Gardner

Being a business owner is something that I think a lot of people think is easier than it looks. You wear many hats as a business owner, especially a small business such as myself. With that being said, I wouldn’t trade owning my own business for the world. I began my business as a wedding videographer in 2015 and quickly realized that I was opening up a whole new world of possibilities for myself and my growing family. Read more>>

Melissa Wang

YES! I am definitely happier as a business owner. I used to work as a corporate lawyer(!) for a large legal firm which was a completely different life. It was a demanding job, and although I did enjoy certain aspects of it, such as the intellectual stimulation and helping clients achieve their goals, I felt it was not what I could see myself doing in the long term. Read more>>

Tammy Edwards

I think that most days I am happier as a business owner. I worked for other companies for nearly 15 years before my husband and I decided to buy the local hardware store in our hometown. I had come to the realization that as long as I worked for someone else I would only every be making a paycheck instead of building something to pass on to my children. We have owned the hardware store for nearly 22 years now and have both of our adult sons working with us now. I can now see that this will be a business that we can pass on to them and possibly one that they will pass on to their children. While we may feel tied down to the business many days, we truly have a huge amount of flexibility to run the business however we want. We have expanded the business a great deal in the time we have owned it and built a wonderful reputation in the community. People come to us for help on a variety of projects and are almost always pleasantly surprised at the wide variety of services we offer. I honestly don’t think I could ever go back to working for someone else again. Read more>>

Stephanie Conrad

Happy is so relative to the moment. Overall, yes, I love running my own business. Isn’t it absolutely the dream to be your own boss, make your own schedule, live a life that you have created? Now, was my dream to print T-Shirts? No. I am an artist, I would love nothing more than to paint all day. The reality is, the apparel shop feeds my financial needs while still allowing me to be creative and I do have a lot of fun with it. I work more hours than most folks I know but I also get to dictate when and where I spend those working hours. There are pros and cons to everything in life and I believe that there are far more pros to the life I live with my little shop than I would find in a traditional 9-5 job.  Read more>>

Matthew Pierce

I am extremely happy as a business owner. After working for corporate America for over 25 years and answering to the “Powers That Be” on a day to day basis; I get to be my own boss. I do think about what it would be like to have a regular 9 to 5, but at this point in my life its not possible. As a person living with a disability managing my health has been a main focus and would not be conducive to head back to a corporate work schedule. (Thus one of the reasons that I started my own business.) I needed the flexibility to take care of myself while I take care of my clients. Read more>>