What even is a “regular” job? Semantics aside, the heart of our question is about those moments when the stress of entrepreneurship is mounting – do you ever sit back and wonder what if you had just been working for someone else, what life would have been like without all the stress?

Alyse Tatum

I actually still work a regular job right now while I grow my business to replace that income. So I tend to think of it the other way, what if I risked it all and started creating content full time right now. Read more>>

Juliana Davila

I am very happy to own my business, LoveYoga. There have been many difficult times, especially in the last few years, but I am grateful to have the support of my community, my students, my teachers, and my family and friends. I love being able to provide a service to the community and having the autonomy to make decisions that benefit the whole. I also really enjoy learning through trial and error, even when it seems like mostly error. The last few years have been difficult. Covid had our studio shut down completely for months; I was only able to provide classes online. Read more>>

Vera Taku

Happier is an understatement, I have the best job in the world (to me that is). I think doing what you love is key, I get to get up every day to have fun. It doesn’t feel like work when it’s a passion, I get to make people happy, bring dreams to reality and create an everlasting memory with people, which I feel is my greater calling. I have a phrase I go by “Billionaires don’t breathe a different air” they didn’t get there by working a regular job. So why can’t we all? The last time I thought about going back to working for someone else building their company and making them billionaires was NEVER. Read more>>

Roger

on a lot of life’s aspects when we compare ourselves to those working a regular job. We have a lot more burden to carry as we take on a lot more risk with our capital being invested into something we believe in but at the end, it may not work out as planned due to different factors. And our fellow peers may have the time to take their regular lunch breaks, have weekends off and take time off to enjoy some vacations and what not. Read more>>

Aqxyl (they/them/theirs pronouns pls) Storms

I’m so happy to be a small business owner. I love being in charge of myself and my future. I also have a lot more responsibility. If I don’t succeed, I go down with the sinking ship. Prior to opening my shop I was an optician, a yoga instructor, a raw and vegan chef, and held so many other occupations over the course of my 20’s and 30’s. Read more>>

Ezekiel Cortez

Yes, overall I’m a much happier person. Being in business for yourself can get awfully difficult at times, to the point where you want to quite several times throughout the week. I definitely think to myself “what if I just go back to work and actually make a living?” But that plan is always there and available when I want. The times I think about going back to a normal job is whenever there is chaos happening in the business.. Read more>>

Steven Sullivan

The simple answer would be YES. While there are plenty of reasons I love owning a small business, it isn’t all glamorous. There are certainly days I think about what it would be like just to have a regular job. With a lot of areas in life, there are pros and cons to owning your own business. Read more>>

SeKeithia Johnson

I learned early on as a business owner that the work definitely outweighs the reward,at first; which can determine your happiness if you let it. Read more>>

Craig Madden

Having had many regular jobs I have often gone under the pros and cons of being a business owner. I always come back to a realization that I will always love being a business owner vs having a job because it sped me to have control of my time. I believe that often times people come to resent their job before the time constraints of their work schedule hinders the rest of their life. Having the freedom to take a day off, take my daughter to school, go to the Dr all without having to get it approved is a major boost to my quality of life and, I’m my opinion, is worth more than money Read more>>

Lisa Opie

I am definitely happy as a business owner. I was originally on a path to become an attorney and through my internships, I realized that working for someone else or in a 9-5 environment was not for me. Read more>>

Jeff LaPread

I’m a lot happier as a business owner. Most definitely! I often think about what it would be like if were to have a regular job, but I remind myself on how depressed and stressed I was. The only time I thought about working a regular job was when I first started entrepreneurship and my clientele was very low and to make matters worse, COVID put a slow down on everything and everybody. So, at that time I definitely thought about working a regular job, but things picked right up surprisingly at that time and i’ve been happy since. Read more>>

Julia Chebotar

I have tried to work the conventional 9-5 corporate start up life. And it was NOT for me! After years of being in the restaurant industry I was tired, burnt out, and wanted weekends off. I left the restaurant world to work at a tech start up where I cold called all day and had to deal with corporate buracrtacy. Read more>>

Brandi Hodge

I truly believe in never becoming complacent. As a business owner, thinking of ways to keep your audience engaged is one of the most important tasks Realistically, sometimes you feel tired, worn out or even bored. I thought about having a regular job, and what exactly would I want to do. Read more>>

Kristi Stoll

I have a double degree in management and finance. Out of college I worked for a Commercial Finance company. I had somewhat of a plan to keep working up the corporate ladder, but then, at 26, I found meditation and it changed my life. It was if I suddenly woke up to the TRUE possibilities within me. I also woke up to what was not working. Like many, I realized I felt very unfulfilled in my career and life. Read more>>