If you love the internet, and you know you have what it takes to get out of the 9-5 rat race and become a full-time, profit-making entrepreneur, you can then expect the following 13 advantages of an online business in your life.
Also, to be fair, I will mention the things that can be considered as disadvantages of having an online business at the end of the blog post. Enjoy!
Advantages of an online business
1. Sleep
Personally, because I am an early bird, I love the fact that I can wake up early at 4 or 5 am, go to the gym, and then have the whole day free to myself.
I am not in a hurry anywhere. I have plenty of time to have my breakfast, watch something interesting on YouTube, read the news, a book, etc. I then have the whole day to calmly do all of my work. It’s wonderful.
On the other hand, I know plenty of people that love to sleep till noon. If that is your case, you are more than welcome to do that with an online business. Wake up as you wish and do the work as you please.
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2. Do what you want when you want
Personal freedom is probably the main reason why I decided to start an online business.
As mentioned in the previous point, it’s extremely important for me to be able to wake up whenever I choose to.
Having an online business means that you don’t have to follow any specific pattern, you don’t have a schedule for your work and life. Sure, there are still things you have to do on time, but nobody is there to force you to do it.
Finally, although my latest jobs were not too strict on giving me orders, they nevertheless had projects for me that I was required to complete. It was great when I enjoyed them, but there were also those that I preferred to not have.
And if I look into my past, to the times of physically demanding jobs, there was nothing but orders. I was paid almost nothing to do something I hated doing with all my heart.. oh those “good times”.
3. Eating healthy
Another one of the advantages of an online business is being able to afford a healthy diet.
Assuming that we are making a decent amount of money from an online business, we not only have the freedom to have a workout whenever we feel like it, but we can also afford expensive (organic) food and health supplements.
As a person that is highly into self-development, knowing that I am healthy is a big deal to me. Physical exercise, plenty of sleep, various meditations and a great diet – are all extremely important for us if we want to remain in a positive state of mind. If your body is not “feeling well”, there is no way in the world your mind will. It’s that body-mind connection that I am referring to.
Therefore, treating the body like your temple at least through high-quality food makes a lot of sense. The healthier you are and the better you feel means more work, stress and pressure that you can handle. And that, as a result, directly helps the growth of your online business while preserving good relations with the people around you.
4. Shopping
Do you like shopping? I do. While I am not a shopaholic, every once in a while I like to get some new clothes, a mobile phone, a computer and other things that I enjoy having.
I know that shopping may seem like something very “materialistic” to some people. But hey, if we are working hard and our online business is making us a lot of money, then why not use some of that money treat ourselves. The money needs to go somewhere, right?
5. Better relations
Having an online business means spending more time with your loved ones. Don’t you think your wife or husband would enjoy if you could be more around them? What about your children? What about your parents?
All of that is possible if your business is on the internet.
6. Working in bed, from your couch, sofa, etc.
Ooooh, this is one of my favorite ones.
While I am an active person, I love to work in bed. In fact, this very blog post is being written right from the comfort of my crib. 🙂
When I was a university student living at a campus, I always preferred to stay home when everyone else would go to the library to study.
My friends told me that their concentration was better there. I never understood that since I would never exchange a cozy bed for a wooden chair at the local library.
I know that some people like to rather work at an office, cafe or a library, but that’s really not the point. The point is that you get to decide where you do it.
7. Travelling
The fact that you make a lot of money enables you to do many different fun and interesting things, one of them being able to travel the world.
You’ve probably seen those cheesy images of a guy sitting on a beach with his laptop, and the text that went with those images would be something along the lines of “living the laptop lifestyle”. Yep, I too found those to be hilarious.. they even angered me a bit.. in the past.
With time, I realized that even though those images may often look fake, nobody can stop you from living that way if you have a successful online business. There are plenty of people that choose to travel the world while working on their dreams.
As long as you don’t depend on an employer, your business is profitable, and… there is internet on the beach, you really can work that way.
In fact, I know that being able to see the whole world while making money is the biggest motivation for some people to start an online business.
If you want to travel and see the world, then you should use that as your motivation to succeed.
8. Be sick in peace
You know what I really hated when working for someone else? Being sick!
Every time I would get sick and need to stay home, I would feel really uncomfortable knowing that my colleagues have to take my tasks. Or even worse, when I knew that the longer I stay sick at home, the more work I will have when I return.
So instead of being home, sick at peace, having rest, I would either worry all the time, or do the work anyway while feeling like $?!t. I couldn’t help it, but I always felt guilty on those days.
In addition to all of the above, going to the doctor to get proof that I am not feeling well while having a fever was just plain horrible.
While I understand that being sick sucks in any case, having a business online makes things so much easier.
9. You don’t have to work with people you don’t like
One of my favorite advantages of an online business is the fact that unlike in the 9-5 jobs, you don’t need to be around people that you don’t like.
I am generally quite positive towards everyone. I believe that we should treat everyone just like we would want them to treat us. That being said, the reality is often very different from what we would like it to be.
I’ve had several occasions when working with “colleagues” made my life a living hell.
We are all very different, and some people have a hard time understanding that their behavior towards you is plain wrong, even when you clearly state it to them.
If you have an online business, you can choose who to work with. You get to pick who your partners are, the companies and people from whom you buy services, and even your clients.
If someone is giving you a hard time, you simply let them go and replace them.
10. Feeling the purpose
It’s very rare that someone loves their job 100%, every single day. Those people are REALLY lucky. Most of us are not.
Some get a degree in things that their parents wanted them to become. Other people take the easiest route, the route of what they CAN do, NOT what they WANT to do. And then there are also those that enjoyed their profession until they grew a bit older.
Whatever the cause, most of us experience from time to time the moments of “what the hell am I doing here?”
If these become an everyday thing, we either start looking for a new job, or we stay and become depressed. Either way, it’s an unpleasant experience.
With an online business, you are your king or queen. You get to choose exactly what you do.
If you feel like something has become pointless, easy or boring, you are free to change the direction. You can spice things up by taking on new challenges and/or diversifying your streams of income.
The point is that you can do whatever creates a sense of purpose and excitement in your life.
11. Helping others
Both, an entrepreneur and a person that works a normal day job are busy people. However, they are busy in different ways.
An online entrepreneur is busy with tasks that generate the most income for them. The rest of the tasks can be delegated to virtual assistants, for example. This is why people with an online business have days when they don’t necessarily need to do anything.
A person working at a typical 9-5 has to sit at his desk regardless of how much work there is. Sitting at work for 8, 9 or even 12 hours with or without having anything to do will exhaust anyone, mentally and physically.
Because people with a highly profitable business generate more income than the average employee, and because they don’t have a schedule to follow, they have the time and energy to go places and help those in need. I am referring to various donations and charities.
Wealthy business owners are able to spend tens and hundreds of thousands on helping the world, people and animals. They open up charities, help the sick, rescue animals, and build schools and homes for people in third world countries.
As much as they would like to help, people that have a day job simply do not have that much time and/or money to help others, at least not to the extent that business owners do.
It’s your choice whether you give money to the poor and those in need of it, but personally, I think that being able to do so is AN INCREDIBLE ADVANTAGE of people that have a (successful) online business.
12. Constant growth
Many 9-5 jobs don’t require self-education from employees. Because they don’t, people don’t bother doing it on their own either.
I see this as a negative thing since I believe that we constantly need to learn new skills and find new challenges to experience fulfillment in life and therefore happiness.
One of the advantages of an online business is constant growth. By growth, I mean taking new courses, hiring mentors and joining mastermind groups. All of this helps you become more knowledgeable, preserves excitement in life and helps you be better at running your business.
Click To TweetKaizen – A Japanese term used to describe on-going, continuous improvement.
13. Limitless earnings
Finally, the last but not least in the list of advantages of an online business comes “limitless earnings”.
It’s not a secret that although some 9-5 jobs can make you decent money, not many can be compared to having a successful business. Just look at the wealthy people around the world. How many of them have made all that money working for someone else?
If you choose to create an online business, your success will depend completely on how much time and effort you put in, as well as the strategies you use. Nobody can say for sure whether you will be successful or not.
But one thing that can be said for sure is that if you do make it big, you can continue growing your income as much as you wish. There is no limit to how much you can make online. It’s all up to you.
So, these were the 13 advantages of an online business.
Now, I don’t want to scare you, but I would be doing a disservice to you if I only would mention the advantages of an online business.
To get the whole picture, it’s important to understand what you are getting yourself into and what you can expect at the early stages of any online (and offline) business. And by early, I mean a business that has just been set up and is not making you enough money to sustain you and/or for you to leave the 9-5 job.
Disadvantages of an online business
1. Money
Money, money, money.. the lack of it – is always a problem. If you are just starting an online business, be ready to see little to no profit from it.
Unless you have a lot saved up that you can invest, early stages of your business, unlike a 9-5 job, will generate a very small income. It’s completely normal, but be sure to have this in mind. Most people that will tell you that you can make money fast are not being honest.
I always recommend that you keep your day job when first starting a business. This way you are on the safe side.
2. Double the work
Again, the early stages of your business are the most challenging. Not only you won’t be earning much money, but you will also need to work A LOT. This is especially the case if you still have a day job.
When I first started, I had a rough schedule. I would wake up at 4 am, go to the gym, go to day job, and then I would return home and work on my business until I was so tired that I couldn’t keep my eyes open. But I must admit, it was worth it.
3. Responsibility
When you start a business, you are now responsible for many new things. You are responsible for meeting deadlines if any, people that work for you if any, finding accountants, responding to emails, taking care of your finances, etc.
It’s a lot of responsibility, but I actually found it to be quite rewarding. I mean, it feels much more fulfilling to be active, busy and growing business-wise, as opposed to just “hanging around” after work and on the weekends.
4. Understanding paperwork
If you have never started a company, you will experience plenty of headaches during the early stages. There’s just a lot of new things to learn and take care of. Taxes, bookkeeping, different laws, etc. How much you will need to learn will depend directly on what type of online business you are engaging in.
The good news is that this stage passes relatively quickly. You first learn everything, and then you only need to rinse and repeat, unless you decide to diversify your streams of income.
If possible, don’t try to learn everything on your own. Invest in online courses on the subjects that you need to grasp and ask for help from people with experience.
Finally, don’t just hire the first accountant. Find one that understands your business model and has plenty of advice for you. A weak accountant won’t help you at all, while a good one can help you make/save money.
5. Stress
Stress is common in life in general, but if you become an entrepreneur, be ready to experience it more often.
Again, this may be related to meeting deadlines, hiring people, understanding paperwork or learning new skills, such as copywriting, programming, marketing, SEO, etc.
6. Getting outside of your comfort zone
Having a business means being proactive, pushy, public, demanding, outspoken, etc. It may even mean having to give speeches and presentations.
If you are like me, mostly an introvert, you will find many of the things challenging, but also rewarding. The more you go outside of your comfort zone, the more you grow and the more fulfillment you experience.
For example, to beat my severe stage fright, I signed up for Toastmasters – public speaking classes – through Meetup.com.
It was hard and scary at first, but since it was my own choice to attend those meetings, I quickly fell in love with the adrenaline rush before every speech.
7. Possible missing benefits
Every person that worked in a big company or corporation knows that there are benefits for the employees. Some are really basic, while others are a very nice addition to life.
The following are some of the benefits that I, as well as my friends, were offered by the employer: free coffee, sodas, fruits and nuts, free lunch, a gym membership, babysitters for your sick kids, a company car with unlimited petrol and health insurance.
So if you become a full-time entrepreneur, forget about all of those things.
On the other hand, your company may have never offered you these things in the first place. Also, if you have a successful online business, you can easily afford all of the items above.
So what is there to lose? Nothing! Only to gain.
8. Making a decision to leave the 9-5 job
Finally, the last not-so-serious issue is to make the decision to leave your 9-5.
Unless you are lucky and your business is making you plenty of money while you still work at a day job, it will be hard to make that transition to a full-time entrepreneur.
You will have a lot of doubts and a lot of stress will be involved, especially if you have a family to feed. But sooner or later, you will need to make that decision to take your business to a whole new level.
Of course, you can always return back to your day job if things don’t work out. That is why I say that although stressful and life-changing, it’s a not-so-serious issue.
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So these were my 13 advantages of an online business and 8 disadvantages. To be honest, the disadvantages are disadvantages only if your business isn’t growing. If it is, however, the advantages of an online business outweigh everything.
If you believe you can, if you work hard enough, are persistent, then you will succeed. All hard work pays off as long as you don’t give up.
Thank you for stopping by and good luck!
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