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According to recently published research, small business owners may be more satisfied in their careers and generally happier in life than full-time employees.
The survey, which was conducted by global physical and digital marketing company Vistaprint, included 1600 participants made up of 800 British small business owners (a small business being a company with 50 employees or less) and 800 full-time British employees.
Interestingly, the survey revealed that small business owners were twice as likely to love their careers in comparison to the full-time employees. The small business owners were also twice as satisfied with their jobs overall and often prioritised achieving a substantial work/life balance when it came to their career motivation. This is probably why many business owners included in the survey strongly agreed that their job was flexible, with their working hours amounting to 33.3 per week on average compared to 39.4 for the full-time employees.
There were also some personality traits and qualities that appear amongst many successful business owners established in the survey. These natural characteristics included passion, confidence and the ability to step up to any challenge, though there are many more mentioned in the survey. Of course, being a natural leader is very beneficial, as is having a strong personality and a healthy amount of determination, as subordinates tend to support and have confidence in these sorts of traits.
On the other hand, a total of 37% full-time employees – twice as many as the small business owners – stated that “wanting to be liked” was their top career motivation, and very few employees described feelings of independence or passion when it came to their jobs.
When asked about the motivation behind the survey, Oliver Harcourt, Head of Vistaprint’s UK department, explained: “We speak to small business owners every day and overwhelmingly these passionate individuals have positive stories to share.” Harcourt continued to state that this particular survey helped to establish just a few of the benefits one can experience when they found their own business. These include spending more time with the family, improving communities and generally enjoying your job more.
“Business Cards” (CC BY 2.0) by chrismeller
Marketing and e-commerce brand Vistaprint first launched in 1999, after being founded by Robert Keane, and is now based in the Netherlands. The company mainly aims to provide physical and digital marketing products to small businesses in a variety of forms, though they also provide tips for small business owners. For example, according to an article published by discount site Promopony, Vistaprint suggests that using branded items such as leaflets, flyers and even t-shirts can boost attendance to businesses or even community groups. Interestingly, they focus on how you should have fun promoting your business, especially when it’s in person. Potential new contacts are going to pick up on that, as it’s an indication of the qualities the survey discussed above highlights.
There is no doubt that starting a small business is challenging. However, it appears that once the company is established owners are far more satisfied with their careers and personal life that their full-time counterparts. If you are trying to decide where to head next on your career path, this may be something to consider.