“Why start a business? Why don’t you just go work for McDonald’s?”
If you’re thinking of starting a business, someone may ask you that. And it’s a fair question – why should you go through all that trouble when you can just go find a job like everyone else?
If all you want to do is bring in some cash, maybe working for McDonald’s (a fine organization) is all you need to do. But there are other things to think about.
The most obvious thing (for many of you) is that you may be too young to get a job. Under federal law, you cannot work for most jobs until you are 14. But you can start a business at (almost) any age.
Another obvious benefit of starting a business — if you start your own business, you can work from home. That solves a big problem if you don’t drive and your parents can’t drive you to work.
There are many other advantages to starting a business. For example:
- You can advance a cause – e.g., eating healthy or saving the environment
- You can indulge a creative or artistic talent
- You can help build an impressive college application
- You can make money for college
- You can gain skills that will help you in your career
- You can explore what you like and what you’re good at (rather than just doing what someone tells you to do)
- If you start your own business, the sky is the limit!
The odds are against your business becoming a giant corporation someday, but you never know.
