Having a job is often better than running own business

[Meera]

I think having a job is usually better than running your own business or being an entrepreneur

A few years ago I quit my job where I was making around ₹1 lakh per month to start my own business. Today the business is doing okay and makes around ₹2 lakh per month. On paper, it looks like a perfect success story - leave your job, start a business, and double your income. But the reality is actually quite different. Running a business means you have to deal with all sorts of people all the time - suppliers, laborers, transporters, local agents, customers, and middlemen. In my case, I run a hardware business, and most of the people I interact with daily are not very educated or professional. Over time I realized that as someone who is educated, I prefer being around educated and professional people. I enjoy having structured discussions, clear communication, and a professional environment. In many small businesses, especially traditional ones, that kind of environment is hard to find. In business, you often have to negotiate aggressively, chase payments, manage conflicts, and deal with unpredictable behavior. Sometimes the mental exhaustion from dealing with these situations is worse than any corporate pressure. In a job, especially in a good company, you usually work with educated colleagues, structured systems, clear roles, and professional behavior. The environment can be mentally much more comfortable. This made me realize that not every business is suitable for every person. For educated people who value a professional environment, the best businesses might be ones where your team, partners, and customers are also educated - like tech, consulting, finance, analytics, etc. Traditional businesses like hardware, scrap, transport, etc, may make good money, but they require a completely different temperament. So today my unpopular opinion is: a job is not always worse than business. Sometimes a job can actually provide a better quality of life depending on the kind of person you are. Curious to hear if anyone else experienced something similar after moving from a job to business.

[Murali]

If it pays more than 1.5 lakh per month

[Imran]

I agree. Business or entrepreneurship is not a magic solution. Leaving a job to start a business is just trading one set of problems for another. It depends on the person whether they enjoy one more than the other.

[Jyoti.kumar]

I totally get what you're saying. I was a developer for 4 years and later an IIM grad. All the reasons you've mentioned are stopping me from starting something on my own. I too love structured communication and standing up for what I say. I think I would prefer a tech job until I find someone who loves to take care of these other things

[Danny]

You can sell your business, can you sell your job?

[Namrata]

do you realize that all of this only proves one statement - the grass is always greener on the other side. Period.

[Jatin]

It's just that in some sense if you have a running profitable business, the next generation has the option to build on the work that past generations did. In a job, everyone starts from scratch. Earlier generations in business generally work hard and future generations potentially reap the benefits if the business turns out to be profitable

[Rahul]

I know some people who earn around 4 lakh per day in business, which is way more than what you can make in any job