Daniel Bowen

4/28/2015
Profesor Wilson
Microeconomics 2010
Term Paper

Starting and Managing a Business

The idea of starting and managing a business falls perfectly in line with the lifestyle of an
entrepreneur. The entrepreneur lifestyle is an exciting, thrilling, terrifying and exhilarating
adventure. With many ups and downs and side to sides, this career path is often referred to as a
roller coaster. The Adventure starts with a choice of wanting to get on the ride or not. All human
beings are entrepreneurs. When we were in the caves, we were all self-employed. Finding our
food, feeding ourselves. Thats where human history began. As civilization came, we suppressed
it. We became labor because they stamped us, You are labor. We forgot that we are
entrepreneurs.1 Right now in this time period, we are living in the greatest era of opportunity in
all of human history. Its never been this good before. This is the best time for someone who has
the dream of starting their own business, in being their own boss and in creating something that
will benefit others in the world. This is possibly one of the most satisfying and exhilarating jobs
someone could ever ask for. We will take a deeper step into what being a business owner means.
What the description is, what the general career path is, what it takes to start a business, the
outlook of this career, and the pros and cons that surround an entrepreneur.

1 Muhammad Yunus, Noble Peace Prize winner and microfinance pioneer

An entrepreneur and business owner is someone that will plan and direct operations of an
organization. Some of the duties and responsibilities are planning the use of materials and human
resources, managing operations that occur daily and formulating policies. The list could go on
and on with what an entrepreneur is in charge of. It definitely isn't and easy job and just a quick
way to make money. It takes hard work and dedication. In short, you basically run your own
business. If you start a company, you can imagine how much work that would need to go into it
to keep it afloat and successful. You have to be observant in your obtaining of information for
what you are selling or producing. Making decisions and solving problems is important because
there are going to be problems. As the head of the company you are going to be the one to deal
with whatever problems come your way. There is a responsibility of getting people to work
together to accomplish a task. A big one is your ability to sell or in your ability to influence
others into buying merchandise. Its also your responsibility to communicate with people outside
of your organization so that you can represent that organization to others. Along with that,
developing relationships that you can maintain over time to help with networking is also a part of
an entrepreneurs life. Coaching and developing others is essential in keeping your business
successful. Also, caring for others by providing assistance and having a desire to help people,
whether it be your employees or the people that need your product. The responsibilities and
duties are endless for a entrepreneur. You have to have a great passion and love for what you do
to be able to get through all the pressures of little tasks that pile up over time. The first and most
important factor in building a successful business is that you have to love it.2 Love is what is
going to help one be a successful entrepreneur.
2Hardy, D. (2015). Entrepreneur roller coaster: Why now is the time to #join the ride. Place of
publication not identified: Greenleaf Book Group Llc.

The worlds marketplace has been evened and leveled because of the circumstances that surround
us today. Big corporations controlled anything and everything that would allow someone to be a
successful entrepreneur. Things have changed since. You are able to control your own future. You
aren't constrained by minimum wages. In the past decade global wealth has risen by 69 percent.
In 2013 alone, the number of millionaires grew by two million. The level of experience needed is
not so much of a factor. The number of millionaires has skyrocketed. Never before has the
average person, without privilege, special education, training, previous wealth, or connections,
been offered so much opportunity and financial abundance that are available today.3 The salary is
endless. With that said, the salary can be very small as well depending on how successful you
are. You basically get as much money as you want by how hard you are willing to work. To put a
number on it, A study from American Express OPEN said that while more than half of small
business owners pay themselves a regular salary, they are receiving an average salary of $68,000
annually.4 This statistic seems right on track. There are many who probably make a lot less than
this with a company that never achieves success. On the other hand their are many companies
that make that average in a day. The range of how much money can be made is very diverse.
I recently had the opportunity to interview my life long friends dad, Steve Scott, who is a very
successful entrepreneur and business owner. He has invested into many companies and products.

3Hardy, D. (2015). Entrepreneur roller coaster: Why now is the time to #join the ride. Place of
publication not identified: Greenleaf Book Group Llc.

4 Brooks, C. (n.d.). And, the Average Entrepreneur's Salary Is ... Retrieved April 25, 2015, from
http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/entrepreneurs/2013/10/21/and-average-entrepreneur-salary-is/

His most successful would be his work with total gym. He played the role as the marketer for
that now successful work out system. He has wrote many books as well. He just recently founded
the company, Max International, a network marketing company. I have spent many hours talking
to Steve and have enjoyed listening to his wisdom in all aspects of life. He has become my
personal mentor and inspiration of what a real business owner is like. He expresses to me often
how much he loves what he does because of the change he gets to see in peoples lives. He loves
that he can create his own schedule so that he can be there for his family when an event has
presented itself. His son, my friend, is a high jumper for BYU and it means the world to Steve
that he can set aside time to go watch his son compete. With a regular nine to five job that isn't
always going to be an option. Steve is one of the most humble people I have ever met and rarely
talks about the money he gets. With that said, he often expresses that its nice to not have to trade
my hours of my life for money. Steve makes money while he sleeps. He makes money when he
isn't working. He doesn't have to walk into work and punch in so that he can get paid for his
hourly work that day. He gets what he puts in and he absolutely loves it! Wealth doesn't bring
happiness in mine or his opinion but Steve is able to do the things he loves with his family
because of the wealth he has. He has a beautiful home looking over the Salt Lake valley where
he has raised his family with his wife. They have the opportunity to go on vacations and to see
the world. Most of all he loves what he does and it brings him so much happiness.
Although there are many pros and cons to being an entrepreneur, many have a drive to be
a successful business owner. The con of failure is probably the biggest con of all. It is a high risk
job with little security. You don't have much to fall back on if your business doesn't end up
working out. You also have so many responsibilities that can really burden someone. Although
there are cons, there are also pros. A lot of them have been expressed throughout this paper. The

pros of owning a business are what makes someone want to start a company. First and foremost
there is an opportunity to help improve others lives. I have had a little bit of a taste of what that
feels like. I am a part of Steves company, Max International, which allows me to feel like
somewhat of an entrepreneur and business owner. We sell health supplements that change
peoples lives. Im not going to get into the science of it, but I had the opportunity to give my
friend our products who has the auto immune disease called lupus. She was told that she had a
week to live at one point. I had the opportunity to give her the product and in 2 weeks her life
was changed! She was able to do the things she used to be able to do. Seeing that happen was
one of the greatest things to watch. As a business owner you have the opportunity to create
relationships with people. For me personally, The reason I first got interested in being an
entrepreneur was because of the idea of no hourly work and as Steve says, Not trading my hours
for money. Ive had many jobs in my short adult life and I've always hated having a boss tell me
what to do and when to be at work and when I can go home. I hated it so much that it has driven
me to the desire I now have to be an entrepreneur. In all, this career path is such an amazing one
and lets one experience so much adventure. Although its a rollercoaster and will continue to have
its ups and downs, its thrilling. A life that is thrilling and exciting and full of opportunity is going
to be guaranteed to a business owner.

Work Cited
Hardy, D. (2015). Entrepreneur roller coaster: Why now is the time to #join the ride. Place of
publication not identified: Greenleaf Book Group Llc.
Gray, F. (2008, May). Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Sacramento Observer
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/367744084?accountid=28671
Chabolla, E. (1994, Feb 15). An entrepreneur's voyage to success. The Hispanic Outlook in
Higher Education, 4, 13. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/219269102?
accountid=28671