I've been building my side business for the last four years while working full-time. Before starting my business, I always imagined quitting my job and doing my own thing full-time. I felt this would make me happy. However, there are two sides to every job, and the past few years have taught me that building a solo business is not as straightforward as it seems.
You don't control your time
When you run your own business, you don't own your time; your time owns you. You're constantly attached to it. You're almost always thinking about your business, and you need to be on call practically 24/7 for anything urgent that comes up.
You might have to do things you don't like
If you're a programmer who likes to code and build products, you might not enjoy the operational side of building a business. There are many things to take care of besides coding, such as accounting, taxes, and marketing.
It becomes yet another job
It can be an exciting project to work on your business on the side. However, this changes when you switch to working on it full-time. It becomes yet another job full of daily obligations that you have to meet.
Freedom is not a given
Now that most software engineering jobs support remote work, you have the ability to decide when and where you want to work. Most tech employers don't care about hours; they care much more about the final results.
It's more stressful
Running a business is far more stressful than having a job. Apart from the usual fear that your business will stop growing, there is also the stress of competition, software incidents, and anything else that might kill your business.
Financials
Is it more lucrative to build your business than to work in big tech or join a promising startup? That depends on many things, but I'm increasingly of the belief that I can accumulate more wealth if I work at any of the FAANG companies for an extended period of time.
It can be very lonely
Working alone is not fun, and it can get lonely. You need to be able to cope with solitude. You don't have co-workers, but you still need people to socialize with.
No time for other interests
Building a business can provide an outlet in some ways, but often leaves you left out of other things in life. It's a trade-off. If you have a full-time job, you may have more time and energy to indulge in your hobbies.
These reflections don't necessarily mean that I'm against starting a business or won't ever start one. They are issues that I have been mulling over for some time, and I hope they will be useful to others who are on similar journeys.