Entrepreneurs reap significant financial rewards, have more time for family and experience less stress from being their own boss, according to a recent telephone poll conducted by Decima Research for CIBC.

The poll surveyed both people who worked for themselves as well as people who work for someone else.

“People underestimate the benefits of being an entrepreneur and overestimate the hard work and potential risk factors,” said Rob Paterson, CIBC’s senior VP of small business banking, in a news release.

The poll found that people misjudge the economic upside of entrepreneurship. Nearly half (47%) of entrepreneurs said their current financial situation is better as a small business owner. Yet just 38% of employees thought their current financial situation would be better if they were self-employed.

Small business owners also achieve a better work/family balance. Fully 60% of entrepreneurs said they have more or the same amount of time for family. Yet only 39% of employees thought entrepreneurs would have more or the same amount of time for family.

Stress constituted one of the largest perception/reality gaps between entrepreneurs and employed workers. Half (50%) of small business owners said their current stress levels are lower than or the same as when they were employees, yet 71% of employees thought they would have more stress as an entrepreneur.

More people believed entrepreneurs worked longer days than they actually do. Nearly two-thirds of entrepreneurs (62%) indicated they work more hours than they would if they were employed, whereas 83% of workers anticipated working more hours as a small business owner.

“Yes, most entrepreneurs work more than employees, but they have the freedom and flexibility to work when and where they want — not on someone else’s schedule,” said Paterson.

The poll uncovered a few downsides of being a small business owner, including less vacation time (identified by 56% of entrepreneurs) and a less satisfying love life (identified by 14% of entrepreneurs).

The Small Business Outlook poll was conducted in September 2003, and was based on a randomly selected sample of 1,351 Canadian small business owners. A second survey was conducted in September 2003, and was based on a randomly selected sample of 507 Canadian workers (defined as those not self- employed and working outside the home for 20 or more hours per week).

http://www.newswire.ca/releases/October2003/10/c9112.html