#GirlBossNotes: Entrepreneurship VS. Corporate Job

Hi guys!

I am excited to be back with #GirlBossNotes, as what I will be discussing this week is something which is relevant to me at the moment. 

When we were working on our business and only couple months were left until the ‘X’ day, I decided to take an internship opportunity in a well-established organization. On the one hand, it was not the best time to do so, as that period was crucial for our start-up; however, on the other hand, looking back and reflecting, I can say that in such a short period of time, I have learned so much, which at the end of the day had an impact on our business as well.

Currently, I am in a similar situation as couple years ago, I am searching for a job and developing my new start-up; I can only say that it is a fascinating journey and I am really excited about it. But it actually made me think about the differences between working in an organization and managing your own business, and I thought, not only employers are choosing me as a potential candidate, but also I choose the organization I want to join, so here are the points which are focal for me and in my opinion should be taken into consideration not only by those who are in the job-seeking process, but as well by entrepreneurs, who want their companies to be chosen.

• Organizational Culture

No brainer, in your own business, you are the one who crafts the organizational culture, who creates the whole atmosphere. However, in the organization you join, it is more of ‘When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do’. Unfortunately, this is something which you cannot notice straight away, which requires some time to understand whether there is compatibility, or if not, whether you are willing to adjust.

Before, I thought that it actually doesn’t really matter, but after working in a toxic environment, you really understand that if the whole system is ‘rotten’, when there is no communication among the departments, when there is an extreme hierarchy, you feel demotivated and stressed, and at the end none of the parties benefit.

• People

In one of the previous #GirlBossNotes I already mentioned about how it is important to hire right people, and one of the best parts of being a business owner, is that you get to choose whom to hire, and at the end of the day it is solely your responsibility. Whereas, in the organization which you join you don’t get to choose your co-workers, and even if you sense that the person is not the right fit at all, unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do about it. 

• Customers

Not everyone in your target audience is your customer, this is important to understand. Moreover, not all your customers are worth of retaining. And if in your own company it is relatively easy to let go of the ‘Lead’ customers, those who are draining on your business; in the corporation you have targets and lead conversion, and rarely management cares about the quality of those.

• Product/Service

Even as an Entrepreneur you cannot always ensure the excellent quality of the product/service (depends on the industry), but especially in service sector, each customer’s experience varies. And though, as business owner you still can have at least some control over that; in a large organization the quality totally depends on the subjective of the provider.

On the one hand, you might wonder if I am just an employee, why I should be bothered by the quality of the product or service delivered by another worker. However, I personally see an organization as a large mechanism, where all employees are moving components, and like in any mechanism, if one component breaks down, the whole system is affected. 

It might seem that you can understand all these points only after you become part of the organization; which on the one side is true. However, if you consider business as an iceberg, you still can observe something which is on the surface, like for instance you can easily ask to meet the team in the department, prior to joining it; as well as, you can ask the questions during the interview about the organizational culture; and you definitely can do your homework about the product/service offered by the organization.

During one of the lectures in Munich Business Academy we discussed, how the experience of working in the start-up and working in a large organization varies, with its own benefits, drawbacks and peculiarities; we came to conclusion that there is no better or worse experience, it is simply different. Whereas, I can say, that having your own start-up and working in the organization at the same time can be challenging, however it definitely has much more advantages than disadvantages, and most important, it can have a positive impact on both parties, not only employee and start-up, but on the large organization as well.

Would you prefer to work in a well-established company or a start-up? Let me know in the comments below.

Cheers,

#GirlBoss