| Eeeexactly - I started to write almost exactly this and got distracted and returned to find you'd said it better than I could. Having a startup is certainly hard work for less pay than you might be making elsewhere. But you get all of the benefits of being your own boss to one degree or another, plus creating something from scratch, and the possible upside. I knew a guy who opened a lunch restaurant and catering business, and until it was making enough money, he'd work 6 days a week at the restaurant for lunch and catering gigs, and then also waited tables at a friend's restaurant and worked as a bartender at another friend's place. He basically got 4 hours of sleep a night, 7 days a week for three years. There was no brass ring or huge exit at the end of that path, he'd just decided at some point that he wanted to be his own boss. And then there's all the people out there who work two or three part-time jobs just to make ends meet, who never see their kids, who may not even have health insurance - where's their work/life balance? I personally feel privileged to have had the opportunity to start a company, make some money, have health insurance, and yes, worked my fair share of 60-hour weeks and all-nighters. I'm way better off than so many people in the US, forget about the rest of the world. |