If your parents are like most African parents then you’ve probably been told a billion times to “study hard and get good grades so that you can get a good job”. As a result, not many young people grow up with the desire to start their own businesses.

The few who decide to take this path of starting their own businesses are faced with a lot of doubt and fear and it’s very easy to get discouraged.

However, starting a business can be very rewarding and there are several reasons why you should definitely start your own. Here are just ten of those reasons.

1. You will be financially secure.

Let’s face it; even in the richest countries, most people who work for others never make enough money to ensure that when they retire or when something bad happens, they still have enough to live on.

Starting your own business is a sure way to guarantee your financial stability because how much you earn depends on you to a large extent, which is a good thing. When your business makes more money, you earn more money.

Bill Gates’s stocks in Microsoft and other companies is worth several billions of dollars. If he chooses to sleep for the rest of his life, he will still die a very rich man. He is financially secure because he started his own business.

2. You have more control over your life.

Starting your own business puts you in control over your life because you end up doing what you love.

Most people are stuck in boring jobs they don’t like. Jobs which literally suck the life and joy out of them.

They have to be at work on a weekend when they’d rather spend time with their families.

Unfortunately they can’t quit because that’s their only source of livelihood.

The thought of ending up like that was one of my motivations for starting my own business so that I could have more control over my life, do the things I love and get paid for doing them

3. You will make more money.

Money is one of the major reasons why we work.

This one is simple. When you have your own business, you’ll make more money when your business starts booming.

If you work for your boss, there’s always a limit to how much you can earn but if you are your own boss, you call the shots.

You can then afford to live the kind of life you want.

True, money doesn’t buy happiness, but it makes finding happiness easier.

4. Jobs are becoming hard to find.

Every year hundreds of thousands of students graduate from school and join others before them to look for jobs.

In several countries across the world, unemployment rates have reached a record high.

South Africa , Greece and Spain all have unemployment rates exceeding 20%.

There is stiffer competition for the few available jobs.  You’ll have to go through the stress of applying for several jobs and attending dozens of interviews before landing a job which you may not even like much.

With your own business, you don’t have to go through all that stress.

5. You have better job security.

Everyday, many workers are laid off or fired by their employers. The company you end up working for could hit hard times and may have to downsize.

Also, the machines are coming! Very soon, machines will replace several jobs that humans currently do.

I am not a prophet of doom, but things don’t look too good as far as finding and keeping a long term job is concerned.

If you run your own business you are assured that you’ll always have a job to do.

6. You can build your own legacy and get recognized for something.

Many great entrepreneurs have left a mark on the world and will be remembered for their works long after they are gone.

Almost a third of the world is on Facebook, thanks to Mark Zuckerberg. One day, we may live on Mars, thanks to Elon Musk.

The list goes on. All of these people have built legacies out of their businesses.

Who knows? Maybe you can be the pioneer of the next big thing if you start your own business.

7. You get to pursue your passion.

Few things are more fulfilling than being paid to do what you love.

When you start your own business especially in a field you are passionate about, you wake up everyday and you look forward to going to work because you are doing what you like.

8. You will be in a better position to help others.

Many of us have noble aspirations.

We genuinely wish we could do more to help others in one way or another but unfortunately we do not have the freedom and resources to do so.

When you start and own your business, you are in a better position to help others.

9. You can make the world a better place.

Everyday, we hear horrible news and watch heartbreaking documentaries of people dying of hunger and diseases. Terrorist attacks in many places.

Sometimes you wonder if there is hope for humanity.

Thankfully, people like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and several other billionaires have pledged their wealth to help solve some of the world’s biggest problems.

How did they have so much to give? Answer: They started their own businesses.

If you believe you have been called to save the world, starting a business can give you the wealth you need to pursue your noble dreams.

10. You can have something substantial to pass on to posterity.

If you work in someone’s company, you can certainly not pass your career on to your kids and loved ones.

On the other hand, if you own a business, you can pass that on. Your family will be proud of you.

They won’t have to go through hard times to make it and that’s definitely something you can be proud of!

If  you were having second thoughts about starting a business, I believe these are solid reasons why you should give starting your own business another thought.

Start your business now and with passion, commitment, determination and a lot of learning along the way, you’ll make it.

Do you have any other motivations for wanting to start your own business? Please share them in the comments section below.