What drives you?

[lajlaj]

What makes you want to run your own business?

What do you "get out of it"?

Why do you continue?

What do you enjoy?

What do you hate?

Just being nosey!?!

[Daffs]

What makes you want to run your own business?
I'm a very shy person and hate leaving the house. Self confidence issues. Working at home suited me and I have to answer to nobody.

What do you "get out of it"?
A huge sense of accomplishment, looking at something and knowing "I did that all by myself." Making people happy with something I can do, however small.

Why do you continue?
I love it and need the money :D

What do you enjoy?
The sense of accomplishment, the friends I make! Helping out people who could not normally afford my services if I charged the going rate.

What do you hate?
Kind of having to be on call all the time and the guilt when I want to take days off but feeling like it isn't allowed. Technological disasters (fewer and far between now becuase of my wonderful support team of Pete and Toni). Customer conflict and being trodden on when I have done something out of the goodness of my heart and had it thrown back in my face.

[Lemon]

What makes you want to run your own business?
My children I suppose. I want to have cake and eat it as far as being around for them whilst they are little. I have always wanted my own business and I suppose having the children pushed me into it.

What do you "get out of it"?
Confidence, satisfaction, something to keep me occupied and my brain ticking over.

Why do you continue?
Some days it is hard to continue, but every month seeing sales increasing, stats going up and the thought of if I ever gave up and someone took my baby over and made a huge success of it - something I would regret forever !

What do you enjoy?
I love buying new stock and opening the parcels when they come in. I also enjoy adding new stock to the website, I don't mind taking the pictures and editing, although it is time consuming.

What do you hate?
I would say there is nothing that I hate about the business other than I get frustrated when I don't have enough time to devote to it or the money to throw at it. I do dislike doing the accounts.

[Chell]

What makes you want to run your own business?
It seemed like a good idea before I knew how hard it would be.

What do you "get out of it"?
Erm? Nothing yet.

Why do you continue?
I keep wondering!

What do you enjoy?
Pass

What do you hate?
Accounts

:unsure:

[Arianna]

What makes you want to run your own business?

I started Ihelm Enterprises for a few reasons: 1) my health at the time was really bad due to endometriosis and I simply could not work outside of the home in a 9 to 5 job; 2) I was made to feel guilty for having the health issues and I have vowed to myself that I will never ever allow a person to make me feel that way again and; 3) I wasn't getting any bookkeeping/accounting experience at all which is what I trained to be at uni/college.

What do you "get out of it"?

A sense of achievement - knowing that I've done a good job to the best of my abilities and I suppose a sense of pride in my work. I enjoy doing website design and bookkeeping (yes I am totally mad) so I get enjoyment as well.

Why do you continue?

Same reasons as above really. I continue it because I love doing it. If I was at home all day with nothing to do I'd go crazy. If I was working for someone else I'd go crazy as I cannot do the same thing every single day all day long.

What do you enjoy?

I love working with numbers and making sense of them. I love seeing a website fully completed and getting an email from a client telling me how thrilled they are with the website that I've created for them.


What do you hate?

I hate people expecting me to be there 24/7 - yes I run a business from home that is based on technology but I have a life too. We do our very best to keep things working 100% but sometimes technology fails. I hate abusive people (ex-clients) who think they can abuse you and scream at you and you will do as they ask. I don't like people who take advantage of me (okay so that's my fault really because I'm such a softie) and expect to me to drop everything I'm doing for everyone else to do their stuff. I also get really hurt when a client sends me a short/rude email for no reason at all and demands I do things instead of just asking politely.

Hmm I seem to hate a few things atm, perhaps I should have waited to reply to the survey until I was in a better mood. LOL

To be fair - the parts I enjoy do far outweigh the parts I hate, but you can't always like everything can you?

Arianna

[Ellie]

What makes you want to run your own business?
I can't afford childcare to go back to my old job!

What do you "get out of it"?
Keeping by brain ticking over! - realising I'm GOOD at something other than parenthood!

Why do you continue?
Cos it can only get better!

What do you enjoy?
When someone buys one of my products and tells me how much they love it!

What do you hate?
Finding the time!!!

[lajlaj]

What makes you want to run your own business?

I started to run my business because I had three kids under 3 and couldn't afford child care. Now I do it because I've let my professional qualifications lapse (it is 10 years since I worked in HR) and don't feel that I'm qualified to do anything else.

What do you "get out of it"?

I like providing useful products to people and I "get" satisfaction knowing that my products help people - either reunite lost kids (and there are so many people who write and let me know that has happened that every time I consider giving up I get an email like that and it renews my enthusiasm) or help give peace of mind to those with medical conditions and allergies.

Why do you continue?
God knows sometimes! Stubboness probably, not knowing what else I'd do, wanting to make a difference - all sorts of reasons really!

Customer feedback - we get such lovely comments that it really perks me up when I feel like quitting (yup even I feel like quitting - usually at least once a day lol!)

What do you enjoy?

Growing the business - looking for new products, new opportunities, new customers, new sales outlets all that sort of things.

What do you hate?

Anything to do with the accounts, but, experience has taught me this is a very necessary evil and this time round I'm far more on the ball than last time.

Packing orders (I miss having someone to do it for me lol!!) don't get me wrong I love getting orders, I love providing customer service, etc, it is the stuffing envelopes I don't like but only because that takes me away from growing the business.

[babybiz]

What makes you want to run your own business?

I started it for a couple of reasons, I always wanted to really achieve something special. I'm a person who likes to build and construct things and have played with different business ideas for years before really going for one. Secondly at the time DH's job was very unreliable and so stressful for us both, I saw this as a way out a few years down the line. Now things have changed I feel I've started a journey I need to finish.

What do you "get out of it"?

It's learning and building that I really get a sense of achievement from. I have a brain that gets a real thrill out of learning new things, out of challanges and problem solving. The more I learn the more I enjoy learning always have done. I get a sense of self achievement but the biggest thing I have got and do get out of this is confidence. I'm not the same person I was when I started and I'm proud of that because it's been a big thing to overcome some of my fears.

And who doesn't get that real buzz when a customer turns round and says you've really made a difference to them.

Why do you continue?

I've started so I'll finish! There is too much involved now to let go and it's not quite far enough to sell. I still have a lot to achieve and the big picture is only half ready.

What do you enjoy?

Learning, overcoming fears and difficulties I never thought I could. I love seeing what I built and to me it no longer matters what others have or are doing - I'm so proud of what I've built and that it's all MY brainwork - I've copied nothing from anyone else. I'm hugely proud of that. I love developing new ideas and really seeing them progress.

What do you hate?

Hate is a strong word for me, I dislike a lot of things. The only thing I HATE is people who cheat/lie/steal. I'm a very moral person and that is the one thing in all of this that gets my blood boiling but I have started chilling out a lot - I have a secret moto that I tell myself and it puts a smile back on my face.

Probably a bit heavy answers for a Sunday night but you asked :tcwozerek

Tashxx

[tracey2756]

What makes you want to run your own business?

Not having a boss and being able to look after the kids in the school hols

What do you "get out of it"? Money :woot:

Why do you continue? It's growing each year, so why stop

What do you enjoy? people raving about my stuff

What do you hate? Paperwork