Advantages of being a Sole Trader

For this blog post I want to highlight the positives in becoming an entrepreneur, and as such I am going to discuss a few advantages a sole trader has in owning and operating his/her own business. As I tell my Business Studies students, “keep in mind the many benefits a sole trader enjoys because one day you may become a sole trader yourself.” That, dear blog readers is my advice to you and remember when you tend to get discouraged, that the shop owner in your community, the barber, the plumber and even the ice cream vendor all started off somewhere and made it with persistence and hard work and they can call themselves ‘Sole Traders’. Here are seven advantages that sole traders enjoy:

1. They have the ease of making all decisions for the business without having to consult any partner or anyone for that matter.

2. Sole traders have the assurance that confidentiality of information is maintained in their business as they are their own bosses and keep their own records. They do not have to share confidential information with anyone they do not wish to.

3. Sole traders can be assured that whatever profits they make for their business enterprise that it will not be shared with anyone. All profits are retained by the sole traders and they do not have to split profit sharing as entrepreneurs in a partnership do.

4. Sole Traders can choose to vacation at any time during the year. They do not have to wait for anyone to tell them they can take a vacation leave.

5. Sole traders have the option of setting their own work hours and even set the pace at which they work as well.

6. Sole traders can work on their own and not have any workers to pay or have the responsibility of being in charge of employees. (Note however that some sole traders based on the type of business may employ one or two workers for assistance from time to time).

7. To initially operate a sole trader business less capital is required for start up as opposed to a partnership.

I hope these seven advantages inspire someone to start a business. It can be as easy as baking cookies and selling every weekend to the children in the neighbourhood to offering your service of helping the neighbourhood kids with their homework for a small fee. Success!