Last Updated on July 31, 2022
Businesses and investments are similar in that both require you to make a financial commitment in anticipation of a future gain or benefit. The main distinction is that whereas in a company you actively participate in management, in investing your position is more passive. When you start to manage the operations, investment becomes a business; the opposite is also true.
Imagine that you had to decide between becoming a shareholder and operating a firm. In order to produce value and sell it to your target market for a profit, you would need to actively participate in the day-to-day operations of the business, manage it, and engage with all stakeholders.
In contrast, if you wanted to buy public equities, you would give your money to a stockbroker, who would then buy a number of stocks on your behalf. Your shares would provide a return without much of your involvement when they increase in value (capital appreciation) or when the business pays dividends.
There are benefits and drawbacks to both running a business and investing. Starting a business gives you independence since, in theory, you can choose your own hours and work for yourself. But in reality, running a business will take up a lot of your time, especially in the beginning. In addition to this, managing stakeholders, dealing with staff difficulties, and dealing with your competition all add to stress.
Difference between Business and Investment
The main difference between running a business and investing is that running a business or a startup is more of an active income while investing is passive because basically, you’re making your money work for you.
When you launch a firm, you take on the role of an entrepreneur and consider all of the requirements for your venture (location, labour, supplies, taxes, etc.). You manage your business hours and expenses, and you will have unlimited income. Although there are dangers involved, the majority of them are minimal to average given the competitiveness and revenues that come with running a business.
Contrarily, when you invest (particularly in the stock market and cryptocurrencies), your financial situation is determined by the success of the stocks. When you observe how your money is growing, it acts as passive income, and you wouldn’t even have to do any work.
It is based on your level of risk appetite, which ranges from conservative to moderately conservative to moderate to aggressive. These investments may take the shape of insurance, equities, bonds, or mutual funds.
But both of them entail money because starting a business requires capital (especially if it’s a micro business using your own money), and starting an investment portfolio just requires putting some of your hard-earned cash on the line.
Pros and Cons of Business
Here are some things you should be aware of if you’re thinking about starting a business. With the correct marketing methods and some persuasive pitches, creating and operating a business may be rewarding (especially a startup company or a small business)
Pros
In addition to having an unlimited income, you may decide how many products to sell and how much to charge for the goods or services you provide. It takes longer to lose money with low to average risks than to make it since while demand is high, profit is also high. In addition to those, you can start a micro, or small business in Nigeria for as little as about N100,000. When your company is successful, you can truly grow it. You can actually start your own business or work for a large corporation that manages a variety of enterprises!
Additionally, as business owners are becoming more prevalent, particularly during the epidemic season, you can choose to own your company as a lone proprietor or in a partnership, which allows you and your friends (or family) to run it together and be your own boss. What a cool thing!
Cons
So you believe that managing and operating a business is simple? Okay, so it’s not. One is that, especially if you’re creating a new business, you have to put in a lot of work before you can really open your doors, which means you have to spend money before you can make it.
A business requires a tonne of paperwork, including registration documents, contracts, and permits. More importantly, because people will judge your company when it first opens, you won’t initially start making as much money.
The next issue is competition because, in truth, most people need your talents in order to start a business, particularly if you’re opening a restaurant because that’s one industry that is practically a wrestling match.
What is your unique selling proposition? is the aforementioned million dollar question for everyone starting a business.
This means that you have less than ten to fifteen minutes to think of anything that stands out from all of the other businesses that are already operating (kind of like an elevator pitch).
Bills (utilities like electricity and water), and other taxes that you must pay to the DTI and BIR, are the third thing that you must take into account. This may have an impact on your profit because, in the case of high taxes, it’s likely that you will lose more money than you actually make.
Finally, you need to include others. This time, instead of talking about employees, we’re talking about business partners, particularly if you’re preparing to start a small firm. In relation to the second point of competition, you should be aware of the type of investors you need because good investors are inquisitive, but bad investors are merely window shoppers.
Pros and Cons of Investing
With a few clicks and swipes, anyone can invest, whether they are a student, working professional, small business owner, or powerful CEO. However, there are a few things you should be aware of before investing online.
Pros
Inflation is being beat by you. When inflation is low everywhere you invest, the returns on stocks, bonds, mutual funds, cryptocurrency, and many other stock market investments are higher. It’s also a good asset to include in your financial portfolio based on the performance of the stocks that are traded on the stock market, as it puts a positive spin on price fluctuations. After all, you never know when a good inflation rate might make the pricey items you currently purchase more accessible.
Another is that there are brokers and fund managers who operate on numerous online platforms to handle the stock market (meaning you can invest anywhere from GInvest, Coins.ph, Axie, etc.). So, for instance, if you purchase stocks from JFC, a fund manager can monitor price changes so that you are aware of market developments. A qualified fund manager can advise you on when and how much to invest, as well as when to take money out of the market and sell your assets.
Good financial advisors may help you plan your future (and even your retirement and death) if you invest in insurance because by then, you’ll have enough money to survive for several years to come. They can also inform you when it’s okay to withdraw your money.
Another is that more people acquire stocks from these businesses when stock prices are low (especially during crises) in order to expand their investment stock portfolio based on the stocks that are bought (and sold later) online!
Finally, you may unwind knowing that investing is an excellent passive income source and that the interest rates are typically higher than those offered by the majority of banks because compound returns can really be more lucrative, especially if you start investing early. Investing can help you stay competitive and save time.
Cons
Investment risk is usually ordinary to high when it comes to owning a business and buying stocks. For starters, your financial security is at risk because you are being controlled by your money, which is based on stock prices that will fluctuate in a few years. Additionally, investing in stocks (as well as bonds and mutual funds) can be risky because you never know for sure whether you are actually making an investment or not. In addition to taking a risk with your assets, you need to be familiar with the fundamentals of investing because one mistake can cost you a lot of money if you’re an investor in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds.
However, given the number of businesses that have been impacted by the pandemic and other crises, there is a good likelihood that your investments have dropped their stock values, which has resulted in investors losing more money than when you first establish a business.
If you intend to invest online, you must ensure that your investment platform is reliable and legitimate because many online investing platforms call for taking risks, and if you do, your finances could suffer.
Before you go…
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