Top 10 Reasons You Should Own Your Own Business, By Ron Kustek

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Top 10 Reasons You Should Own Your Own Business

By Ron Kustek

It’s very likely that you — or someone you know, owns their own business.

They’ve taken the ‘entrepreneurial plunge’ and have created a brand new business, employing themselves and others in our community.

You’ve likely asked them ‘why’ and have gotten various responses, often with a smile on their faces and a glow in their eyes.

There are many reasons why people go into business for themselves:

Personal Reasons

• Independence — Many of us love not having to be somewhere or expected to do something for someone else.

Instead, entrepreneurs want to be somewhere and do the things that are important to them. • Seizing An Opportunity — Freedom of choice — Destiny — Doing what

you believe in, seeing what others don’t, and just getting stuff done! • Family — The option of working from home, whether that means in a quiet and comfortable environment and/ or one that includes partners, pets or children — or just working in a geographic area that you really love. • Legacy — What does your life mean after spending hours, days, weeks

and years working? Many feel it’s important to leave something tangible to one’s family in order to self-actualize, or to feel like this journey makes sense and is worth the trip. • Personal Challenge & Growth —

Can you do it, especially if you’ve always wanted to? Owning your own business will never be boring. You’ll always be learning, especially if you have a passion to keep up with the latest knowledge and information that impacts your business, and the lifestyles and needs of your customers.

Business Reasons

• Control — Being your own boss and making the decisions you feel are best, without any bureaucracy of larger companies that require memo writing & meetings. • Flexibility — Working your own schedule, when you get inspired or even when you just can’t sleep. Maybe you don’t want the “9 to 5” lifestyle and all that goes along with it. • Choice — The ability to focus on what matters to you, whether that means dealing with just a few key customers or working with people you like to be around (and hire). • Impact — The chance to develop a reputation for creating something of

quality and service, and also making a difference in society by solving problems. • Change — Especially when your creativity is being stifled from many corporate environments, owning your own business allows you to experience new and different business challenges.

Conclusion

Making the decision to launch your own business requires time, reflection, and being honest with what you know, and what you don’t know.

There are many great resources to help you flush out whether you’re the entrepreneurial type or not, from Business courses from Cabrillo College, to consulting with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), to speaking with representatives from the Service Corp of Retired Executives (SCORE).

Regardless of the reasons, owning your own business is preferred by the members of our Santa Cruz business community, and by all of us who ‘shop local’ and support our independent businesses. n

•••

Ron Kustek is a former senior executive at The Coca-Cola Company and small business entrepreneur currently teaching at Cabrillo College. Email him at rokustek@cabrillo.edu.

“La Bahia” from page 20

Discussion turned to demolition and redevelopment, which was deemed more cost-effective than renovation, and a project to build a new hotel on the site was approved in 2014.

The property’s architecturally distinctive bell tower was saved for this new project.

Then came the pandemic.

Developer Prime Group of Chicago and the Boardwalk went their separate ways.

Ensemble is based in San Francisco, with a portfolio of 13 hotels with 2,200 rooms, valued at more than $950 million.

As owner of the Santa Cruz Dream Inn steps from the Boardwalk, Ensemble knows Santa Cruz.

The new hotel’s look is described as a contemporary interpretation of Spanish and California Coastal interior design.

La Bahia’s spa, a Moorish-inspired private indoor/outdoor rooftop oasis, is to feature a modern interpretation of the famous salt baths of Santa Cruz’s storied past.

Forrest Perkins Design Group, with offices in San Francisco and New York, describes itself as defining luxury.

“We are proud to have the opportunity to revitalize and re-imagine a historic building in a destination as beloved as Santa Cruz,” Babaoff said.

Among the amenities planned: A casual street-front bar/restaurant; a chefinspired restaurant for special occasions; an iconic pool bar serving classic cocktails and poolside eats; and a champagne lobby bar; fire pits; an event deck; and banquet and event ballroom spaces.

Swenson Vice President Jeffrey Huff said the company “is honored to partner with an amazing team in building the historic La Bahia Hotel and Spa and seeing it come to life again.” n