Dirk Porter is an example of someone who makes the best out of a bad situation. His former place of employment was going out of business, so he decided to go his own route as an entrepreneur as the founder of P&P Contracting, Inc., a small yet successful contracting company that specializes in tile work, based out of Marion, NC.
When asked why he chose to start his own business instead of just finding another job, Dirk replied that he was simply tired of working for other people. He had been doing some tile and contracting work on the side for the few years before, so he decided to try that out full-time. The side work that Porter had done had a great impact on the immediate success of his business. The fact that his name was already out there got him a lot of business. What used to be just weekend work was now a full-time operation, largely due to the word-of-mouth marketing. “I used the yellow pages, business cards, signs,” Dirk stated, “but word of mouth was definitely best by far.”
Running your own business has several upsides, according to Dirk. “You’re pretty free with time, you can come and go as you want to, and you don’t have to answer to a bunch of other people.” The only major drawback, from his experience, is keeping up with your own insurance. “Basically, when you’re not working, you don’t have insurance,” he explains. In addition, work isn’t always guaranteed and can be affected by such things as the economy or seasons. However, to Dirk, the freedom of running his own business outweighs the disadvantages. When asked if he could start over would he do it all over again, he doesn’t hesitate. “Yeah, I probably would.”
Mr. Porter mentions keeping up with insurance as a drawback to owning your own business. I’ve often wondered if the health insurance industry in the U.S. stifles entrepreneurial ambitions. Many individuals with pre-existing health conditions or children with chronic illnesses are prevented from leaving their current jobs because they need the health insurance, and it would be virtually impossible for them to obtain health insurance otherwise. Since World War II, health insurance has been positioned as a fringe benefit offered by employers. If individuals could purchase health insurance at a reasonable rate on the open market, what might the impact be for entrepreneurs and corporations? Would there be increased turnover in companies, since individuals might no longer be stuck in jobs they dislike?