Would you choose to start your own business again?

I'd start a business again, but not with staff. I started my current business 25 years ago and it grew rapidly so I employed a few staff for a few years. An absolute nightmare. Not the admin etc as I'm an accountant, so can do that no problem as I do it for clients, but, Jeez, dealing with staff was an absolute nightmare. I wound down the business back to a level that I could cope with on my own and the staff were let go or left over a couple of years. I've been on my own for around 15 years now and it's absolute bliss. When I'm busy I sub-contract a bit of work out which is far better as if they turn out to be crap or unreliable I just don't use them again, whereas if they're good, I'll keep giving them work as and when I can. But actual employees - never again! And, no I'm not talking young/minimum wage/underpaid kind of people - one was a middle aged fully qualified accountant who was absolutely hopeless - it was a lottery whether he'd actually turn up to work and then a lottery as to whether the work he did was right - I had to check everything he did - he didn't last long - I gave him loads of chances but he didn't give a toss so I had to get rid after about a month. I was having to spend longer hours working when I had staff than when I didn't, in managing them, dealing with their training, planning and reviewing their work, etc - what an absolute nightmare, not to mention the costs - the total costs were barely affordable, what with paid holidays, sick pay, pensions, training, etc. No thanks, never again, I still have nightmares!

Dh and I have a family business. Absolutely, it’s not my main work (I’ve largely been employed elsewhere as I have a career in a different industry), but it is for Dh. Yes, he would never want to go back to being employed and I would certainly hope we have the business a long time and sell before we retire.

Employ maybe 5 employees, depending on time of year. Business has exploded since COVID and CoL crisis. Brexit and rising raw materials costs have been a challenge, but well off people have not stopped buying nice stuff, which is generally our market.

Employees are generally okay. They’re treated very well (much better than me at my big professional job 😂). Dh cooks them a bbq or they go to the pub every so often. Dh takes them away for a weekend for their Christmas do. They get a half day every Friday, so finish up at 12 every weekend. I think that makes a difference.

And it’s afforded us a nice lifestyle and a lot of flexibility.

No, unfortunately not. It folded spectacularly roughly 18 months ago after 7 years. Independent retail. Niche, lifestyle orientated. Was a partnership with my late DP, then I tried to go it alone for two years. Ended up ten grand in debt and am now under a DRO. Just about made a living for around a year, then COL plus online competition slayed me no matter what I did. Only needed to take 200 a day for it to work, but a huge Chinese platform was far more attractive to my oh so sad customers when I gave up the ghost. I even had people photograph items on my shelves and Google them to find them cheaper in front of my face.

My price range was from 0.99 to maybe 100.00 with plenty at the lower end of the market.

People are poor, and fickle....

Still a bit bitter.....

Yes...but my god, it has it's moments.
We have great employees, but being an employer is so stressful. Add in constantly working and little time off, it's hard.
The financial return is great, but it's very worked for. I sometimes wonder if at the end, we will wonder if it was all worth it.

Nope. Not in a million years. Not in the current economy.

I will always have my own business but moved away from employing people several years ago. Far too much stress!