What are the top challenges and benefits to be aware of if you’re considering quitting your job to work for yourself? originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

As someone who is an entrepreneur herself as well as someone that works with and coaches a lot of entrepreneurs, I can tell you that there are many challenges and benefits to be aware of if you’re considering quitting your job and working for yourself.

Let’s start with some of the challenges first:

Being an entrepreneur can get lonely and isolating at times. You’ll long to engage in that office banter of the past. In order to combat those feelings of isolation, be sure to stay in touch with your network and engage with others on a regular basis.

There’s no more steady paycheck. Yup. You’re bankrolling yourself here. Some ways to prepare for a less consistent income stream include saving up before you make the jump, starting your business as a side hustle first until you gain momentum, and bootstrapping as much as possible, particularly in the beginning.

Self-employment tax. Without getting overly detailed here, just know that you’ll be handing over more taxes than you did when you were just a regular employee.

It’s going to take a lot longer than you thought. No matter how quickly you think you’ll get your business going, know that it’s going to take much more time than expected.

Now, let’s move on to the benefits:

The biggest benefit is the flexibility. You are able to do what you want when you want. You no longer have a boss who tells you what to do. You’re the boss (and that’s a great thing).

You control your own destiny. You can make as much or as little as you desire depending on your commitment, planning, and hard work.

You will grow in many ways. Becoming an entrepreneur is not only freeing, but you will learn lots of new things and wear a variety of hats on a daily basis. It will boost both your confidence and your skillset.

Owning your own business is a wonderful way to gain independence and support yourself and others.

This question originally appeared on Quora.

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