Suppose, there is only one income earner in the household and the person is involved in a small business. Is it possible for him/her to raise a family (that is pay for the costs of himself/herself, their spouse, and 2-3 kids)?
If not, if both the couple is working on a small business, is it then possible to raise a family?
How much do small business earners typically make in a year? Are they mostly working class, middle or upper class in your country?
11 comments
Depends where you live, lifestyle, how well the business is going, but if it definitely not uncommon for people to do it
Unfortunately, there is no clear answer. Some small business owners are rich, some are average, some are barely making ends meet.
It is rare for only one adult to work. If there are two adults, they always both work.
Single mothers manage to raise a child alone with one salary, but if there are several kids and also an adult to feed, it would not be easy. Especially if you also have to pay rent/loan.
I mean we have child benefits and you can get childcare allowance for a reason.
It’s possible, not always easy though.
Kinda hard to answer, coz I literally know barely anyone.
But usually if small business wants to survive, especially in the village, owner have to be very flexible and understand supply and demand quite well.
Possible for some, hopeless for others. Obviously it depends on how successful the business is and ofcourse what your standards are for a “comfortable” life. Some people expect more out of life than others so there really is no correct answer to your question.
Yes. A market stall owner (or similar small shop owner) could make less than minimum wage (EUR20,000) but on average would make EUR30,000-40,000 pre tax. It allows them to raise a family and buy a house after a long time (15+ years) or if both parents provide income after at (couple) of years, as soon as they can get a mortage because income security is proven to the bank.
I’m from the Netherlands, a ‘rich’ European country.
Depends on the place and business. In a LCOL area it would be easier than a larger city.
We have benefits that will help out a lot, but it wont be easy. Think a few hundred per month left after all expenses are paid (house, childcare, healthcare) so a car or expensive vacations really depend on the business
I don’t know the details, but my best friend’s family runs a family business, and raised 3 kids. The parents are always busy and they rarely travel outside the country, but otherwise they seem to have managed just fine
Depends on how succesfull the small business is.
Not for many small business owners eg electricians, construction, … they need to work much harder then if they were working for a large company.
But they get to be their own boss.
Many times the partner will have a full time job also but will also help in evenings weekends doing eg bookkeeping.
yes, it is not about source of income but the amount.
Depends. Most small business owners are barely scraping by, some are doing really well. There’s no definite answer here.