Is Self Employment for You?

While most workers dream of self employment being the end all . . . be all of their fulfillment daydreams, most entrepreneurs know that for every positive there is also a negative to self employment.

Hours:

When people say they are self employed because they can work when they want, that only pertains to a small number of industries. Most industries work 9 to 5, so guess when you are going to have to meet or do repairs for your clients? Also the number of hours per week, if you are really honest and include every meeting and brainstorming session, etc. it is going to be more than a regular week at any office. The buck really does stop here. If your clients need you and you are sick or busy or anything else, you are the only one to answer their calls. Is motivation the problem? You can get away with a lot of low motivation or slacking time at a big corporation, but when it's you only, your inner critique will be screaming if you are slacking on yourself.

Money:

The obvious cash flow frequency. If you can't go 3-6 months without any income, you can't handle being self employed. One small detail I have found out the hard way is small companies will pay the electric and phone bill before they will pay you. Why? Because these larger companies can better enforce the late charges and disconnections, while you will probably still give them service because they are a large client for you. It can be a tough money hit when you lose a big client, for whatever reason, sometimes there is nothing you can do, and it is just because they relocated, or got bought out, or changed services.

Lifestyle/Attitude:

That glorious fantasy of telling your boss or coworker to shove it just gets transferred to; your suppliers, vendors and clients. You find that no matter where you go or what you do, those "difficult" people have just shifted a bit, but are still with you. As a matter of fact political correctness and charm are going to have to be your new best friends! Also, you really are on your own in the griping department, depending on what field you are in there may sometimes be some networking groups to socialize with. But for office antics you are on your own most of the time, unless you could find a good bartender somewhere.

I don't think being self employed is for everyone, actually I think it is only for a few very driven individuals. Make sure you are not fooling yourself into thinking it is something it isn't. I have seen and I am sure you have also; many people don't make it for more than 6 months or so. So be very cautious in your endeavors.