If you are tired of the office grind and have been thinking about going solo, there are some things that you should know before you take the plunge. It is possible to make a decent living working for yourself, but there can be trade-offs.
I have been self-employed for a few years now, and here are some concepts that I have discovered are an integral part of self-employment.
- Risk—So many of us are comfortable with the concept of working for someone else and getting paid by the hour. When you work for yourself, you are potentially taking a risk regarding not getting paid as routinely as you are accustomed to. Although it can be scary, transform your fear into motivation to work harder to earn the income that you require.
- Flexibility—Working for yourself may require you to work outside typical business hours. It may require you to work more than 40 hours per week. It may require you to maintain an untraditional schedule. It may require you to work less at some times and more at others. In order to succeed, you will need to maintain an attitude of flexibility and willingness to work in the way that is needed to achieve your goals.
- Versatility—Particularly when you first start out, you need to be open and willing to learn, grow, and expand your skill set. Likewise, you need to be able to do what is needed to get the income that you need. For example, I have done a number of different types of writing throughout my career, and have more recently moved into social media management, marketing, and research.
- Decisiveness—If you have worked under a boss or supervisor, you may have become reliant on that person to make decisions for you. Sometimes you may dislike this fact, and other times you may be glad to avoid the tough decisions and any subsequent blame. When you work for yourself, you are on your own and have no else to rely on to make decisions for you. You determine your own success and failure, so you must learn to be wise and swift in your decision-making. It is certainly acceptable and even desirable to ask for advice as needed, but ultimately you make the final determination as to what is best for your career.
- Marketing—This is difficult for introverts like myself or anyone that has purposely avoided the sales and marketing niche. When you are self-employed, you become your own product, and like any product, someone has to promote it. If you want to gain new clients, you must be able to promote yourself. Promotion is a necessary part of earning income through self-employment, so do what it takes to learn about it and become comfortable with marketing yourself to customers and clients.
Working for yourself can be a fulfilling and challenging career path. Whatever your talent or interest, you can forge a path in the world with your name on it if you are realistic to what is involved with working for yourself and are prepared to do the work necessary to make it. Self-employment may seem like a comfortable option, but I have found that it takes me out of my comfort zone on a daily basis. Due to this, working for yourself can be an excellent opportunity to grow and expand your skill set as you make necessary income.
Are you self-employed? What do you like and dislike about self-employment? Are you considering working for yourself? What aspects do you look forward to and what are you fearful of about working for yourself? Comment below and share your opinions on this interesting topic.