Questions to self employed people

[Buck]

I have read many of the user profiles here on TBN and have noticed many of you are self-employed. I have recently been asked to bid on a two-year contract, at much more money than I am making now (government), and have been told that I will win it. Accepting will require that I leave my large corporatation job…..

Questions to self employed people who have done the same: Are you happy? Are you glad you did it?

Thanks,

Buck

 

[Knight9]

I've been self-employed for about 6 years now. God-willing I'll never be an "employee" again. I love it! HOWEVER, there is obviously more risk associated with it.

Kevin

 

[njrqs]

Buck,

I left a government job 5 years ago now to start up on my own. If you stick to doing what you are qualified to do, then should be OK. Then you know your capabilities, you know the market and its players.

Eg. Don't be an architect buying an ice-cream business like happened over here. Stick to architecting.

Yep I am more than happy. I too don't think I could ever work for a boss ever again, nor commute to work as I work at home.

The money is better but you get no holiday pay, no sick pay and no-one to delegate to. But the up side of this is that if you work hard, you get the credit and the rewards, unlike working for the man.

Give it a go. Yep it is a risk but hopefully well worth it.

Make sure you take out income protection insurance for if you do get sick, get life cover, super and professional indemnity insurance and public liability insurance etc. all as applicable.

(I suppose I should have checked your profile first)

- Just done that and maybe you will eventually need most of the above.


Cheers & Good luck !!

 

[Anonymous Poster]

...a two-year contract...

Chris...

Just a couple questions to ask yourself...

What are your plans 5 years from now...? Where do you want to be in life...? What are your long and short term goals...?

How about 2 years and 1 day from now... the day you're newly awarded contract expires...?

Look at the worse case scenario's... and crunch the numbers...

How's your bank account...? Can you sustain a "dry spell" with no or little income...? Do you have a comfort cushion to absorb the shocks along the way...?

Do you have the fire in your belly to keep going when everything around you fails... Will you do what it takes to succeed... Do you have the guts and stamina to keep going no matter what...?

Nobody can answer these but you...

 

[njrqs]

Gee John

I thought the lack of a boss was the only driving factor /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

Don't be so hard on the man !!

But yes, you are right, Buck would have to have prospects at the end of the contract.

Hey I started with basically no work and built up from there. It is possible.

Cheers

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi Buck,
Pros and cons on the subject. Use to be nice when @$^&$*&
hit the fan, & it was someone elses problem. And it will hit !!!
If you play well with the other children where you are, this
should be considered also. (I did not play well with others.)
I make less now than my last job, but like owning my own
business. Money ain't everything. Seems like there is
always some little fire to put out here. Supplier went out
of businees without notice, or suddenly the price for my
parts increase, usually right after I send out flyers and ads
showing price for next 6 months. I hear many people say
they don't like dealing with the public. I seldom get any
complaints, so I like dealing with the public. Also, I work
close to home, so less driving. Then you have taxes,
insurance, etc. that I did not have when working for some-
one else. I would not go back to work for someone else
EVER AGAIN if I can help it. Just some things to think about.
Whatever you decide, pray for the right decision. I did.
Worked for me. Rick

 

[Chris99320]

I was self-employed for ~3years then went to work for one of my clients for a year and now next week will be happily self-employed again and my boss will be a client again.
Anyway here's my 2 cents......actually this is what my wife tells me to do when I have an tough decision to make.
Make a pro's and con's list of going for it. Just make sure that when you evaluate the list $money$ gets less weight then job enjoyment/satisfaction. Of course it has to pencil out finacially.
If it's a go, set yourself up for success. Go to the local colleges, SBA office, SCORE (bunch of retired biz people), entreprenerial clubs, your lawyer, your accountant, friends with businesses, state biz license office, etc... and pick there brains for advice, resources etc... in setting up a biz. There are different biz structures, soleproprietor, LLC (very interesting), C corps, S corps, partnerships, etc... There are different ways to do the books. There are different kinds of insurance you need. Where will the biz be located. There are many things to take care of in setting up a biz. If any of these can be done while your still employed do it, because your biz will not generate any direct revenues from these tasks, in fact they can cost you some big $$$. This is sweat equity!
And please have some money stuck away to pay yourself and your biz costs for several months. Even if the terms of the contact have progress payments, you can expect at least 60 to 90 days from when you do the work until you get paid.
Whoa, somebody better pull me off the soap box.

I guess the answer to your question....yes I am happy and when I went back to being an "employee" it was not satisfying.

 

[DVerbarg]

Being self employed is not for everyone but as a member of TBN and having equipment to do things yourself you automatically pass the pre-screen test for being "self-employed". Don't really like the term "self-employed" as there are very few people wealthy enough to pay themselves but instead view the "self-employed" person as having many bosses (clients).

Like Chris from Washington I was "self employed" for about 3 years until one of my clients haggled me for 9 months to work for them as an employee. Have now been an employee for 2 years and am getting too frustrated at having to deal with internal issues and not being able to work on things I enjoy. Am now considering asking them to become a client again and go back to my contract work.

I'm not that self-disciplined, which many people say is necessary to be successfully self-employed. I did however, not work, but rather played. The "work" I did never seemed to be work but was rather play or a hobby, the hobby paid for its own expenses plus an additional amount which was very comfortable to live with. The one area of discipline that is necessary is financial discipline-the ability to stick to a budget even when there is an additional 5 figures burning a hole in the pocket-the dry seasons will come when that extra is needed.

I would recommend that if you take this opportunity (I sure would) that you use "extra time" to line up other work. Make it small but begin to build a client list of small projects while you have the two year window of "safe" income. You might also want to network with others or find others who might want to work with you while you build a client base beyond the original one.

The initial jump is rather "scarry" as you are leaving a known comfortable situation.
Be sure to make that list of pros and cons and set career goals, personal goals, family goals, and financial goals. Doing work that is enjoyable is worth much more then having extra expendable income, and many times if we are really enjoying yourself, we perform better and sometimes are able to earn more with less time.

When I left my "full-time" job (IT manager), my income was more then needed to meet my needs. The "self-employed" work was fun for awhile (retail) but paid much less but still enough to meet basic needs, very basic! A little over a year later I was rather bored with that retail business and started to do some IT contract work on the side (with a focus on meeting the needs of the "corner offices"). That side work was so much fun and within months was netting an annualized low 6 figures! My wife and I decided the retail was too stressful and closed the retail business and I continued the contracting business until one of my clients hired me full-time.

For me the down sides to being "self-employed" are: less socialization (in my line of work) and having to spend time marketing (which I hate). There are other down sides but those (for me) are offset by the positives (ie - lack of health insurance but more than enough income to purchase a comparable plan, lack of steady income but peaks of income that more than offset the difference, etc).

Hope my ramblings contribute to your thought process

 

[njrqs]

Yes the lack of social interaction is one drawback of working for self at home. Probably why I spend so much time on TBN and using email etc.

I was however, one of those who didn't "play well" and therefore more suited to being own boss.

I respect authority but hate having someone tellme what to do, if you follow?? - Also hated seeing the "who you know's" getting ahead quicker than the "what you know's" like me.

Yes you so have to be self-disciplined like the books say, but hey, I am the slackest around. If I have no deadlines I do the bare minimum until this hot crisis point.

I am often dawdling around the yard or shed, or in the house playing with youngster.

The joys of cordless phones - No-one need know what I am doing !

Cheers

 

[glennmac]

Your only security is your own skills and experience.....No one else will take care of you....The biggest companies can fail.....Or lay you off when times get tough......Loyalty will not be rewarded in hard times.....Being self-employed with no clients or customers is awful......With clients, in a lucrative profession, it is much better than being an employee....A two year contract would be a home run to me.....I dont know if I will have income next month......Two years is plenty of time to get some other contract or other corporate job.......If I were in a self-employed profession where I would have to hire and manage and administer others, I wouldnt like it........I hate managing and administration almost as much as I hate being managed....I am now self-employed again.....The first time I had no clients, didnt know how to get any, and lost all my savings (and more).....Now I have a small clientele but make more than working for my former law firm.......No commute versus the former 2 1/2 hrs per day ......I don't work many hours but make a lot per hour when I do have work........Can do everything I do via computers, email, fax, phone, and client-paid travel....It is an alone lifestyle but not lonely to me......I like my dogs and books and tractor and canoes and kayaks and and tv and internet and Uconn womens basketball more than people....But I've always been that way......Bottom line from my experience: I left corporate life poorly prepared for self-employment (not easily marketable skills and no clients), so it was a mistake at the time......With clients and a reasonably certain income stream for 2 years, I would leave if, for some reason, I was unhappy with the corporate lifestyle....If you are going to work at home you'd better seriously evaluate the strength or fragility of your family situation and how that may help or hinder your business and psyche.....