Would I like being self-employed? (employee, average, profit, owner)

[nep321]

I have been working in companies for the past 8 years. Here is a list of my thoughts, feelings, opinions, values, beliefs and attitudes toward work in general. Based on the list, please let me know whether I should continue to be an employee of a company or if I should attempt to start a business and become self-employed. I'm seriously considering it, but never did it before.

• I get frustrated, discouraged and offended when receiving negative feedback from management. It makes me feel like I'm average at best and can't do anything right, and it's annoying.
• I never want to work more than 40 hours per week, except on occasion. I get tired out even from just 40 hours as it is.
• I want to be able to take vacation time throughout the year (at least 3 weeks per year).
• I hate having to answer to someone else and feel intimidated with figures of authority.
• I'm perfectly fine being middle class, but more money is always better.
• I wish I could do more things my own way without having to conform to the way others want it done.
• I want a low stress lifestyle where I don't have to have work on my mind all the time. Quite frankly, I can't wait to retire in 37 years from now. Work sucks.

[YaFace]

Not gonna vote, and is legit hard to comment on this asinine post without insulting you, but you really think you can be self employed and work less than 40 hours a week?

[ocnjgirl]

Having a business is much more stressful and requires more time than a standard job, You will get negative feedback from customers, there are always going to be negative people. The trick to success is to learn how to deal with them. This will be even more important if you have your own business, good people skills are essential. What area are your skills in? Maybe you're just not a good fit for your current job or career?

[Pitt Chick]

Impossible to say... only YOU know the answer to that!

But you really have zero idea what self-employment means.

It means YOU get ALL the feedback, positive and negative.
It means YOU often work more than 40 hours because you are the only one who can get the job done.
It means YOU might just have NO vacation, as there is work to be done/contracts due/deadlines to be met.
It means YOU answer to each and every client/customer.

etc
etc
etc


What exactly will you be doing? What is your area of expertise that is setting you on the path of being your own boss?

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by nep321

[*]I get frustrated, discouraged and offended when receiving negative feedback from management. It makes me feel like I'm average at best and can't do anything right, and it's annoying.

Try dealing with non-stop bitching customers.

[*]I never want to work more than 40 hours per week, except on occasion. I get tired out even from just 40 hours as it is.[*]I want to be able to take vacation time throughout the year (at least 3 weeks per year).

Good luck with that.

[*]I hate having to answer to someone else and feel intimidated with figures of authority.

You'll have tons of bosses (your customers) plus the government to deal with, all by yourself!

[*]I'm perfectly fine being middle class, but more money is always better.

Then kiss money goodbye while you're building a business. You won't get a paycheck for a while...and that's assuming you're ever successful enough to turn a profit.

[*]I wish I could do more things my own way without having to conform to the way others want it done.

Then get into management.

[*]I want a low stress lifestyle where I don't have to have work on my mind all the time. Quite frankly, I can't wait to retire in 37 years from now. Work sucks.

If you hate stress, don't be your own boss. The stress never ends. Ever.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by ocnjgirl

Having a business is much more stressful and requires more time than a standard job, You will get negative feedback from customers, there are always going to be negative people. The trick to success is to learn how to deal with them. This will be even more important if you have your own business, good people skills are essential. What area are your skills in? Maybe you're just not a good fit for your current job or career?

That sounds awful. I like fixed, stable, limited work hours and am an introverted, low energy person. I have good communication skills, but not in the sense of sales or rounding up clients.

I am a corporate tax accountant. I tried public accounting (with clients) before and absolutely hated the long hours that came with it. Right now, I work as an employee in a corporation and work just 40 hours a week (9-5:30) with 23 guaranteed vacation days per year and full benefits. I just can't stand receiving occasional negative feedback, because it makes me feel very average at what I do. Tax accounting is NOT easy, either. It's very complex. But I do enjoy the content of the work, for the most part. I like working in spreadsheets and following IRS guidelines and working with numbers, etc. I just HATE office politics and drama.

I had always imagined that starting a business would create an easier lifestyle. Basically, I'm looking to make money the easy way, as much as possible, in life. I don't like hardship. Just give me the money!

My dad owns his own business, so why can't I?

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by nep321

That sounds awful. I like fixed, stable, limited work hours and am an introverted, low energy person. I have good communication skills, but not in the sense of sales or rounding up clients.

I am a corporate tax accountant. I tried public accounting (with clients) before and absolutely hated the long hours that came with it. Right now, I work as an employee in a corporation and work just 40 hours a week (9-5:30) with 23 guaranteed vacation days per year and full benefits. I just can't stand receiving occasional negative feedback, because it makes me feel very average at what I do. Tax accounting is NOT easy, either. It's very complex. But I do enjoy the content of the work, for the most part. I like working in spreadsheets and following IRS guidelines and working with numbers, etc. I just HATE office politics and drama.

I had always imagined that starting a business would create an easier lifestyle. Basically, I'm looking to make money the easy way, as much as possible, in life. I don't like hardship. Just give me the money!

My dad owns his own business, so why can't I?

LOL...try it then. I think you'll see that you're probably not cut out for it, at least not based on what you've said here.

I ran a business with a partner for six months in late '13-early '14. I walked away because my partner was completely incompetent, had serious personality problems, massive tax problems that I wasn't previously aware of, and I was sick of not making any money. So I bailed and gave my half of the business to her.

I think I could be successful running a business and I may try it again someday, but you and I are cut from different cloth.

[bande1102]

Yes, I think you can do it. I'm doing it. I worked in healthcare and accounting for decades. I was laid off (my division was outsourced) and it was the BEST thing to ever happen to me. I'm also an introvert. Prior to starting my own business, I had taken a reprieve from corporate america and worked contract and seasonal jobs. I enjoyed that, too. I worked in industries where internal audits were routine. Training was nonexistent. Knowledge-guarding was rampant. To put it bluntly, I felt forced to conform to antiquated and inefficient processes.

Prior to being laid off, I was too afraid to start anything because I believed many of the things others have written here. Once I didn't have a choice, it was much easier, lol.

Here's what I've found now that I'm on my own:

1) I choose my customers. I fire the ones that drive me crazy. At first, I accepted everyone. Big mistake. There are a few customers that bring in the majority of money. I treat them like gold (while actively searching for more like them) and let the whiny, time-consuming, complainers go. Tactfully, of course. As I get more successful, this gets much easier. I even have a question sheet that I developed that I use to vet new clients.

2) I work less than I ever did in corporate. There are no boring, meaningless meetings (at one point, I was forced to attend meetings to plan additional meetings). I don't spend hours doing meaningless things. I'm far more efficient than I thought possible--mainly because I work when/how I want. Also, there's no commute time. Big time-saver for me.

3) I am absolutely not available to my clients 24/7. I have clear boundaries and I stick to them.

4) Flexiblity. Flexibility. Flexibility. I cannot stress how much I love working around my life versus living around my work.

You might want to read Making a Living without a Job, $100 start-up or the art of nonconformity for inspiration.

[Hemlock140]

• I get frustrated, discouraged and offended when receiving negative feedback from management. It makes me feel like I'm average at best and can't do anything right, and it's annoying. Wait until the complaints come from the customers and your employees.
• I never want to work more than 40 hours per week, except on occasion. I get tired out even from just 40 hours as it is. When Self employed I worked regularly 60-80 hours a week, evenings and weekends often.
• I want to be able to take vacation time throughout the year (at least 3 weeks per year). When self employed I took one week vacation in 16 years.
• I hate having to answer to someone else and feel intimidated with figures of authority. You will have to answer to the city, state, and federal governments often, with their taxes and regulations.
• I'm perfectly fine being middle class, but more money is always better. Being self employed means having lots of money at times, broke other times. You have to save when flush to make up for the slow times.
• I wish I could do more things my own way without having to conform to the way others want it done. Doing it your own way only works if it matches the way the customers want it done.
• I want a low stress lifestyle where I don't have to have work on my mind all the time. Quite frankly, I can't wait to retire in 37 years from now. Work sucks. I have never had more stress than when self employed. You make money or you don't eat. You work harder, think about work all the time, worry about paying the rent and meeting payroll and taxes. I managed to do it for 16 years and raise 3 kids from the money I made but the stress today working for someone else is next to nothing. When you retire in 37 years as a business owner you won't have a pension, only whatever you manage to put away in an IRA and other investments, if you are very successful.

[sandy6879]

I've owned my own business for the past 9 years. There is no 40 hour work week. Business is on my mind, most of the day, every day. Calls to clients, working to drum up more business, working to keep existing clientele happy at all times. You will not work less when you have a business, you will work more.

That being said, I work from home and I'm available to my family as needed.

On vacations, I still have to check in via internet - there is no "true" time off.

You need more motivation than you can imagine in order to have a successful business. It's very easy to not do the work that needs to be done. Internal motivation is the true factor between your business being a success or not. If you don't have that, and the drive to do better and better all the time, it won't work well for you.

As noted, the amount of stress is high. You aren't getting a paycheck just for showing up. You get paid if you work your tail off. With what you've said you want, I think you're better off continuing to work for someone else. Quite honestly.