Does anyone work for themselves or wish that they did?

The real $ is in doing it yourself. You'll never buy a yacht off what someone else decides you're worth.

That, and find something you love to do, get paid to do it, and you'll never work a day of your life.
 
I ran my own business for around 9 years when I was young- yard care and landscaping (residential and commercial accounts). I was able to cover my education costs doing it and made pretty good money for a person that age. I've worked for someone though since I finished my degree. I miss running my own show, but I also know that my time is far more valuable to me than money is at this point in my life. I find it tough to balance a career and personal life without going too far in one direction.. at least so far. I'd love to be self-employed but limit my work week to 40-50 hours.. not very realistic with most business ideas I've considered or experienced. I'm still trying to figure out the career thing myself.. health and family come first though.

I would and do suggest to anyone to try and knock out an education early on if you can swing it.. unless you know you want to pursue something that doesn't require a degree.. whatever you do though, try and pick something you enjoy and have a knack for.. it's a long road.
 
I started a company with my wife 2.5 years ago and have never been happier or relaxed! It is down right depressing even thinking of going back to the corporate world, the politics, the back-biting, ...

Go for it! but have a degree first just in case.
 
Having a degree is a necessary evil these days. I started very young in the workforce - 17 - and was doing fine until I was about 30-31 when I was denied a promotion because I wasn't degreed. Luckily my boss at the time encouraged me to go back to school at night and I finished my degree when I was 37. Since then I have noted that having a degree isn't necessarily a gateway to success, but a check box that must be checked.

After 41 years of 'working for the man' as someone characterized it, I stepped off the carousel. Now I am semi retired. I plan to work again in the future, but probably not in the same stress/income bracket as I previously did, which is fine with me.

Short version - finish your degree!
 
Womac911 said:
Yep, I know. 5 hours/night in generous. I'm one of those who can't fall asleep right away. It usually takes me an hour to get to sleep. I'm usually woke up about 6:30 with other people moving around the house.
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You need to fix this right now unless you want to keel over and die right when you reach retirement age, or sooner. Same applies to other health concerns that are typically caused by stress and being low on sleep: high blood pressure, obesity, insomnia, depression.
 
plexi59 said:
You need to fix this right now unless you want to keel over and die right when you reach retirement age, or sooner. Same applies to other health concerns that are typically caused by stress and being low on sleep: high blood pressure, obesity, insomnia, depression.
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Nothing that smoking a nice doobie won't cure. No I don't mean to be a chronic pot head either. It's a shame that it is illegal in most places, but it is proven to relieve stress.
 
I personally hate taking work home. And I get paid acceptable for what I do (R&D engineer in germany). So one can say I'm the perfect employee.

It's not like I'd hate to be my own boss... but it's a good feeling if you don't have to worry about your business in your freetime. When I'm getting paid for a 40 hour job, I don't work more than 40 hours. And I refuse to bring my work home.
 
I worked in a factory for 33 years before retiring three years ago. During those 33 years, I managed to run a tiny lawn care business part time for 15 years while working full time at the factory.
I worked harder cutting grass for six hours than I ever did at the factory, but the upside to that is I ate anything and everything I wanted and still kept myself at a svelte 195 lbs. Eventually,
the factory downsized, and the people (including me) who managed to keep their jobs were given the added responsibilities of those who were permanently laid off, so I had to quit the lawn
care business. When I did, my weight shot up to 220 lbs., and I had a serious problem getting it under control and down to 205, where it is today. It's a hell of a fight, and the added weight
combined with the added stress at the factory drove me into pre-diabetes, which abated after I retired to beautiful North Carolina.

There were times early on when things were so good in the lawn care business that I contemplated quitting the factory and working for myself (add one wife and four kids to that). But some
funny things happened after a while: customers drifted away, equipment got old and had to be replaced; I got older. When I look back on it all now, I tend to shudder when I think of what probably
would have happened had I followed through and quit my night job at the factory: no pension, no medical insurance, no escaping New Jersey, etc.,etc.,etc. I've got plenty of respect for anyone
who goes out and works for themselves and succeeds, but its a crap shoot, too. And crap happens. Good luck with it, and all the best.
 
My college education didn't really prepare me to be self-employed. I was a performance major, and there was no "real-world" class on the ins and outs and how to make it. But, I am one of those odd ones who has made a reasonable living teaching and playing guitar (mostly as a classical guitarist by trade and training).

My wife is the real professional in our household. She's been in her field (MHMR) for over 2 decades now and worked her way up. It's a brutal field. She currently works for the state, which is fraught with its own unique set of problems (from the top down and bottom up), but she was head-hunted which made us move halfway across the country.

I don't envy her the job, but it is more steady. Our current situation is good, because since I work from home, I also can stay home with the little ones during the day. (saving a boatload on daycare!) Teaching and gigging less is the sacrifice for me, until they get older.

Being self-employed takes lots of time, effort, dedication, and constant management. This is particularly true when working from home, which I've done a lot (home isn't just home anymore, and you don't really get to get away from your work in a sense). I've also been independently contracted. That can also be both good and bad (granted, I'm picky after all these years, which some folks just don't like... lol). Then again, I've also taught at community college as an adjunct. That was okay for a short time, but government hates competition, and my private lesson studio was viewed as exactly that (which is unfortunate and stupid). I've taught other places too, which can work if you're in a reasonable environment, and are motivated.

If I could do it for the rest my life and provide for my family, I will remain self-employed, and hopefully as a guitar instructor and performer. Unless I find a good teaching studio (college, etc.), that is. Or maybe I'll go to trade school and learn something useful. LOL!!!
 
Fabio KTG said:
Aren't half of the top Fortune 500 companies run by college/University drop-out's?
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Nope. Not even close. Fortune 500 companies are run by MBAs for the most part. If you start a company and it gets big, you'll be hiring a few of those yourself.

Running your own business can be great if you're wired for it, hell if you're not. The same is true of being an employee.
 
Busted my tail for a few companies until I was 49. At that time, started working as a consultant, mainly for my last employer.....this has worked out pretty well, the plan was to work about nine months a year and take three off. It usually works out about there, depending on the project scope....I did have one year with very little work, that was the only real downside. I don't really plan on becoming someone else's employee again.

The hours are generally long when I am working, but they were prior to being on my own as well. The travel is also quite high, but does help lessen the cost of vacationing. From a financial standpoint, the annual time off is built into the fees, even with the free time, this has been by far the best money I have ever made.

Many people say they can't do it because of the security...my position is, if an employer decides they don't want you around on a Friday, you won't be there the following Monday. If you are highly motivated, have a strong network, and know your industry, you have a good chance for success.
 
Self employed as a programmer/analyst/business rules consultant on and off for over 30 years. Was also an entrepreneur: founded Earth Speaks, the first 'Eco-Couture' fashion house in the world, in 1995 (ahead of our time, alas). Was a great run, but it ground me into hamburger and took all of my retirement money. Still, no guts, no glory, and failure is the mother of success. You gotta try, if you feel inspired, just be aware that you may fail, so have a plan B (my plan B involved selling my precious microphones and guitars to pay off debts and keep food on the table - painful doesn't even begin to describe what I sold, for peanuts, irreplaceable stuff).
 
It's great to have your own 'thing', (but education first!) but it's not for everyone, you have to be prepared to sacrifice your spare time and have to be prepared for a lot of pain, stress and suffering that others will never see.

So yes, I would thoroughly recommend it :)
 
Severed said:
Nothing that smoking a nice doobie won't cure. No I don't mean to be a chronic pot head either. It's a shame that it is illegal in most places, but it is proven to relieve stress.
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My brother has just had a procedure done in the cardio unit of his local hospital at the age of 42. The one commonality of all the patients in there wasn't weight, diet, or stressful jobs, but smoking tobacco. Just an observation, and I know that you're not talking about tobacco. ;)
 
Thanks for all the advice, guys. I already have a Masters in Organic and Bio Chemistry. This second degree is in music, so it's not career advancing per sey. I did actually start out on my own this week, which is why i've not been on the forum that much lately. I've made just enough this week to buy my self a sandwich and a coffee on Monday morning. The only upside is that I have unshakable faith in the products that I'm selling and I've got a great uplink in this Multi Level Marketing company that my mum has had an incredibly successful career from.

I'm feeling quite optimistic about the future for once.
 
Fabio KTG said:
Thanks for all the advice, guys. I already have a Masters in Organic and Bio Chemistry. This second degree is in music, so it's not career advancing per sey. I did actually start out on my own this week, which is why i've not been on the forum that much lately. I've made just enough this week to buy my self a sandwich and a coffee on Monday morning. The only upside is that I have unshakable faith in the products that I'm selling and I've got a great uplink in this Multi Level Marketing company that my mum has had an incredibly successful career from.

I'm feeling quite optimistic about the future for once.
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Multi Level Marketing?? Is that some kind of Pyramid selling? Cleaning products, perfume or water purifier system perhaps?
 
it depemds what you do / what you want to do. I could work for myself, but the type of projects I would be involved with, as a small entity would be pretty minor. There is also job security / consistent salary you get from working in a company... well maybe not in the UK haha
 
The choice between being an employee or self-employed does not just concern money, working hours, security and stress.
It's also about job content, working in a team and such.

I've been self-employed for 7 years now. And very successfully.

This week I've accepted a job for 3 years. Not that I need that job security. And I'll earn less in those hours than I'd earn when those hours would be filled by separate clients. But it's a great organization to work for, great people too, and the tasks that I have to accomplish in those 3 years in particular appeal to me a lot.

It's part-time though, so I still have time left for other consultancy assignments, or doing nothing.
 
Coldsummer said:
Multi Level Marketing?? Is that some kind of Pyramid selling? Cleaning products, perfume or water purifier system perhaps?
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No, it's not pyramid selling. That kinda of "business" is illegal anyway. Check out Forever Living: The Aloe Vera company. You'll see what they're about.
 
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