Who Here Is Self-Employed?

[SUP-Ronin]

I am 50% self employed, and the rest is part time. If I have lots of work it's great, and when I don't (like right now) it's pretty much anxiety and trepidation. The tough part for me is marketing, cause I'm not good at that.

BTW, I'm a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) specialist and I am good at that.

[livnxxxl]

Reading this thread topic makes me think of a friend of mine. He once said IF I should fail at what I want to do the very worst thing that could happen is that I would end up working for some one else anyway.

As far as I myself is concerned I am personally not employed. I am unemployed in a sense. ??? I guess you could say that I was fortunate enough to "retire" real early.

This is still an interesting topic though to see who is and who is not self employed. I always like to read what others do for a living and have done. This gives me a better background of what some of the folks here are capable of doing experience wise. You just never know when there may be a part time opportunity arise for a need for your service($).

[Brazoo]

I'm a graphic designer and illustrator - I've been working freelance since I got laid off about 3 years ago. I had been doing little odd jobs on the side during evenings and weekends - and when I got laid off I just took more of those jobs - and here I am.

I've always liked working independently, and really dislike certain aspects of corporate culture - so in some ways I'm a good fit for this kind of thing.

The hardest parts for me:

1) Money: I've been doing better every year since I got laid off - but I'm still making less than I would be at a job. I set goals for myself based on the previous years sales - if I don't make my goals I know I have to either make radical changes or find a job again. So far so good - it's a struggle - but hopefully it's a struggle that will pay off in the end - - - and if not...

2) Home Office: On one hand I LOVE working at home. It's comfortable and I don't have to commute (or even get dressed) ... On the other hand, if I get really busy and start working long hours - my home becomes a bit of a prison.

It's hard to turn the work switch off too - just before bed I'll want to check my emails one last time - it drives my girlfriend crazy!

3) Juggling Different Hats: Getting the work and doing the work seems to be the important thing to me - it's not intuitive for me to you know, send bills on time. I'm making a lot of great strides in this though. One thing I've been concentrating on recently too is putting on my salesman hat. I'm pretty good at sales - and have lots of retail experience - but I've only really started applying that to my business recently. Which is dumb, I know.

What kind of work are you in, by the way?

[jimsmegos]

Hard road for sure, but the rewards are great if your doing what you love...

I'm the News Director and Special Programs Producer for a small TV outfit here in Harrison. For me the choice came through necessity. There were simply no jobs around here and moving wasn't an option.

I spoke with the owner of this station back in August of last year. He had actually been my competition. Anyway we hit it off but he really couldn't afford what I was asking but I couldn't let the opportunity pass me by.

Long story short I took the plunge and have been growing ever since. Through this permanent "freelance" position I've developed a video production service as well as the TV projects I'm working on. He couldn't pay me much but he didn't mind making it worth my while by giving me freedom on the air. So from there I've been working my butt off developing new shows and promotions to generate revenue for myself while building the stations news product and image.

Is it lean? YES Is it tough? YES Is it worth it? Absolutely!

The main thing to take into consideration is make sure you have a true support staff at home (emotionally more so than financially is what I mean) before you begin. If your married, steady relationship, kids, etc... be sure that everyone involved understands the possible hardships that may lie ahead. And it's more than money. Time is the biggest thing that I lack these days as I continue to build and grow.

If you think you can pull it off Monday thru Friday from 9 to 5 stop now. It really doesn't work that way, never has never will. But also keep in mind that you do have to rest and those folks in your life that are supportive of your endeavor also require real time too.

So in the end I say go for it if you dare. In a worst case scenario you can always go back to work for someone else (if the job market ever turns around). Either way never forget that we are Americans and this is how we used to do it anyway (working for oneself that is). Suck it up and grab for the American Dream Gold.

*And to note- I know that same mentality applies to other nationalities. I wouldn't dare be too "All America" pompous inside this wonderful international community that we all call the Mego Museum. I make the reference solely for the sake of literary example. Every single one of us are driven human beings who like to play with dolls

[knight errant00]

Do you like it? What do you do? What's your biggest challenge in it, and what do you like most about it?

I've been planning on taking the plunge into that world myself, but it's hard stepping off that curb . . .

Thoughts?