I never imagined this would be my life! I was terrified when I left my job in August of last year! I have been through so many ups and downs with my self-employment. It's an exciting time to be 24!
Self-employment has a lot of unexpected downsides that I never expected. I guess I always thought I'd be sipping margaritas on a beach all day with no worries in the world. I never imagined that all the hard work I did BEFORE I left my job, Was Only the Beginning.
I wouldn't trade my self-employment for anything! But it was a shock at first.
You Get To Pick The People You Spend Time With
No more coworkers you don't like. No more pretending and dealing with the awkwardness of talking to them. When you are self-employed, you have a lot of control over the people you are surrounded by. Sure, You can't be too picky with customers, and sometimes they'll be a pain to deal with. But you still have a lot of leverage. You can even outsource that part, so you don't have to interact directly.
Flexibility
I can be incredibly flexible. I essentially create my schedule.
IF I want to sleep all day, Work all night that's my choice. Do I want to spend all day at the pool followed by a few hours of nighttime work, Done!
When I go on vacation, I can take my laptop with me, And get more work done! It's so sweet, Sometimes this gets out of hand, Because I need to enjoy my vacation, But when I'm stuck waiting at the airport, I can take out my laptop and work on stuff. Or while on the plane I can work.
This allows me to be more productive, and do more money making activities throughout the day. Many jobs, Require that you are there to do the work. And when you leave you are stuck with whatever they will pay you. You don't have a say in how much you want to make either! With self-employment, You kinda get to choose. Obviously, you have to pursue the correct opportunities to make this happen, and you have to work for it, But even the amount you make is flexible, and it's a beautiful thing.
You can be More Passionate About Your Work
Every day I get to do something fun, Sure I don't get to spend all day drawing Like I originally had hoped. I still have to do budgeting and spreadsheets, and overall some work that I don't like. But most of my day is consumed by things I enjoy and things I want to do. Not things I am forced to do.
Today was supposed to be T-shirt day, Where I spend all day making designs. But I was in the mood to write Steemit posts. So I am now doing Steemit posts instead hehe. While occasionally Pressing buttons on my phone. Because I have a special app that makes the designs for me, and I can cycle through the designs it makes for me. So I'm doing a little of both! If I were working for someone else, My supervisor would tell me exactly what to do, And I really wouldn't have a say with what I do with my day.
Take The Plunge!
If self-employment is something, you are thinking about doing! Then do it! It is so worthwhile, It's definitely one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life, And I'm so grateful for it!
Time is the biggest asset we have!! :) Im very happy for you!!Artists have to stick together :)
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Turn time into money and you win by having more time to do the things you want to 💰
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Sounds amazing. I would love to be self employed. Not even just for the benefits mentioned in your post, but to also feel successful within myself - that I have managed to grab something and run with it by myself. You are very inspiring and make it seem very possible to be self employed
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Being self employed is definitely great but it definitely has its pros and cons. The flexibility to work when and where you want and to determine your schedule is a great thing. On the other hand I find it very easy to work all the time. When you work for yourself, sometimes it's hard to stop working, especially when the times are tough. Setting a clear, solid schedule and following that schedule is really important. It's also really important to separate your work space from your life spaces if you work from home. Sometimes it's way better to get a separate offsite office than to work from home.
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Yes. This is so true. While I'd never trade my couch or hammock for an office again - my boyfriend often accuses me of 'not being here' - it's easy to become a workaholic - because you only have you to depend on.
When you work for you, there's no guaranteed paycheck - sure you are the 'master' of your own time, but rarely is sleeping all day even an option. If you don't put out the work to find work - you don't get paid.
It's easy to become obsessive - often out of necessity to make rent - and work 12 or 14 hour days. Finding that balance is essential - as @Britt.the.ish said.
This isn't to discourage anyone from quitting their day job! It's just to set a realistic expectation. The beauty of working for you is that yes, the sky is the limit, no one is capping your salary, you choose your own hours, can work from anywhere (depending on the type of freelance work you do)...but there are tradeoffs.
Very few people quit their day jobs and poof ! Have enough to travel the word while generating enough income to sustain continued travel. It doesn't happen over night. That's not to say, one couldn't immediately move to another country with a lower cost of living, and begin freelancing (that was my 20's!) - but still different than instantly traveling the world within your first few months of being self employed.
Only you know your situation, of course. Whatever you decide, good luck !
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Thanks for sharing this @kaylinart . Good to find a supporter in this step. I too quit my job recently in fact just this April to pursue my dream of self employment. It is difficult to come to terms with first but you soon begin to take life more seriously. I have started valuing my time more ever since. Time is money literally !
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There's one benefit that wasn't mentioned here ;)
lol, but in all seriousness, love the article. Working at home can be very helpful as you can put total focus into whatever you're doing at any time, and the level of comfort you make for yourself can help a lot :D
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OMMMG I didn't even think of that LOL awesome comment hehee. It's so true.
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in order to be successful into your business you as the employer needs to be the best employee. it makes a lot of sense.
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Great post ! Thank you for your sharing ! This is useful for me! I want to get self employed and I agreed with the benefits. However that's so difficult to have siccessfully self employed. Add oil !
I'm new in Steemit which only joined for a week ! Please support and follow me :)
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Being self employed is amazing, however it also has its big challenges that come with it. I would say even a working from home job would be somewhat like self employed would be like but with more safety in mind in terms of income.
With being self employed you could have a day of $10 in sales and then next $1,000 in sales. If done correctly though if you ever find yourself short on some cash or want a nice injection a email blast never hurts! ;)
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It's wonderful, the only issue is accounting and taxes. It takes getting used to accounting, but it's something we all must be good at.
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I toss mine to the tax man lol otherwise id go crazy trying to fill it all out myself. I do monthly accounting though on profits/expenses etc which make it much easier when it comes the end of the year.
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OMG yes!!! The absolute best part of working for yourself is beyond any doubt the awkward forced encounters with people you don't want to associate with evaporate!
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Exaclty heheh :) I am not a big people person so it helps
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I used to have anxiety about it, but I think it was because I felt forced to be nice to people that were generally fake and didn't show me the same courtesy. I worked at a charity hospital and had a man and woman screaming at me and calling me "the white devil" because I wouldn't "force the doctor" to write five times the antibiotics they needed because there were too lazy to bring their other kids to the doctor. I think that was the day I gave up on working a "job" to help people.
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Wow really? That sounds really awful! I'm sorry you had to deal with that crap.
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I was in a very different place then. I needed the lesson to push me on the right path. :)
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Points. lol. I <3 people - in small doses haha
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" you have to pursue the correct opportunities to make this happen" - you are exactly right. Chasing the quick-dollar-scheme or NOT having the right opportunity at the right time can leave someone more exhausted and poorer than he has ever imagined.
Self-employment has too many bad outcomes, but I guess works for younger people as they are trying to establish their life and that gives them a bit of more freedom and outside the box-slave experience. If you can make more money than having a boss - GREAT! Though fighting as a freelancer (self-employed) every day to feed your family is a WHOLE OTHER STORY :)
So, that is your personal story! I am very glad it works for you! It's great to see people succeeding outside the modern-day-8-hr-slavery. Cheers!
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While I don't think this is for everyone, if one has the opportunity to be self employed then why not! Thanks fo sharing!
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Thanks for sharing. Self-employment is the ultimate freedom and autonomy for an artist. Stability might be overrated in an economic climate like this too.
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Exactly! Hehhe :) Stability is becoming more rare, We have to create our own.
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Good work! You must be really great at what you do to create the demand for your services! And...of course, an addiction to reading your articles! :)
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You really got me thinking from the last post regarding the affiliate program. I go on vacation next month and have some Major Soul Searching to do in regards to this Topic! Thanks for posting this and keeping it burning inside me... @kaylinart
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Congratulations on starting your own business! I left a law firm last October and started my own. I'm still struggling a little exercising my freedom. I worked with my IT people to make sure that I could work from anywhere, and yet I get up every morning and go in to my office around 8:00 am. Old habits are hard to break.
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I'm thinking of self employment every day but i'm too scared to take the plunge. I'm still in debt and i plan to give freelancing a shot once i save enough money (enough for a year maybe) so i don't get stressed. Well, i'll still be a stressed a little :)
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Aww yeah! Just make sure youre out of debt and have your business started BEFORE you leave the job. Some people leave too soon and ti causes problems.
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Thanks for your support. Who knows maybe Steemit can make my dream of escaping the rat race come to fruition quicker than i hope :)
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Good luck to you :-) Kaylin's advice is right on - but at the same time, you should sit down and figure out what that 'magic' freedom number is. How much do you NEED to live monthly ? How much do you need to at least keep up with minimum payments to get out of debt?
Make a list of expenses/income. You may find that you are closer to being ready to take the plunge than you think! If not, writing down those numbers, writing those goals will help you work towards them - so 'self employment' becomes more than a pipe dream :-)
Good luck @recreator
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Yeah, that's the ideal, but I did the opposite. I got so fed up with my job, I just decided one day to quit--no notice, just walked out without much of a plan. But after the adrenaline rush of quitting died out and I came to my senses, I realized it was do or die to become self-employed, because I sure as hell wasn't getting recommended for any more employment. That do-or-die motivation has made all the difference in the years since in putting something together and making it work, and I don't regret it one bit.
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Ha ! Me too. Not that I'd ever recommend it to anyone else - but nothing like the threat of being homeless in NYC (brutal winters, just brutal!) to get you figuring out how the hell to pay the bills. Good for you @quintree
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Corporate security is an illusion! Self employment is difficult, but freedom is it's own reward. Struggles with time management often requires supervision. As long as you can manage yourself, you're golden!
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I agree 1000% I feel like with practice many of us can manage our time. At first I struggled with it, But when I saw that I wasn't making enough to survive, I kicked it up a notch!
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Excellent point! @doctorjohn
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This. This is what I'm working for. My worst fear in life is being stuck in a cubicle wishing days away with hate...
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Aww You can do it!! It's so rewarding! you can get there though. its so possible.
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"Flexibility" - especially this topic is for me a motivationbeing self employed. Hope this will work one day.
Really good topic. Thank You!
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I can't agree more. But it's not easy and I work more than I ever have compared to being employed. But i wouldn't change back to being employed. I think its because im a control freak haha
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Ah, that's my dream! Can't wait! Upvoted!
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Aww good luck! Let me know if you need any tips or what not hehe :) I hope you get there.
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Thank you so much ^_^
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It's rather a type of business than pure self-employment. The paid free-lancers getting money for the work they
are considered as the real self-employed people.
By the way, are you 'Wildlife Animal Shirts' on Amazon?
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Wow I didn't think of it that way!
Hehe Yes I am!
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Nice to see you are spreading the eggs in few baskets. Same for me, but I'm on eBay :)
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This is my goal to be self employed someday! Reading that someone succeed gives me motivation! Thank you! 😚
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Aww I'm so glad Good luck! Let me know if you need tips or help :)
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Self employed for me means no office politics or people taking undue credit for others efforts. I would never go back to being employed.
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This post received a 4.8% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @kaylinart! For more information, click here!
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good luck
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Thanks
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Good for you! That feeling is priceless.
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I am self employed since September last year. I use to trade on Poloniex and make more money than i was payed at my job :D It feels great, but sometimes i get a little bored... I love to do new things every day and be in challenge. I can say Steemit is my new part-time project when i take a break from trading.
I am glad you like you way of life now, so keep on doing what you do :)
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While I am aware of my survivorship bias, I agree with you that being self-employed is simply the best. The risks that I took to follow my passions ended up being the most important decisions I ever made. There are a lot of people that take the risk and do not see the benefit for years. There's simply nothing better than when you make it though!
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Yes. Being self-employed is awesome indeed. I have tried going back to corporate America but I keep losing the jobs for one reason or another or I just end of quitting. I have paid my dues working for someone else and now I feel like I just don't fit into that anymore. Life is so short. We ought to be able to do what we want to do. It can get tough sometimes but I still don't want to trade it for going back to work. Now, I'm not knocking a good job or career. I am grateful to have had the jobs I have had. I'm just saying that, for me, my heart is not in that anymore. So, yes. Yay! Self-employment rocks!
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When self employed we wear many hats. Often it is the dunce cap, not shown here, but definitely worth it.
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Awesome Steemit Post! How can we be our best when forced to do anything? We must have the freedom to be able to think and perform our best! This is the only way to get into the ebb and flow. Then you rock at life! :):)
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Great post. You are being paid based on your results and not some average work so self-discipline is most important thing. I have trouble whit that at the beginning. What i get is FREEDOM. Best life so far. But you will never know, if you don't get "in the ring".
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Really good topic very post and you looking beautiful great work
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Thank you
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Very impressive and especially at 24! I was self employed for 5 years in my 30s; not for the faint of heart for sure. I would have had a nervous breakdown if I had stayed at it, but it also depends on what the work is whether or not it will work out. As an Electrician, it was feast or famine. Best wishes for continued success!
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For me the best part is no BOSSES!
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@kaylinart... Thank You 4 this post because being self-employed can certainly be both good & bad. Kind of like a double-edge sword that can cut both ways.
I do need some guidance on a post that I've wanted to share for about a week now but I can't seem to figure out what I'm doing wrong... when the post is ready to publish and I press the post button... am getting an error... saying that there is a html error and have tried a number of things but can't seem to figure out what I am doing incorrectly... Any thoughts, suggestions or comments ?
Thanks Again Kay !!
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Hi @kaylinart, I enjoyed reading your post. I just graduated and I have been self employed for the past 2 years, your text gave me a little boost of motivation to push further, thanks!
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I completely agree. (who doesn't though lol)
Being self employed is a much more enjoyable way of living.
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It has been less than a year and it sounds like you have done well. Thank you for sharing.
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Benefits exist, but do too are risks. Taxes are a lot harder to do as self employed.
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Absolutely ! I have been self employed for just about 3 years now. I love it but the one problem is sometimes it is difficult to self motivate. Some days I'd rather just sit by the pool.
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My boss is a jerk, and I am self employed. LOL
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When i left my job some months ago i was scared stiff i wrote my letter over 5 times then one day i just jumped from my table and wrnt to drop the letter . i felt so light and happy the following months whrtr not easy but i had alot of time on my hand to do things i was postponing for years . self employment is the best.
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You are truely inspiring. Can I be nosy and ask what app you have to help design your t-shirts as that is an avenue I'd like to explore?
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I've been fully self-employed for six months now. It really is an immense amount of work, but the benefits are SO worth it. Great post.
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Technically every blogger on Steemit who has earned anything is self employed.
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Yayy for the self employed!! I WILL be self employed once again soon...ish LOL. Keep being you :) <3
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without doubt self-employment is a great way to go. More so, is the dot com lifestyle because in this style you've all three essentials (i.e. financial, time and location freedom). With this u can live the life of your dreams: having enough money to maintain the living standard u crave, have ample time to spend with family and on vacations and most importantly work from anywhere.....This is the lifestyle I crave but sadly I don't have enough capital to invest in my education for this lifestyle.....If u wud help please upvote
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Great post and thanks for sharing sharing, I would love to be self employed and have that freedom, I am working towards it :-)
My main interest is in being productive at home and at work as most of my posts are about, I'm working towards making this into a business, in time I will :-)
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Great article. I am also a self employed guy and I am very much agree with your points here. Thanks for sharing :)
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I also love being self-employed. Some of my friends say they couldn't stand not knowing how much was coming in every month but, after being made redundant three times in just 10 years, I prefer to see what is coming! Good luck to you
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The key to be self-employed and be both happy and successful is how you manage uncertainty and how you build networks.
While some self-employment work will be pretty stable, most are going to be peaks and valleys. Celebrate the peaks, but remember to always prepare for the valleys. Weeks or months on end without revenue is a very real possibility.
If you live on little, the valleys aren't going to bother you much. But when you start having to provide for a family, cover a mortgage and so on, it can become stressful quickly. Same goes for the general level of income you plan on earning: when I started working for myself, I was fine with around 30k a year, but now I aim to bill 10k a month. Before you think i'm that well off, keep in mind that I have a family, a wife who bring only a basic level of income and I just spend two months without a paying contract (so a loss of 20k in earnings, plus 4k more in living expences - that's nearly my YEARLY earning target of a decade ago!). I'm fine, but only because I prepared for it. Those two months were stressful, but there was no time for relaxation. I had to work extra hard to get out of that slump.
That being said, I would never go back to a stable job. There's an incredible sense of satisfaction to be the master of your own destiny, and every meal you have you know you have it only because you deserve it.
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I 'd like t be independant like this but the confort of my job secure myself. I think that I will earn more personal space step by step. Thanks for sharing!
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