The Best and Worst Things About Being Self-Employed
As with many things, it’s swings and roundabouts. Being employed means office pals, rounds of tea and regular pay checks. Self-employment means no office politics, eating whatever you want for lunch (hello, Nutella sandwiches) and doing everything yourself. There are perks (and pitfalls) to both, but here’s my take on being self-employed.
The Freedom
Being self-employed means that you are only accountable to yourself (and your clients) but it means that you don’t have to ask for time off to do life admin style stuff, like going to the dentist or waiting in for a plumber. You don’t have to get permission from anyone; you can plan your day how you want it.
Putting Yourself to the Test
You probably became a freelancer because you want to be your own boss, but it’s all the rest that comes with running a business. There’s the business planning, the marketing, the networking, the selling, the admin… and then the rest. The variety of the job and the challenges that brings can be the best part of self-employment, because you’re not stuck doing one particular thing, and you’re having to learn new skills at an incredible rate.
Arranging Finance
One of the worst things about being self-employed is arranging finance. Whether that’s with a mortgage company or so you can get a car, lenders aren’t as willing to loan you money when you don’t have a solid income. Luckily, there are a number of companies that are sympathetic to the self-employed. Companies like motor finance 4u even provide a car finance calculator to make sure that the loan is affordable.
Setting Your Own Hours
This is a double edged sword. Setting your own hours means that you can work whenever you want. But, it also means that you could work through the night – and abandon quality time with your partner, friends or family – if you needed to. Be careful to make sure that you are achieving a good work/life balance.
Work Drought
Sometimes you’ll be so busy you’re turning people away, and other times you’ll have nothing and you’ll be wondering what you did wrong. While this might be the perfect time to get your hair done or redecorate the home office, it can be hard not to get stressed about it. Combat this by doing the admin that you’ve been putting off, or the website redesign you’ve been wanting – something that contributes to your work, but may not necessarily be work for clients.
This is a partnered post.
This is absolutely, positively the truth! Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking walking away from a cushy city job but the freedom, flexibility and being able to make every school play and sports day makes it all worth while!