More Problems Associated With Being Self Employed
March 10, 2008 by Tom Lindstrom
I wrote a post some time ago about problems that are associated with being self employed. After thinking hard and long on the subject for some time I realized that I had not covered everything just yet.
There are a few more problems that are associated with being self employed.The problems should be taken as a challenge if you are really serious about working at home with your own home business, rather than a list of problems that can not be won.
Do you have the right personality to be self employed? Home business owners need to have a special mindset in order to become successful. If you are determined, driven to achieve your goal, and able to keep your vision in the cross hairs at all times, then you will most likely be on your way. If less than complimentary clients and even those who harshly criticize your ideas do not deter you from trying, but perhaps are actually spurring you on to try even harder, then you are most certainly on your way to success.
Yet what about the financial ability to see it through - are you ready? Can you weather an equipment failure, loss of data, and the need for upgraded equipment without having to resort to using your personal credit cards? Are you able to survive if one or more client do not pay you one time but leave you hanging for a few months?
If you answered yes to the first two questions you may be well on your way to self employment, yet you are not quite there! There are still some problems associated with being self employed that you need to be aware of before bidding farewell to your boss. Perhaps one of the biggest fear factors is the IRS.
These initials are sufficient to drive the fear of doing business into even the most hardened entrepreneurs, and you may be no exception. After all, you will need to be meticulously organized and instead of only paying taxes once a year, you will find yourself at the taxman´s office every quarter.
Furthermore, you will need to be prepared to pay your Medicare and FICA and up that point in time of being self employed, it was your bosses responsibility to do so. Before dismissing that guaranteed paycheck, make sure you will be able to traverse the narrow path the IRS has set forth for the self employed.
On a personal note, self employment for those with family is fraught with another set of problems. A steady paycheck keeps a family well supported and many money worries at bay, while self employment may be more akin to times of feast or famine. Are your family members willing to help you achieve your dream of being self employed? Do they understand the implications of no longer being able to count on the bi-weekly direct deposit in the bank account?
It is imperative that everyone involved knows what the changes will mean and get on board with you. Failure to paint an honest picture will result in misunderstandings, feelings of betrayal, and such an increase in strife that you will find yourself scouring the help wanted ads simply to keep peace in the family. Sorting this out ahead of time ensures that everyone is on the same page and ready and willing to support your dream and perhaps even make it their own!
Having your own business is rewarding, but also hard work.You need to hang on to your home business even when it gets tough.Your professional fulfillment begins with the fact that you will have proven to anyone beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are a force to be reckoned with and that you can do a job better than an already established company.
Get the problems that are associated with self employment out of the way, and you will most likely never want to go back to a normal day job again.There are after all many advantages of self employment.
Tags: Work At Home, problems, self employment, working at home
Good Post, working from home is not easy, we would all like to do it, but sometimes it is harder than going to the office.
Regards
Alan
Best Home Based Ideas
Hi Alan, thanks for commenting.I can be quite difficult to work from home but you just need to stay focused and take one step at the time.It will pay off!
Hi
Thanks for the comment on my blog.
This blog looks very intresting as well.
Will bookmark it for sure
Have a nice day
Daniel Lundqvist
http://www.yourhomebusinessdream.com
This is so true, Tom. I’ve been self-employed for the last six years and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’ve often thought about giving up during those lean times when I’m feeding my family Macaroni and Cheese three times a week, but as time goes on I’ve less and less of those weeks and more weeks with steak. Really, any particular cheeseburger week is fine by me.
This is a great discussion. In my experience, working from home (home office) can be a huge time saver - no commute, etc. But you must do a lot of phone communications even if you are in the online business, because I think most people actually start trusting you once they hear you on the phone. This applies more for any services you want to promote. Also try doing a monthly telecon with your blog subscribers - I found it useful for my site. If you have a plan and a list of action-items behind it, it does not matter where you are working from: office, home, or starbucks!
[...] Problems Associated With Being Self Employed On a personal note, self employment for those with family is fraught with another set of problems. A steady paycheck keeps a family well supported and many money worries at bay, while self employment may be more akin to times of feast or famine. Are your family members willing to help you achieve your dream of being self employed? [...]
Great post Tom. I have put 4 more points on my site from my experience of seeing various entrepreneurs:
http://myorbit.tv/are-you-considering-self-employment/
Hi Shankar! Thanks for commenting.It is a good idea to share experiences with other online entrepreneurs.Because this is an international business, depending on your location your problems will differ from mine to some point (how to deal with the IRS, starting a business, bank, just to name a few.)
Hi Bob, I´ll appreciate your comment! starting up a business online is perhaps the hardest thing, you will experience frustration when nothing seems to happen no matter how much you market your site.I would still not change this to a 9 to 5 job. I know that making a business successful takes a lot of time and effort.
I personally suffer from motivation sometimes. It’s hard to really focus in on running a business when you’re self employeed.
I had a period between jobs when I should have worked on my online business but I just got lazy and didn’t.
Staying motivated is definitely a challenge. Keeping a positive attitude certainly helps!