I’ve been self employed since October 2009 when I was fired from my day job. Long time readers will know that it was a massive blessing in disguise because in my first full year of self employment I nearly tripled my income. After working for myself for over 18 months I’d like to share why at times self employment can suck:
1. Extra Stress
I have a younger brother and an older brother. My 31 year old older brother has no gray hair and my dad didn’t get gray hair until he was nearly 40. On the other hand, I’m “only” 27 and started getting gray hair as soon almost as soon as I started running my own business. Yes it could be a coincidence but I’m near certain it is from the added stresses of being self employed.
I know a lot of the stress is self enforced, because I feel like if I don’t grow my business by at least 50% year over year that I’m doing something wrong. With these type of growth goals I feel like everything I do has to be successful and because I’m trying so many things unfortunately not every project I’ve worked on has been a success.
2. Lack Of Social Interaction
I used to work in a sales job and really enjoyed the people I worked with. We’d take occasional breaks to play Foosball, go out to lunch and occasionally hang out after work. Now the only people I communicate with are over the phone or on Skype. I believe this lack of social interaction is partly why I’m pushing myself so hard to grow my business because I’d actually like to have an office with several employees that I could go to each day. I never minded the office life, I just hated having stupid leaders telling me what to do only because they’d been with the company for 10 years.
3. Paycheck Varies Every Month
This is a double edged sword, obviously my paychecks are larger than when I was working my full time day job but it’s still stressful to have huge swings in the money I’m earning. I had a massive “pay check” in November when I sold one of my websites for six figures but then of course my monthly income took a hit so although I received a huge cash influx I had to think about which other projects I needed to start working on.
4. No Set Hours
I can be lazy from time to time, and this was true both before and after I was working on my online business full time. In fact, some of my friends would argue that the only reason why I worked so hard on my business was so that when I succeeded I could work less (lol). Having a day job is easy because you know that from 9 to 5 you’re in work mode and busy earning a pay check. Now that I work for myself I don’t have any set hours. I will occasionally work 12 – 16 hours in a single day and only get up a couple times to eat food. Sometimes I will also feel compelled to work on weekends for a few hours a day. On the other hand, I don’t have anyone cracking a whip at me so I will work shorter hours on occasion because I can.
5. Most New Businesses Fail
Making it through my first year of self employment was a big confidence booster, but the fact remains that most businesses fail over the long run (see small business facts here). Businesses like mine that technically don’t have “employee’s” (I use contractors) fail at a rate three times higher than other businesses do. I feel confident that my business will be around for years unless it’s acquired, but the odds truly are stacked against you as a self employed individual.
6. Deciding What To Work On
I make money in a variety of different ways, but I’m at the stage in my business where even though I enjoy solid base hits like selling a website for six figures I also want to hit a grand slam and work on something where I can exit for several million dollars (preferably with enough to buy the Guthrie Castle before my 20 year deadline). The toughest thing for me to do is to decide what to work on to help me achieve my financial goals, set new challenges and enjoy doing it all at the same time.
7. People Saying “Get A Real Job”
The worst part about being self employed is the fact that all of my friends and family that know what I do for a living think I don’t have a real job. Because I don’t have a real job I must always be able drive people to the air port and perform other menial tasks right? Any other self employed person will agree that this is one of the most annoying aspects of being self employed.
Self Employment Is Still Better Than The Alternative:
Even with all of these negative drawbacks I still wouldn’t have it any other way. The same freedom that causes me stress is what makes working for myself so much more enjoyable and challenging than anything I did in any of my past jobs. I’m a huge fan of this life style and building online businesses. In the coming weeks I’ll be changing several things about my blog to make it even better for people looking to succeed at building their own online business. In the mean time, feel free to read my suggestions on how to quit your day job. Just remember, that being self employed isn’t always awesome.
Stay tuned…
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{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
I enjoyed being self employed, but starting this summer I will be working full time for PeerFly. To me, it’s a relief because I am also getting married this summer and will be graduating from college. I am looking forward to starting a family and I think a set income will help keep away my gray hair
Of course, I will continue to work on my own side projects and hope to continue to make money doing that on the side, but I’ll be happy to have a set income as well.
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That’s good insight into the flip side of self-employment, although for some #2 and #4 would be definite perks, and they wouldn’t care about #7.
Kristi Hines recently posted..New Guest Post Policy – Join the Discussion or No Link
hi chris,nice and interesting topic.You are right that no other job better then self-employment although it has stress but with a feel of freedom.
waterpearls recently posted..20 Off Search And Recover Coupon – Iolo Technologies
Thanks Chris for another insightful post.
I’d love it if you would write a post about the importance of goal setting and techniques you used when you were still working a “regular” job and trying to make money online. I’m sure there must have been points early on when you questioned if the whole “earning a living online thing” was actually ever going to happen for you. How did you move past those points of self-doubt and other hurdles you encountered along the way?
Ho Chris… You almost, almost convince me to go out and get a job. LOL!
But seriously, I can relate with everything you say in this blog post…
Number 7 especially. It just doesn’t seem to matter how much you earn, they still keep thinking ‘Maybe you better get a job’.
So I guess it’s not a money problem…
Allen Walker recently posted..Free Rebrandable eBooks- 22 Ways To Turn Them Into Fat Cash
Great tips, Chris. More folks need to see this sort of realism in the ‘make money’ niche. And a reminder that it’s a real business, too. Cheers.
Paul Carlson recently posted..plcrlsn- @whereisnate @JoelRunyon How cool is that Southern Indiana is pretty hilly too Enjoy the scenery!
When I left my day job (before I got fired, because I was losing interest quickly) I immediately found I was less stressed being self employed. I might be a little unique being a farmer, but I have so much more free time than I did before. The best part is I have a smartphone now, but I’m not worried it’s going to go off at night, on the weekends, or in the middle of the night like I did before. I was a store manager and always on call. I guess I’m always on call being self employed, but I only have myself to answer to. Wouldn’t trade it for anything!
Brian recently posted..The Farmer’s Knife
I can fully agree with point #4 the most. I work much longer and harder than I did when I was working for “the man”, and I feel guilty when I do take some downtime because it means I’m not trying to do anything to make money during that time. But I also agree with your point after point #7, that it beats working for someone else.
Mitch Mitchell recently posted..Why It’s Hard To Trust People
Hi Chris,
I can totally relate to all of your points. I was laid off from my corporate marketing job at the end of last year, but now I am so busy with freelance projects that I haven’t had time to look for the “real job” that my family members seem to insist that I need!
It takes a lot of self-motivation to keep up the pace that’s required to build a new business. Social interaction was a huge issue to me–felt like I was becoming a hermit. I attended a few local networking events, and that helped tremendously.
I found your blog through a Tweet from Kristi (Kikolani), so I’ll be sure to add it to my reader.
-Marianne
Marianne Worley recently posted..A Rookie’s Guide to Writing Kick-Ass Comments
I can absolutely relate. There are times when being self employed drives me nuts, but the overall benefits make all the trouble worthwhile.
Stephanie – Home with the Kids recently posted..Do You Need a Business License to Run an Online Business From Home
#7 all the way. People assume because I work for myself that I’m always free and are constantly screwing with my work schedule because of it, even with me saying no to them a majority of times they want to hang out or want me to do something for them during my work hours.
Another big one for working on websites and making mulla of ad revenue sort of coincides with number 7 is that people assume I just sit around all day and do nothing, because they don’t understand how I make money and thus assume I make no money and that I’m just free-loading off my wife (who by the way makes about 1/5 of what I do these days). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard of people (mainly her family and friends) talking behind my back to my wife saying things like “why doesn’t he get a job so you don’t have to work so much”… She then explains that I make tons of money, but they don’t ever seem to believe her and think she’s just making excuses for her “lazy” husband.
Overall though, working for myself kicks butt.
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Hi Chris Guthrie,
This is really very helpful and informative article.The point listed were well chosen and well explained too.Self employment is really is stressful until risks are eliminated.
I agree with you that self employment can be a double-edged sword. Personally I found that the “pressure” of variable paychecks made me initially work far harder when I became self employed than when I was working full time in a job. When I had a regular paycheck coming in, the money from ym online ventures was really just “play money” that I used to reinvest in education, new product development and a few “treats”.
Suddenly when I quit my job I realized that this “fun money” was now just as much “living money” and I think for the first few months I really overdid it trying to ensure that my baseline was far higher than necessary to ensure no nasty financial surprises.
Next time I would definately quit my job later so that I knew I had enough residual income coming in to easily cover my monthly expenses with a little “play money” on the top to invest in new projects.
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Hey Chris, thanks for the honest appraisal from your experience. It still doesn’t turn me off my plans
I do get the occasional comment about it not being a real way of making money but most people are encouraging and want to know more.
Michael Pedzotti recently posted..Stop Wasting Your Time And Be More Effective In Your Online Business
Some of those definitely sound like they suck. But anyone that thinks self employment is easy and gets ride of all your problems is delusional anyway. I am glad to hear that you think working for yourself is still better, despite the downsides!
Jeffrey Trull recently posted..Top Five Wasters of Time AND Money
Hi Chris – You’re right self employment isn’t for everyone. And yes it does all the things you just wrote about. But if you can make it work, it is a great way and the best way to go.
I’ve been in business for myself before and it doesn’t get any easier with time but you do develop the internal strength to stick it out if you have been there before.
As a matter of fact, I find your course and your story inspirational in keeping the motivational level going.
Online marketing wasn’t an option for many of us when we started out but it is now so I think it is worth the shot.
Now I have to get back to do some keyword research and find my “golden niche”.
Stay well.
I don’t have any problems being self employed. My only problem is this fu__ing RAIN! Holy cow I’m sick of it.
My wife and I are going down to Arizona for 3 weeks in May and I can’t wait to get out of here. I know I think much better and am much more creative when the sun is shining.
Well, yes indeed!
Though the problems that you have mentioned are quite correct and reflect the true problems faced by self employed people, yet the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I mean you never have to work for fixed hours and can adjust your schedule in the way you want. So the flexibility just adds to your productivity.
You totally correctly described everything about being self employed!!! Alot of stress, work, grey hairs, etcetera, but I wouldn’t want it any other way!
Thanks for sharing!
Bjorn recently posted..Social Media Marketing
so tru… looks like you read my post and got motivated to write one a couple months later.
http://www.ianfernando.com/2010/working-for-yourself-is-so-overrated/
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Hi Chris,
How much would you say I should fetch for quite an authoritative health site (that gets loads of search traffic and lot of genuine comments, some of them very long) and makes around $3,000 to $3,500 in adsense a month and has easily potential to earn another $1000 or more in Clickbank because the site gets traffic for some very common health conditions and medication.
I know someone who has a lot of expertise in monetizing sites would easily make closer to $5,000 each month.
However, due to lack of time I just cannot be bothered about clickbank or monetising it any way other than adsense. I have thought about using Infolinks or Chtikia in-line text ads but am worried underlining too much of the text will result in bad user experience.
Traffic is 200,000 uniques a month and steadily rising and page views average about 1.7 per user.
I am hoping to achieve more than half a million uniques and more than a million page views a month this time next year – that is if I hold on to the site.
I would like an honest appraisal from you based on current traffic and revenue stats and also given the fact that it is quite an authoritative site, linked to by Wikipedia (couple of genuine links) and also won an an award from a very well-known online marketing company.
hey chris, i came upon your name in a podcast you did with pat flynn and i have to say after doing a little “independent” research you are the real deal and have helped me get my first site going. now to tweak it just right and start driving traffic. thanx chris!
Dwayne recently posted..Callaway Golf 2010 Men’s X-20 NG Irons Review
I’m self employed for over ten years now. And I really relish my work. It has given me more money to spend, and flexibility of timings.
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I totally relate to this. The most difficult thing I’ve faced was to overcome my family’s preconceptions about being self employed and work from home as a webmaster.
I don’t even try to explain to other people (friends, neighbours…) what I do, it’s worthless. They just think I’m a lazy guy that spends all his days on Facebook or something else.
PS: Once I came to your blog by “accident” now I know it was a very nice accident to have indeed. Keep up the good work.
JA
I understand and respect your point of view. I also think that being self-employed is a tough thing to do. I believe that being self-employed can really be stressful. You have to sacrifice a lot of things mostly your social life. And i don’t want to be in this kind of situation. But if you can be make it work, and be successful on it, i guess that would be great! But the thing is it’s not for everyone… maybe there’s something else meant for you. Nice post though. I definitely got something from there.
leon recently posted..Don’t Be a Quitter
OMG, I totally relate to #’s 6 and 7. My family is always asking me to do things for them in the middle of my day and expect it to get done immediately, as though I’m not working on anything important.
I’m going to start either charging them money or a certain # of backlinks per 15 minutes the task takes away from my business.
LOL! I am self employed and I am happy dealing with this kind of situation. I am a boss to myself. Many people around me keep saying “get a real job” as you wrote on the seventh point but I just simply tell them: “Well, this is me. I am having a real job.”
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Yes, you need to be able to set your time constraints very carefully, otherwise you may waste your time without doing anything.
You actually pin all of those stressful truth about being self-employed. I usually suffer from laziness. ^.^ But in the end, if you really want to succeed you must do your best! ^.^
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Yeah, I hear you about the lack of social interaction Chris. I work from home and even though I work for a company as well as myself I’m starting to think it’s having a detrimental effect on my social skills and mental well-being
I’m considering joining a shared workspace but that’ll be an extra 160 quid a month. If you start your office Chris I’ll be your first employee
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I am self employed and I like it! It’s surely is a stressful job and your salary depends just on your motivation and discipline, but it’s cool the be your own boss and do what you want to do. This is my biggest motivation – I love what I do.
Tilen Hrovatic recently posted..Top 20 Best AdSense Revenue Sharing Sites
Hey, Chris! I quit my job one month ago, having savings for one year, to take my internet business off the ground. You have done this for much longer, but I would really argue that the positives of working for yourself massively outweight the negatives. Freedom is really priceless
Susane
Susane D recently posted..How To Become Runway Model
Well self employment may have a few disadvantages (I really understand what you mean on “7. People Saying “Get A Real Job””) but it certainly pays off and I wouldn’t change it for any “real job”
Kostas recently posted..How to Manage Your Reputation As a Freelancer
Hi Chris
Your last point is the big one for me – my dad always wanted me to join one of ‘the professions’ and be a solicitor or an accountant (heaven forbid) – despite the fact the only thing I’ve ever been good at is writing.
I’ve been running my own copywriting business for 11 years but I’m sure deep down he’d still prefer it if I got what most people see as a ‘proper’ job. Oh the shame!
Loving your Amazon plugin by the way, I’m getting some great results with it.
Cheers!
Loz
PS – Perhaps there should be an official governing body for the IM community that requires certain standards of ethics to join, then you get an accreditation badge or something that gives you an air of trust and authority. Want to JV with me?!
PPS – Actually – I’ve just re-read that idea I just had and it’s a VERY good one
I only dream of having these sorts of issues to deal with (smile) But working, whether it’s for someone else or for yourself, both have challenges. There is no perfect work scenario. So yes, I’ll take door #2 of working for myself! Controlling my time and determining my own value and worth, I believe will be some of the greatest advantages. You really inspire me Chris!!! Thanks for sharing the “real deal” of working for yourself – both the ups AND the downs.
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Hi Chris,
It’s really great to know about your internet success and for sharing with subscribers of your site. I appreciate it.
Also, I just want to encourage all those who are intent on making a living (outside of a 9 to 5 job) – Whether online or offline – That making an incredible income outside of a regular job is great.
I left my 7 – 4 job in March 2007, with only $4.65 on my savings account, and knowledge about the Systems which governs Money and Belief that I can do it…..What was the outcome – by the end of 2007 I had already generated over $300,000…..and I am still going strong.
To the success of all who want to leave the rat race and live life on their own terms.
Roger
educationtt.com
Roger recently posted..Mastering Fractions, Fast!
I haven’t left my full time job yet and I am building niche sites now while I am still working for the next two years. That way, when I am ready to make the change, I have no regrets and income coming in. Its funny many of the things your saying Chris is exactly what I have been doing even before I discovered your website. Working for the government for almost 30 years has brought me a work ethic that will help me be self employeed soon. Learing from Chris will hopefully make it go quicker.
#7 Is where this really hit home for me. I love the fact that I am more available at home but I need to be able to actually get some work done!
How do you deal with it?
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