Facing the Facts of Self-Employment

Article Contributed by Carlo

The majority of people spend the largest part of their life working for a living.  Much of that time is spent working for somebody else.  Today, however, more and more people are choosing the lure of self-employment, which allows you to take control over this major feature of your life.  It sounds great – freedom to set your own hours; nobody telling you what to do; control over your own destiny.  It is great, but some of these factors are over-stated or, at least, the reality behind them is overlooked.  Before you start out on this particular road to freedom, getting some perspective on those concepts is a good idea, as is considering your own strengths and weaknesses.

Myths and Legends

·        Being your own boss means you call the shots, right?  Not exactly; your clients call the shots.  Sometimes work will flood in and sometimes it won’t.  You have to learn how to handle these strange and unpredictable tides and manage your workload.  Most new businesses cannot afford to turn work down, however much they would like to.  Calling the shots may have to wait until you are more established.

·        You’ll certainly be responsible for setting your own hours.  Unlike a regular job these hours could easily extend into the evening or the night.  You may be required to work weekends; lots of them.  Occasionally, you may find that you’ve earned a weekend, can afford to take one and as there’s no work available you’ll have to take it right now.  On a Wednesday.  When the rest of the family is at work or school.  This can be great and it can also lead to divorce, so learning to manage your workload is essential, but it may take some time.

·        The myth that nobody will be telling you what to do should also be exploded before you set out.  You’ll be telling yourself what to do.  You’ll find yourself insisting that you do the accounts, the invoicing, the ordering and the office cleaning.  You’ll be a much harder boss than your former employer, if only because you’ll find it very difficult to take a day off sick.  Learning where the buck stops is an integral part of becoming a boss – even if you are only in charge of yourself.  Getting it right should lead to being other people’s boss in the long term.

Balanced Decisions

Hopefully, despite the above, you’re still planning on running your own business.  These are examples of some of the myths that you’ll need to consider closely, but don’t be put off.  Self-employment offers something that a remarkably few jobs do offer – a real sense of achievement, job satisfaction and can be a hugely rewarding way of life.  At first it can be hard, but as time passes and you learn how to manage some of the above, you’ll find it does become much easier.  There are some factors that you should also consider to smooth the early days – and accounting is one of the big challenges you’ll face early on in the process.

Basic Tools

Keeping your accounts in order is essential.  It is also an area that is overlooked by those new to self-employment.  With the obvious exception of accountants, very few business people have enough experience to feel fully confident in running this side of their business.  Far too many make the mistake of not hiring an accountant from the outset and not using appropriate accounting software.  Online accounting software is an ideal tool for small businesses; allowing you to produce professional invoices and keep accurate and up-to-date records, online software is also flexible and easy to access remotely.  This can save a surprising amount of time and even money.  Simple tools like this are essential and worth the small costs they incur.

About the Author

Carlo is a freelance writer and blogs about business, entrepreneurs and technology covering everything from QuickBooks Online Plus to social media management tools. He loves reading great entrepreneurs biographies and speaking at conferences about how the internet can help small businesses.