Self-employment Support?

[flowerseverywhere]

flowers, do you find that doing the sewing for your own business makes it more enjoyable? I'm trying to say that I read in Making a Living Without a Job that it's a whole different deal to do certain work when it is for yourself, or the tasks related - like stuffing envelopes. That's why I like her profit center model and am really working toward that. You could start with the sewing and the petsitting, and if one grew big enough or you thought of another, you could drop the sewing if it was no longer profitable.

I also find people are scared of the sewing machine. Not that I'm good at it, and probably take way too long accomplishing sewing tasks . . . haha but I can usually get 'em done in some way or another!

I don't do much sewing for others, just a little here and there and I am very careful what I take on. I have too much to do myself. I also don't do things that are very time sonsuming or things I don't enjoy.

I have no plans to do the petsitting, just wanted to throw out the idea. I would advise getting the insured/bonded thing going though, protect yourself from a liability suit if something happens to an animal or a house is broken into for instance. Lots of risk if you aren't careful, like any business.

[bke]

Dh and I have been self employed since 2001. It is stressful and overwhelming at times. Basically seems like a 24/7 job. Not hard but a ton of hours both in the business and outside just to maintain. It is really hard for us to have a day off together. There have definitely been times when I would have rather had a 9 to 5 with set days off and benefits!

Positives:

1. Dh has a 6th grade education. Finding a good career elsewhere would be a challenge when you combine that with the fact that english is his second language (self taught). I do the office stuff-he runs the kitchen and we compliment each others strengths and weaknesses very well.

2. No day care when ds was little. He came with us to work. I set him up with a nice little area where he could finger paint and get creative with clay to his little heart's content and never worried about the damage-lol!

3. Money was really tight in the beginning but we're reaching FI quickly. There are a lot more ways to manipulate money to your greatest advantage when you work for yourself. BUT, business assets do not equal personal assets!! We've seen many places struggle and fail through the years because they ignore this fact.

4. I never, ever have to worry about being unexpectedly laid off.

5. If business ever got bad enough dh and I could handle the entire operation without outside help.

I'll be happy to answer specific questions if anyone has them.

[Bastelmutti]

But now, doing the same tasks for myself, I do think about the intrinsic "enjoyment score" of each task, but I get a bit more satisfaction in being able to say, "oh well, this task is not fun, but it's my car payment (or, half my mortgage, or the phone bill, etc.)." For instance, I had to write a report over Christmas, when I was visiting my kids. If I had to write the report at my salaried job, I would have been resentful having to work over the holidays. But I was able to tell myself, OK, it's a few hours away from the kids today, but it pays for Christmas and our visit to see them.

There's more of a direct link between the sowing and reaping as it were.

AND there's the added benefit of recognizing that I took on the work. It was my choice. I could have turned it down. Try telling your boss, "nah, I don't want to write that report. I'm visiting my kids."

I do agree with this, Catherine. I just know, particularly in art and crafts, that what seemed like fun as a hobby might not be so fun as a business. It's just a matter of choosing something you think you would be comfortable doing for many hours at a time! And then if it's a good fit overall, doing those taxes and other obnoxious tasks doesn't seem so bad.

[Zoebird]

I actually pay someone to do my taxes, even though it's an additional expense, because i find it so confusing.

I'm in the process of transitioning to another money management system, which churns out the tax documents for you, and then having the accountant look through them to make sure that they are correct -- which will save me a fair bit of money. but, i like to do all of the rest of the accounting -- the invoicing, the weekly reconciliations, etc. So, i'm looking forward to using this system.

I really love every aspect of the business -- from the basics of teaching to the customer service to the marketing and so on. It's all good.

[puglogic]

I have a few different small profit centers (VERY small) and one major one, which is web consulting/designing/etc.

I'm worried that the smaller ones are tugging at me much more strongly than my main source of income. Writing, for example, really pulls me, as does building organic garden spaces for people. I might starve if I tried to live off those alone. I'm also starting a blog/site that is centered on having an amazing life (food, art, spirits, travel, etc) and still being "green" - that's such a strong pull that I find myself staring out the window daydreaming about it when I should be programming somebody's web site

I know it's not for everyone, but I love having more than one profit center. It keeps me energized and interested in life. And it's a way to do things now, rather than the perpetual "oh, I'll have time to do that when I retire".

[fidgiegirl]

I do agree with this, Catherine. I just know, particularly in art and crafts, that what seemed like fun as a hobby might not be so fun as a business. It's just a matter of choosing something you think you would be comfortable doing for many hours at a time! And then if it's a good fit overall, doing those taxes and other obnoxious tasks doesn't seem so bad.

I can totally see this side, too. I was talking about the more mundane office-y type tasks, though.

[fidgiegirl]

I know it's not for everyone, but I love having more than one profit center. It keeps me energized and interested in life. And it's a way to do things now, rather than the perpetual "oh, I'll have time to do that when I retire".

That's how I foresee it for myself!! If I just went from one job, employed by someone else, to another single-focus job, but self-employed, I think I'd end up feeling largely the same. It's the variety I crave . . .

Also have to be careful to avoid the "grass is greener" syndrome. I tend to fall into that. Ever since high school I've always been planning the next great thing for my life. Sometimes the great thing I'm in right now is the great thing, y'know?

[Zoebird]

Yes, I know how that is.

The thing that is cool about my business is how quickly it is growing! I'm so amazed! I've seen probably 10-12 new people this week, and all of them have become returning students! yay!

I really, really need to lead a teacher training. I gotsta get people in who teach similar to me, for my students as we grow. I could teach more classes (not a problem for me), but I need to balance that with my son's and husband's needs as well. It's an interesting balance.

[fidgiegirl]

I am really, really digging this goal lately.

We are trying to move and redo this house and basically work just feels like it stands in the way. Obviously I get that self-employment is not where you do NOTHING and get money for it, but let's say I'm' going to have a blog as one profit center. If when it's daylight out I feel like packing my house to prepare it for moving, and then want to veg out on the couch blogging in the evening when it is dark and cold and I have the packing compulsion out of my system, well then, I can! But now? I have to go to work in the day, no matter what. I have to go to bed at 10 and get up at 6:30, no matter what, even if my body wants to be awake until midnight and get up at 8:00. I have to put in those eight hours, even if there is nothing meaningful for me to be doing at work during hours #7 and #8.

However I am not at a point where I can leave paid employment. It just makes me even more determined to get this as a goal and work towards it . . . now DH, that's a different story . . . I can't read him sometimes. I think he still believes he just has to slog through until retirement . . . he's not very happy in his job and less so every year . . . but he's resistant to more formal training in order to change positions within education, and so his only route out would be entrepreneurship, too. I would like to start something that we can both participate in, but then a very small part of me says, well, I don't have to worry about that. If he wants to leave his job, he can work on that himself. However, I think the risk is bigger that he will see any foray into self-employment as a luxury that I can do only because he puts in the 8 hours and carries the insurance, and will be the silent martyr, damaging our marriage. So I am trying to be very sensitive about that possibility, without sacrificing myself in the process. When I tell him I don't think I'm going back to the same school next year (even if I continue to teach, I think I will have to go somewhere new, by choice) he doesn't say much of anything.

I have all these ideas, but the frustrating part is that right now I have no time - because of work, and the house project - to put any of them into action!!

Maybe I need an achievable goal, like 100 subscribers on my blog by the end of the year. Something to start with . . .

I keep getting ideas for profit centers. My most recent one is kind of a ripoff of a volunteer service I heard about, though: kids read to pets. It's like a tutoring thing, with a special motivation and reduced anxiety (what dog or guinea pig is going to rush you through? or provide the word before you can think about it?) But the fact that it is available as a free thing makes me question if it would be a good thing to do. But I guess, well, there are some people who can find free tax preparation, for example, if they are in the right circumstances, but others pay for it. Well, anyway, it's a wacky idea, but I will put it in my idea book. You never know when the time is right

[iris lily]

fidgie, you are right to think about how your DH may consider your leaping into self employment an exercise in self coddling. OTOH if you take the leap, and get some income streams set up, he will see that it can be done.

We do the pet read thing at my Library and it is very cool, I love that program.

The reason why DH's self employment worked for us is because I love my job (with the health benefits) and he did not, and it was fine with me if he left. He is the most hard working, self motivated person I know so that was part of my trust that he'd give it a good go. He starts work at 7 am every day and doesn't knock off until 6 pm. I had the health benefits for the household though we have to pay for his health insurance, but that is fine.