Being self-employed certainly has a lot of benefits, the main one being that you get to be your own boss! Add to this the fact you can do whatever you like, and pursue your passion, and it seems like a very positive career choice.
Normally, we only ever hear about these positive aspects. As a consequence, it makes people think that being self-employed is the right option for them, so they quit their job. Before you make any rash decisions, I want to talk about some of the worst aspects of being self-employed. Hopefully, it gives a more rounded view of the matter so you can see if it’s right for you.
Missed Calls
This might not seem like a big deal, but believe me, it is. For a regular business, missed calls aren’t much of an issue. There are people in the office with designated roles to pick up and answer the phone. As such, it’s rare that there are any missed calls to begin with. Then, if there are, they get seen to right away, and the call is returned.
As a self-employed person, you’re working on your own. You may only have one or two contact numbers, and it’s easy to miss a lot of calls. For example, if you have a home office number, and you go out for lunch, you can miss a handful of important calls. Missed calls mean missed opportunities, and they can also waste time as you have to go through the list returning them. The best way to tackle this is with a virtual landline that provides a mobile office for your business. You can automatically divert calls to your mobile, meaning you rarely miss them. Or, you could have a virtual assistant that answers calls for you and passes on all the information. Either way, missed calls are a big issue and need to be sorted.
Loneliness
Even if you love working alone, it can get lonely from time to time. You don’t have the comradery that you get with a typical job. A big part of being self-employed is learning how to manage the feeling of loneliness.
When you get lonely, you get distracted. It makes you want to take breaks, get up, go outside, and see some real people. This can lower your productivity levels and slow down your day. You can counter this by hiring office space in a building with lots of other offices. At least this increases your opportunities for human contact, and it can also help you network too.
(Image from: https://flic.kr/p/bDw2PE)
Taxes
Being self-employed means, you have to handle your own taxes and finances. When you work for a company, you don’t have to worry about all that as it’s handled for you.
Why is this an issue? Because taxes are hard and boring, that’s why. It wastes a lot of precious time when you have to file tax reports every year. It can also cost money as you may need to hire an accountant to help you. Either way, it’s not very fun, and it is incredibly stressful.
Now you’ve seen some of the worst things about being self-employed, perhaps it’s given you more clarity on the idea. Yes, there are loads of great benefits, but that doesn’t mean it suits everyone. Consider everything before making up your mind.
(Main Photo via: http://bit.ly/2xKu0bU)
