The Morals of Self-Employment

March 3, 2009 - PRLog -- To coincide with the online publication of “Starting Your Own Business” – a book about starting your own business – HowTo.co.uk takes a look at self-employment.

In this gigantic global village of a planet we call home, influenced by companies with metaphorical hands that stretch the globe, fewer and fewer people are self-employed.

The Western Dream

Although all companies have to start with one person, companies now are so large that the younger generations expect to work for someone when/if they finish their education. An image tightly wound into success is the ladder of company X up which you will rise if you have what it takes. It conjures images of an altered American dream, where once people could use the fertile lands of the west to do whatever they want, follow their dream and become successful.

Today’s American dream (which reverberates across most western countries – better to call it a western dream) has changed into the secure home, secure relationship, secure job. And self-employment just isn’t associated with being that secure. No guarantees, no pension. It’s a gamble.

Freedom

However, that’s only how it appears to people content to work their way up (or stay on the same rung, depending on preference) in an existing company. What few consider is the freedom that comes with owning an entire business. It really is yours, and will probably overlap into your daily life, become your life.

On the other hand, this freedom can appear daunting. If you like to slack at work, as long as your manager doesn’t find out, you can slack away happily. If you slack and you’re self-employed, you don’t have to hide from your manager, but… Well, think about it.

Understand Your Market

You may have heard financial horror stories about friends of friends who started their own business, only to lose astonishing amounts of money in the first few weeks before having to give up the idea entirely. These people probably tried to sell a product or service they liked or were good at. Just because you’re starting your own business doesn’t mean it isn’t a business. You have to look at the market and be sure your idea will sell. It’s not a vent for a shop you think would be cool to have on a high street (unless you have some serious cash to burn… and are willing to burn it).

Managing Company Finances

Also, like I mentioned earlier, those friends of friends probably thought it would be easier being their own boss, none of this harsh managerial strictness. Wrong. Not only do you have to provide the product or service, but (once again, unless you’ve got cash to burn and can hire help) you also have to take care of the financial aspects of your business that someone else would have done in a big company.

Be Patient

Another cause of fledgling failures is that they are ignorant of the fact that the beginnings of the business will be sketchy. It’s an investment that takes time to pay off, and lots of potential self-employers bail out after a matter of months because their businesses haven’t taken off yet. Build your business slowly, with patience.

Funding

So you’re patient and willing to give your full to a business idea you know will work. But then comes that all fatal causer of problems to stop you before you’ve even started. Money. A business requires money to set up, but sadly you won’t be getting paid while you’re setting up. You need money from another source. While you can get a business loan from a bank, you’ll need assets to put up in case you can’t pay it back. A better but harder option is to fund the business personally.

The Rewards

I’ve pointed out how difficult self-employment can be, but on the flip side, overcoming these difficulties can feel more rewarding than any guaranteed pension can. Doing things for yourself is a reward no manager can dangle in front of you to slowly wean you onto more responsibility and to get you to leap up the next rung of the employment ladder. You’re already on top.

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