Self-employers. What do you do?

[Homie]

I am interested in the entrepreneurs (self-employed) of this forum. Who are you, what do you do? Do you own/run a business (like a store or restaurant) or do you provide services for people (e.g. an accountant or consultant).

What are the benefits and downsides with being employed? Both in general and specifically for your field.

Does being self-employed require more work than being an employee? Is it worth it in terms of greater profit than the wage you would otherwise receive? Or just in terms or being your own boss and choosing your own hours.

 

[Abaddon]

Higher risk, higher reward i assume.

 

[Damnyankee]

and higher taxes, incorporate if you are in the USA.

 

[skadistic]

I am interested in the entrepreneurs (self-employed) of this forum. Who are you, what do you do? Do you own/run a business (like a store or restaurant) or do you provide services for people (e.g. an accountant or consultant).

Own a small construction business that deals with windows and other transparent materials for industrial and commercial applications.

What are the benefits and downsides with being employed? Both in general and specifically for your field.

Does being self-employed require more work than being an employee? Is it worth it in terms of greater profit than the wage you would otherwise receive? Or just in terms or being your own boss and choosing your own hours.

A lot more work to to run a company then work for one. Being the boss isn't all tee times and martini lunches. You don't all ways make more money by being an owner. I could make more and work less being some one's stooge. That has to do with the amount I roll back into the company through higher wages, new tooling and furtherance of education by my employees. I don't choose my own hours. If I did I wouldn't get up at 4 and work on site until 10 only to come home and do reams of paper work ( while posting on here) like payroll, insurance forms, bid contracts, and the other things like drawing blue prints and ordering parts and supplies or dealing with security measures and OSHA. That lasts until I start cooking. After diner its back to work.

 

[downtown]

Last summer, I made most of my money (and come to think of it, quite a bit of money) as a Musician. As a musician, my income came from 4 sources:

1) Performance as a member of Aces High, a blues band. The band's take would range from $300 and perks for a smaller party, to over $2,000 for some of the larger Midwestern blues festivals. The group was fairly large, and we had some non-musicians on the payroll, but my take was still typically over 40/hour. For each show we played (typically 60-120 min sets), there was 4 times that much time advertising and promoting.

2) Sales from merchandise. We sold CDs, T-shirts and Stickers, promoted them, and divided up the loot. This was not a very large revenue source, but it was nothing to sneeze at.

3) teaching, both individuals, and groups. Nearly every member of the group taught private lessons. I had 4 students over the summer that I gave private drum lessons for, and then 2 school districts where I taught a clinic on the finer parts of Marching Percussion. Private lessons = great work if you can get it (22/hr), and clinician work was even better, although not very steady.

4) Consulting. We became the most successful "young band" to come out of our corner in a long time. Other musicians sometimes paid us to help promote them, design logos or ads (we had a graphic designer in the band), and get their house in order. Again, this wasn't very steady work, but the pay was pretty good.

In addition to all of this, I also had a straight job where I worked around 15-20 hours a week, because work as a musician isn't always steady. I might clear 1,000 in a week, and then only get 45 the next. I did it because I love making music, and "the perks" that come with being a musician, and I loved the flexibility and adventures that came with it.

It was a LOT of work though. I was busy either practicing, performing, or preparing most nights and weekends during the summer. Every show has hours and hours of backwork that goes into it. I learned a lot, and had a lot of fun though! Depending on how flexible my government job is this summer, I might try it again.

 

[Narz]

Pretty sweet downtown.

I make about $50-$100 a month from Amazon (see sig ) but mostly I work odd jobs. I sold juicers & blenders on eBay for awhile but I got a couple bad feedbacks (was lazy, didn't send people's orders in time for Xmas) and quit.

 

[Homie]

Own a small construction business that deals with windows and other transparent materials for industrial and commercial applications.





A lot more work to to run a company then work for one. Being the boss isn't all tee times and martini lunches. You don't all ways make more money by being an owner. I could make more and work less being some one's stooge. That has to do with the amount I roll back into the company through higher wages, new tooling and furtherance of education by my employees. I don't choose my own hours. If I did I wouldn't get up at 4 and work on site until 10 only to come home and do reams of paper work ( while posting on here) like payroll, insurance forms, bid contracts, and the other things like drawing blue prints and ordering parts and supplies or dealing with security measures and OSHA. That lasts until I start cooking. After diner its back to work.

Wow, that sounds awful.

 

[Homie]

Interesting stuff people. I thought we had more self-employed people here though.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I've had several home-based businesses:

- crafting (sold in local stores, craft fairs, and private commissions)
- music lessons (electronic organ)
- typing (for college students, mainly)

The typing and crafting businesses were what I did for many years. It worked out nicely, since each had its busy times and down times and they didn't overlap (too much). I usually took January off, as not many college assignments come due that month, and everybody's spent their Christmas money. So I would take a month off and catch up on sleep and reading.

 

[Homie]

I'm guessing you lived with your parents during that time? It doesn't seem like you could make a living off that, at least not enough to live comfortably.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

If I had taught music full time instead of part time, that would have tipped the scales nicely. However, I found the typing more personally fulfilling, since I learned a great deal from the students (and ended up taking a few classes I likely wouldn't have even noticed otherwise).

As for living with my parents, so what? My family has always been of the "Old Country" mindset of multiple generations living together. I lived with my grandparents most of my life, and after they died my dad and I continued to live together.

 

[Homie]

If I had taught music full time instead of part time, that would have tipped the scales nicely. However, I found the typing more personally fulfilling, since I learned a great deal from the students (and ended up taking a few classes I likely wouldn't have even noticed otherwise).

As for living with my parents, so what? My family has always been of the "Old Country" mindset of multiple generations living together. I lived with my grandparents most of my life, and after they died my dad and I continued to live together.

I'm not calling you EVIL for living with your parents. I'm just saying that I doubt those self-employment opportunities would be enough to live comfortably ON YOUR OWN, paying all the expenses yourself, without splitting them with others.

 

[Narz]

I'm not calling you EVIL for living with your parents. I'm just saying that I doubt those self-employment opportunities would be enough to live comfortably ON YOUR OWN, paying all the expenses yourself, without splitting them with others.

That's one of the nice things about not living on one's own. Personally, I would never live alone again, the cons far outweigh the pros. Not to say I don't like having privacy and my own room but I don't need my whole own apartment. /tangent

 

[Homie]

That's one of the nice things about not living on one's own. Personally, I would never live alone again, the cons far outweigh the pros. Not to say I don't like having privacy and my own room but I don't need my whole own apartment. /tangent

I agree. Me saying "You probably lived with your parents" was a way of saying "You probably didn't make much money doing those things", that's all.

 

[skadistic]

Wow, that sounds awful.

Sounds awful but the reward is worth it. Its not about today its about 30 years from now. Its about building a legacy. Its about giving opportunities to people. (the first person I hired was a homeless guy off the streets. he asked for some changed and i offered him a job instead) Its about the feeling you get when you see a building when its finished and knowing you had a hand in its creation. Its about making other peoples lives better. ( I pay for two kids to take classes at the University of Maryland ) There is so much more to working then just the hours and pay.

 

[Newbunkle]

You mean you're not sitting around doing nothing while you make a profit off the sweat and blood of your workers? Damn, those Communists lied to me...

 

[JollyRoger]

I am interested in the entrepreneurs (self-employed) of this forum. Who are you, what do you do? Do you own/run a business (like a store or restaurant) or do you provide services for people (e.g. an accountant or consultant).

Have my own law firm

What are the benefits and downsides with being employed? Both in general and specifically for your field.

The benefits are having a great deal of freedom. I have no boss except for my clients and I can get rid of bad clients easily enough. The potential downside is the risk of failure or not making enough money, but I was fortunate enough to get a rolling start from my previous employer that let me build my client base without worrying where my next meal was coming from.

Does being self-employed require more work than being an employee? Is it worth it in terms of greater profit than the wage you would otherwise receive? Or just in terms or being your own boss and choosing your own hours.

Starting out, it was more work than wage serfdom, but now it as much or as little work as I want to put into it. I have a great staff that I can delegate a good deal to and have enough revenue and a big enough client base to feel secure enough not to take on everything that comes through the door. I like being on my own because I can have as varied of a practice as I want and do not have to specialize into a narrow area of the law. I could likely make more money if I specialized, but I don't think I would be as happy.

 

[sourboy]

smut peddlar

no, drug dealer

ack! -- I'm not self employed... yet.

 

[Murky]

Own a small construction business that deals with windows and other transparent materials for industrial and commercial applications.





A lot more work to to run a company then work for one. Being the boss isn't all tee times and martini lunches. You don't all ways make more money by being an owner. I could make more and work less being some one's stooge. That has to do with the amount I roll back into the company through higher wages, new tooling and furtherance of education by my employees. I don't choose my own hours. If I did I wouldn't get up at 4 and work on site until 10 only to come home and do reams of paper work ( while posting on here) like payroll, insurance forms, bid contracts, and the other things like drawing blue prints and ordering parts and supplies or dealing with security measures and OSHA. That lasts until I start cooking. After diner its back to work.

I think that's great. We need more small business owners like yourself.

 

[RedRalph]

You mean you're not sitting around doing nothing while you make a profit off the sweat and blood of your workers? Damn, those Communists lied to me...