Why Being Self-Employed is Tempting

I’ve been working for somebody else ever since I finished my masters degree in Political Science nine years ago. It’s great working for somebody else if you enjoy the work, but at the same time it’s really tempting being self-employed.

There are at least five important aspects of being self-employed.

1. Freedom

If you work for nobody but yourself, you can do whatever you like as long as you do a great job and as long as you earn enough money. You don’t have a boss, therefore, you can take as many vacation days as you’d like or as long lunch as you think you deserve. You can be yourself, and you don’t have to try to impress your boss or your colleagues.

2. Value of your work

The value you create is your own, and not the company you work for. The better you do your work, the more value it creates, and the more money you’ll be earning.

3. Control

Even though I’m working for the government, and it’s a fairly secure job, you never know what will happen in a few years. If you’re self employed, you can’t get laid off. You’re in control.

4. No more boring meetings

There are nothing more boring than boring meetings. When you’re self employed you control the meetings, you attend the ones you want to attend, and you leave when you’re done. You don’t have to wait for all the other people to stop talking (well, most of the time you can control this yourself).

5. No more raises

When it’s time for a raise, you don’t have to talk to your boss, or fill out a form and spend days to argument why you’re the one that should get the raise. If you’re self employed, you’ll get the raise if you’ve earned it – no argument there. It’s not as fun to watch people who doesn’t deserve it get a raise.