Making that decision to become your own boss is not one to take lightly. There are many choices to be made and clear plans to put into place. Below is our list of Pros and Cons on whether you should become self-employed and start your own business.
PROS of being self-employed
You Are The Boss
Straight away this sounds like a fantastic reason to become self-employed, you won’t need to answer to anyone except yourself.
Work To Live Not Live To Work
When working for yourself, you will find that you get to choose the days and hours that you want to work. More and more people are striving to find that work-life balance.
You Decide Your Pay
You will get to choose your hourly rate and salary, as a sole trader, freelancer or small business. So this could be higher than working for someone else.
CONS
Loneliness
Every decision will need to be made by you, you may not have others to turn to and if you are working alone you may find yourself feeling isolated and alone.
Being Your Own Master
Quietness
Ask any self-employed person and they will tell you that there are peaks and troughs. Depending on the kind of business you are dealing with, you are likely to find yourself with days, weeks or even months where business may be slow.
Stress
Keeping in mind the above point, you may find yourself under a lot more stress as you start your business and strive to become a success.
It is always a smart idea to write a business plan when you are considering the leap from employment to self-employment. Not only does this give you a vision, but it will also assist you to plan ahead, set goals and receive advice on your future.
Broader Knowledge
You must be able to handle your own issues. So you will need to have knowledge of how to promote your business through Social Media Marketing and other types of marketing. You will also need to do your Administration. The other important task is ensuring you maintain trust between you and customers. This means you have to up skill.
Self-Employment Guidance Diagram
Many small businesses don’t reach their second year so if you can make it, then you will be stronger moving forward.
One option to become self-employed is working as a Virtual Assistant.