Nobody really wants to be self-employed

August 17th, 2012 by Agent Kevin Miller

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If we’re honest, isn’t that the truth? When I think of ‘working for myself’ there is a sense of fear, because I know how lame I am. And it sounds hard.

Saying I want to be ‘self-employed’ is like saying I want to ‘lift weights’. Right. I really want to spend an hour lifting heavy objects till my muscles badly burn and I’m breathing heavy and sweating. Ummm…that’s not fun for me. Today marks day 30 of lifting weights three days in a row, off one. This morning was chest exercises. I officially loathe the incline bench press.

WHAT I WANT…is a stronger back so I don’t put it out anymore. I want stronger shoulders to compensate for old cycling injuries. Our bodies were created to have consistent muscle resistance, but today’s lifestyle doesn’t require it much, so we have to do it artificially. I want to be 85 and able to carry my great-grandkids around and take them on a hike. To do that, I have to be working at it now.

OK…admittedly, my wife is gorgeous. And she not only notices when I’m more chiseled, but it causes her to be a bit more…amorous. That alone is worth it!

Therefore I lift weights and will continue for life. But I do it for the pay off.

With work, maybe you’re like me and what you desire is to:

  1. Work at something you care about…that transcends a mere paycheck.
  2. Do work where you get to see the end recipient really benefit from what you’ve done.
  3. Be able to dictate when you work and be flexible so you can have other priorities in your life (like family!).
  4. Have your work over the years build equity, just like you do with owning a home. So after all those decades you can realize true financial wealth and something to show for all the life you’ve given to…work.
  5. Not waste time with bureaucracy and the unavoidable ridiculous of big business and office/corporate politics and water cooler chit chat and…

I just want all those things. Desperately. More than desire, I believe they are best for my family and me.

But the truth is…self-employment is a harder chore than being an employee. No doubt. It’s not easy. I sure wouldn’t keep at it without realizing the payoffs. The term ‘self-employment’ doesn’t just thrill me.

It’s just the best vehicle I’ve found to support all those realities I listed above.

So if the term ‘self-employment’ doesn’t just make you tingly with excitement, I understand.

Do any of the five things on that list make you tingle though?

Photo by pasukaru76
  • Jack Lynady

    LOL…I lost it after I looked up the word amorous. Let me regain my composure and finish the read….I’ll be back.

    • http://www.freeagentacademy.com Kevin Miller

      Hey, just being honest

    • http://twitter.com/esggraphics Eric Gale

      Jack,
      Remember that Kevin does have 7 kids!

      • http://www.freeagentacademy.com Kevin Miller

        Absolutely! I’m a fan of amorousness…

  • http://twitter.com/esggraphics Eric Gale

    Kevin,
    As a some one who recently become “accidentally self-employed”, I can attest to the fact that it is hard than being an employee.

    As an employee, some one else “killed it and dragged it back to the office” and I worked to bring some of that home. Now that I am in charge of finding the game myself, killing it, and dragging it all home, I’ve found it a lot harder. While I may or may not stay self-employed, I am learning some valuable lessons.

    In the past, when I saw people who were self-employed, I’d think “wow, they have it all together. It’s so easy for them.” Now I know that they are working really hard!

    Thank you for the encouraging post. It’s nice to know others find it hard at times.

    • http://www.freeagentacademy.com Kevin Miller

      Great testimony Eric. Thanks so much. Over time, I find self-employed folks work smarter, and ultimately end up working much less, though they are ultra busy doing other things that are now part of their priorities…family at the top. Interesting you talk about the ‘kill it and drag it home’ aspect. Our grandparents or great grandparents pretty much all did that. It was life. Farming especially. Then the Industrial Revolution and the chance for an easier job, consistant pay… It lured most away. And we are reaping the consequences today. More and more folks want to go back…but no longer understand how to fend for themselves. Like putting a domestic cat outside. I once was looking at URLs for a brand around the word ‘feral’, but it’s just not a very attractive word…

  • http://www.whiteboardbusiness.com/ Dallon Christensen

    Nice wordsmithing on “amorous”, Kevin! :)

    All five of your points hit with me, but you can probably guess the most important two. #3 is most critically important. Being with my stepson as I help him manage his diabetes is worth the world to me. Knowing I can take two hours off in the day to attend a Christmas program (go back to my FAU show with Kevin for the details on that one, as it accelereated my journey to self-employment!) is worth a lot.

    #5 is second most important. I got SO TIRED of the corporate stuff (I’d rather use a different word starting with s, but I know this is a family blog). I tired of spending all of my time in useless meetings and watching people move up because they befriended a manager instead of doing good work. I realized people like me who are actually more concerned with making things better and less concerned chapping my lips don’t move up in corporations. That had to change.

    • http://www.freeagentacademy.com Kevin Miller

      Yeah, I’d give the most value to #3 for myself too. Though truth be told, as Jack said, I just don’t work well under other folk’s orders and agendas…that may be the hardest point for me.

  • Jack Lynady

    Okay now for my comment. I have been self-employed since 1999. The hands down reason I choose it was because I wanted….Freedom.

    I couldn’t stand the thought of having someone dictate what hours I would work, where i would live, how much I could earn, etc. That kind of life sounded very restrictive to me.

    The flip side to that is there is little to no “security” being self-employed. U may have only a working financial plan that extends out only a short period of time. For instance, I have no income showing up on my books 6 weeks out…ever. (I don’t schedule patients further out than that)

    Self-employment in my opinion has less to do with work and even freedom really.

    It has much more to do with faith, courage, risk, relationship, trust, patience, humility, perseverance, etc.

    Self-employment doesn’t make u tingle, more happy, or necessarily more free…but it does have a way of shaping u. Maybe its a tool of some sort. A tool that can break u, cut u, and work u into something. No?

    • http://www.freeagentacademy.com Kevin Miller

      OK, there’s more wisdom in your comment than my post. Beauty. Freedom…amen. Not to debate about security, but we all know it sure is a myth that a j-o-b is secure. I can’t imagine knowing I could be canned and lose it all. And I know you’re like me Jack, the skills you have as a result of being self-employed give you great confidence in jumping to something else if you had to. I always have a couple other biz ideas in mind. And I could pick up the phone anytime and snag a nice paying job or consulting gig.

      • Mike

        I think there is something to doing a mixture of both-having a job with a few side hustles. You might not have security, but you might find yourself being able to pay the bills better and perhaps be prepared if you do get canned or hit a slow period with business clients.

        • http://www.freeagentacademy.com Kevin Miller

          Absolutely! IF I had to have a j-o-b, you bet I’d be working something on the side for true security

  • http://MikeLoomis.CO/ Mike Loomis

    You pegged all 5! (and managed to use the words “amorous” and “tingle” in the same blog…) I actually just got back from a run and the gym. I hate the gym, but need it to live fully. Do you find that the people you coach info free agency sometimes over-glamorize self employment?

    • Jack Lynady

      U managed to use the words “amorous” and “tingle” in the same blog..LOL ;)

    • http://www.freeagentacademy.com Kevin Miller

      OK, that is funny. We’ll call this the ‘touchy feely’ blog. I’m with you. Running I get to see the sights, feel the wind, go somewhere. Lifting weights I stay inside and just…hurt. Oh well. Actually Mike, it occurred to me that I’M probably the one glamorizing it sometimes. I am fervent about self-employment as a vehicle. But it was while lifting weights that it occurred to me. Heck, I could handle easier work. But giving up self-employment would be giving up the lifestyle I believe is best for my family and me.

  • http://coachradio.tv/ Justin Lukasavige

    I’m working to replace some income. While it’d be easy to get a regular job, I’m after something I care about. Although I’m finding I may have to bend a bit in the short term to put food on the table.

    The challenge, is not getting stuck there making easy money. Then I’d be like almost everyone else in America. Doing what they don’t enjoy.

    • http://www.freeagentacademy.com Kevin Miller

      No doubt. But most don’t know their true values eh?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Teri-Miller/100000244322626 Teri Miller

    Honey, your quickly-broadening shoulders make me tingle….
    xoxoxoxoxo

    • http://www.freeagentacademy.com Kevin Miller

      That’s worth more than anything

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