Written by Figures from the Federation of Small Businesses indicate that record numbers of people are currently ceasing to be employees and choosing self-employment. Around 300,000 may become self-employed in 2010. Clearly, this is in no small part caused by the present economic recession, with many losing their jobs and others on short time, and job opportunities frequently receiving hundreds of applications. Nevertheless, on a more positive side, this is a very good time to become your own boss, as Internet business can be used as a cheap distribution medium for your goods and services. It can even allow you to work from home without the expense of establishing an office or shop.
There are numerous openings for working for yourself, bringing to bear your old aptitudes or possibly developing extra skills for the growing number of online jobs that have been created in Internet business. Not all self-employment ideas require a massive amount of money. I heard of a case in which a guy hit on the idea of retrieving abandoned supermarket trolleys from numerous places and selling them back to their original stores. The amount of capital he needed was practically nothing. And for traders who work from home, outgoings such as transportation costs may actually be lower than when they took the car or train to work.
People should take care of some purportedly self-employed openings that are just exploiting those desperate for work. I have witnessed a lot of jobs in the online jobs sites that I suspect to be just businesses looking for ways of avoiding the costs of hiring an employee. For example, a debt collection company advertised for debt-collectors, but on a self-employed basis. You would only receive payment if you succeeded in getting people to pay their debts, but intriguingly, they made no reference to the percentage you would get in commission, signifying strongly that it was a fairly low sum. I was not sufficiently curious to pursue the matter.
You are not necessarily self-employed simply because you work from home. My last employer in the nation’s capital had employees who worked at home in other parts of the country. You only ever saw these people in London for one or two meetings, and yet they were still company employees and were on the company payroll. To count as self-employed, you need to be entitled to choose your own hours and what work you do. For example, in an Internet business role such as search engine optimization you will get paid on completed work, not on an hourly rate.
Being self-employed may not suit everyone. Many need to be directed and supervised by others in a 9-to-5 structured workplace, while hoping for the big lottery win. When you work from home or in your own workplace then you are under your own command, and you have to be a self-starter. Self-employment is no fast track to joining the jet-set. But many employed workers realise that they have little chance of advancement in their organisation. The Board of Directors all seem to be the CEO’s pals and sons. You can never join them. Work as your own boss in online jobs or another context, and you could with effort create a successful business and achieve personal fulfilment.
The self-employed have to deal with their own books and tax payments, and it is beneficial to get help from a good financial consultant. Many things can be claimed as expenses and offset against tax payable. It is also vital to be insured for illness, as you have no employer to provide sick pay.
In total, though, the benefits of self-employment greatly outweigh the disadvantages. The majority of people who have taken the plunge say they never want to go back to working for a boss. It is worth your while to consider seriously.
