Our boss will be happy seeing this article that we work hard for them. But thinking of it. Why work so hard on something you love yet your goals and dreams in life are just left in dreams. And your dreams can easily be acquired by your bosses.

Anyone with any career, should know how to sell. Not a physical product but everyone should know how to sell his service, product etc.

Because in times of economic downtime, we can’t always rely on a capped salary.

I always think of leveraging business while doing nothing. I always think how investing(money) could work for me. And not work hard to someone for money.

I always think of an “Idea” that Steve Jobs, Mark z did changed their lives.

The world is too big to build businesses, i don’t want to make it too small to succeed.

We only live once, why not make the best of it.

To be able to work online, and make over 100K/yr doing it would be the best retirement job at 40 possible.

You’ll have to share with us how you do it!

Best,

RB
RB30RB40

I work for myself as an online direct response advertiser (or affiliate marketer) and have for the past 6 months. It’s a dream come true, leme tell you!

I held a marketing position at a big corp right after college for 8 months and it was *not* fun. I hated working for someone, hated the cube, and I just felt like I was underachieving.

I moved quickly into working for myself and have NOT looked back.

I’ll make 10X my previous income (~500k) this year and I have unlimited freedom. No customers, no products, no inventory, nothing. just trading money for more money. I do put in hard hours, but i love it and find it addicting.

Lonliness isn’t a big problem, I work from home and get out during the day for lunch and hang with friends on weekends and happy hour or whatever. Being an introvert has its plus sides i guess.

I push myself really hard and it does get stressful, but that minor pain is so little compared to my rewards (Freedom + Money)

High cost of health insurance? I also laugh at this – go get a quote, it’s pennys on the dollar compared to what you can make with an unlimited income.

I wish others could find a passion like mine and also make a high income, cuz the combination is truly amazing.

I’m a little surprised to hear some other self-employed ppl saying they went back to working for someone, but some business models require lots of attention and are hard to scale.

You can work for yourself, not work insane hours, retire early (like 30), and have unlimited freedom. It’s possible! Don’t let the “tire kickers” tell you different.

Best of luck

Matt

A good balance is probably to work in an establishment for a while… say 10-15 years, save up some money, and then go strike it out on your own.

Or, you can try it first right out of school and get it out of your system.

Either way, if you never try either, you’ll always be wondering. Hence, I will try it out one day!

Rgds,

RB

Sorry to jump in so late to this great discussion.

I think we all cause ourselves a lot of grief by idealizing one form of employment or another. I don’t think there is any perfect work configuration, since there are so many variables in both being an employee or an entrepreneur.

If the focus is instead on what work you are doing (content) with whom (clients, co-workers, managers, partners), how (over Internet, live interaction), why you do it (meaning, purpose) and where (at home, in office, location independent), then you can tweak different variables when one thing isn’t working.

In your example, it sounds like the “what” is going pretty well, but the “who” (great readers of course, but you work mainly by yourself) and how (working from home without a lot of social interaction) is getting you down.

I also see it as a natural stage of business growth, when your part-time gig matures into full-time, and the nature of the biz changes.

In my own case, after 13 years, I cannot imagine working for someone else. The thought grips my heart with terror for some reason. But that is just me – there are plenty of others who float between employee and business owner/freelancer status and are perfectly happy.

NO work configuration can make you totally happy in the end. You make yourself happy, then choose work that will keep you in that state.

@Chemjobber – High fives for science!

As the molecular biologist in question, I do find myself agreeing with “Someone” (comment 16) about the language. “Not cut out for” does often imply a shortcoming. The general populace often seems to see “Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur” as a fine thing to say, but “Not everyone is cut out to be a quantum physicist” as elitist and derogatory to the average person.
I don’t work for someone else because I like working for someone else, or because I’m not fit to be a leader, I work for someone else because it’s generally not practical to do the work I love on your own. Aside from the astronomical start-up costs of a lab, how many people would trust a woman working out of her home to do their paternity test, or to run the tests to tell them if they or a loved one have cancer or not, or the tests to see if the donor heart that just came available is a match for their ailing father?

I love how the tone of the article, and the tone of the comments is very neutral. People here are passionate about whichever side they are on (or want to be on), but they recognize that both types of people exist, and need to exist. The grass is always greener, as they say, but it’s good to see so many commenters working toward the one they feel is right for them.

My ideal Financial Independence is having enough money to retire super early – but instead of retiring, I’d like to keep doing what I love. My life goal is not to amass enough money to stop working, my life goal is to amass enough money to work on what I please and fund cutting-edge scientific research while I’m at it.

High cost health insurance? I have to laugh when I hear that. Compared to other expenses, that’s pretty minor. Even for a family plan, it shouldn’t cost more than what you’ll earn in 2-3 hours per week. Why people think otherwise baffles me.

Roller coaster paychecks? That usually comes from bad business models. If you design a boom and bust business, you’ll have boom and bust paychecks. Design a smart business plan and you’ll have stable and dependable income – maybe not in the very first year, but soon after. If you don’t have stability five years out, you are doing something wrong. Visit my website and read the “Retainers” article.

No, self employment isn’t for everyone. Some people need structure, some people need teams and just aren’t fit to be leaders. But a lot more COULD be self employed and should be.

You need to figure out where you fall and act accordingly.

Yes, I have had my own business before. Two in fact. I ran both out of my house, and I agree that the hardest part was that I am a very social person and didn’t have the interraction that the workplace offers. In the first business I was golfing every day by one in the afternoon just to meet people.

I also want to write for a living but the point of it is to attain the freedom to be able to ‘work’ from wherever I choose to live, or vacation. Then… the balancing act begins… I can now drive 200+ yards… and for a 45 year old women that aint too bad!

And I love it. It’s the perfect setup for me as I hated workin’ for the man and now have so much more time with my kids and my wife handles the financial end of the business (i think i can trust her).

Working from home isn’t for everyone, as the isolation for some can be deafening for some….but I like it. I certainly don’t miss office politics, commuting, missing the train, expensive office rentals, etc.

Getting out during the day is essential, no matter how busy I am. whether it’s a “business” lunch with the mrs. or just going out for coffee and dropping checks at the bank, it definitely helps to see other humans.

I’ve also found the whole blogging thing and facebook and that sort of thing at least helps keep contact with people which is essential….but, when you can (if you have time) meet with clients in person. Too much is done these days in the name of convenience with email and the internet, and it’s nice to discuss a project in person over lunch or wherever. The occasional trip into the city really helps inspire and break up the week.

Only big problem for me is no being able to stop working. When dinnertime rolls around, you gotta step back, eat with the family and enjoy the reasons you work at home…for yourself!

http://www.smaydesign.com/
http://smayboy.blogspot.com/

If you don’t subscribe to Inc magazine, you should. On page 33 of this month’s issue there is a section where people can write in and ask seasoned professionals questions about running a business and life. The advice given to a 17 year old who recently sold a website for $100,000, but felt like he had missed out on and given up so much of what he loved. He said in the article, “I’m not a happy kid,” and asked if he was stupid to walk away from the projects that helped him net so much money at such a young age, and just focus on college and the recreation activities that brought him fulfillment.

The advice given by Norm from Inc magazine seemed fitting for this discussion. His reply in closing was, “Think about the kind of life that will really make you happy. Business should help create a happy life, not be a substitute for it.”

Maybe you should be thinking of new ways to grow and exploit your blogging business, JD. Create a community of like-minded employees to assist? Less sole ditch digging (i.e. writing) and more time as a manager/visionary/enabler helping others produce and disseminate your educational material? In short, can you leverage the talents of others to help grow what you’ve started? You have got a brand now…why not run with it?

I’ve learned what works for me and what doesn’t, but the economy is making it very hard to make a switch. I’m hoping to use this time now to gear up for my next big step so I’ll be ready when the time comes.

I don’t think anyone is saying that if you have a wonderful job that you love, you should give it up to be an entrepreneur. If I had access to a situation like that, I absolutely would keep it as long as they’d let me! However, the sad fact is that jobs like yours are the rare exception rather than the rule — even among software engineers. There are many reasons, but it’s rarely a matter of skill or dedication; I know plenty of bright, hard-working people in hellish jobs.

The reason you’ll see so much coverage of entrepreneurship among the personal finance and personal development community is not because anyone thinks it’s the morally superior choice, but because the ‘day jobs’ are a source of anguish for many more people than they are a source of support. Obviously this doesn’t apply to you, and no reason why it should.

You have the best of both worlds, it sounds like, and I am glad for you even as I envy it. Be kind to those of us who must make a harder choice.

Two thoughts on the loneliness:
1) For all society tries to treat us like we have some horrific mental illness, this is just more evidence for my belief that introverts are the lucky ones. Well, having the upsides of both would be ideal, but I wouldn’t want to be more at peace around others if it meant I couldn’t be at peace alone.

2) Extroverts are probably better off in a different business than professional blogger. Not saying you should quit your blog job though :p

and http://www.diamondcutlife.org/top-ten-tips-for-entrepreneurs-part-ii/

The younger you are, the better it is to go the entrepreneurship route. Less to lose, and a lot more time to implement what you’ve learned.