As an employee, you will always be governed by someone superior to you and will always be commanded around. Self-employment is for people who hate to be bossed around and are talented enough to generate salary by selling their expertise independently. Let us look at some of the benefits of self-employment…
You are your own boss:
Do you hate the idea of some person who is not as talented as you are governing you? Do you hate the feeling of being told what to do and how to do it all the time? Well, if you do, it is time for you to start your journey from a salaried job to becoming self-employed. That way, you will be more pleased with what you do and hence lead a contented life.
More opportunities to earn money:
Going self-employed, you can earn more than what you did when you were a salaried person as the company deductions are not included in your earnings and you get what you receive. You can start with the basic charges and slowly raise your rates based on the positive reviews that you receive for your work. The opportunities will knock on your door if you can give your clients what they want. It is important to build good reviews as it puts an extra weight on the rates that you are quoting.
There is less investment:
You can save a lot of your daily expenses based on the work that you choose. You save on gas as you work from the comfort of your home and thus avoiding the lengthy commutes to your workplace like you used to. Getting up early for meetings and hence going on expensive lunch outs can also be avoided and you can get to have a healthy and delicious home cooked food. Leaving your kid behind with a day care and wondering how your kid’s day has been could be taking an emotional toll on you. One of the benefits of being self-employed is that you can divide time for your family and profession without taking anything else for granted. You can also save on the expensive day care expenses that add on to your daily needs.
Variety of projects that you can execute:
When you are working in a corporate firm, your roles and responsibilities are defined and you are asked to work within a framework. The structure does not allow you to explore other options that are creative and innovative as you need to stick to the designed solution as agreed upon by the seniors and clients. Being a freelancer, you can select new challenging projects pushing yourself to innovate and evolve at every step and hence, giving you the job satisfaction.
Drama-free environment:
When you are self-employed, you can create your own peaceful space for working which is devoid of distractions. In an office, especially an open plan one, many people work in the same space and you can’t avoid to overhear official conversations and gossip.
No worries about the sick leave:
If you are ill, you don’t have to worry about whether you will get a sick leave or not. As your own boss however, you can inform you clients regarding your health and take a day off from work. You no longer have to beg or give long explanations as to why you were on leave. You have the liberty to choose your own health insurance based on your needs and not what your company has decided for you.
It is your work area:
It is your area and your call on how you want to decorate it; you can put up photographs of people or places you like; you can use dual monitors if you want or go for a single one; you can keep a standing desk or a sitting desk. It is your work area and you can decorate it in whichever way you want without having to worry about the company norms and what your colleagues will think or say.
You buy new equipment as and when you want!
It is very bureaucratic to get new equipment for your project in a workplace. You need to support and justify your request with all sorts of documentation. Being an own boss, all you have to do is get up, go to the market and buy the needed equipment for your projects. No worries about the approval process and no more waiting time.
No dress code:
If you are not the formal dressing kind of person, being self-employed takes away that requirement. As long as you are smart and deliver on client needs, that is all that matters. If you are happy to work in your pajamas at the comfort of your home or work in funky outfits that define you when you work from any place other than your home, you just go for it. The only time you may have to dress up like a corporate employee would be when you are attending client meetings.
You are in control of your time and program:
As long as you meet the deadlines of your customers or clients, how you schedule or structure your time is entirely up to you. You can decide to work at night and rest by day; you can decide not to work on weekends; you can have a relaxed schedule as well as a tight one and so on. Since you are self-driven, you can be flexible on time depending on deadlines and your energy levels. It is your schedule hence, making you more responsible in planning you day!
You are a valued person now:
When you are working in a corporate setup where there are many employees, you may not get the recognition you feel you deserve because all are competing for visibility. At times, your work and efforts get ignored because some other guy took the credit. As a self-employed person, you don’t have to seek recognition and appreciation from anyone else but your clients. If they are happy with your work, they will tell you. When you get a pat on the back, you know your clients value you. Knowing that you are valued can greatly boost your morale and motivate you to work harder on future projects.
You choose your customers:
You can choose the customer you want to or not to work for. If you experience a strain in your relationship with a client, you are at liberty to damp them. The responsibility to choose the right clients for yourself is squarely on you. As an employee, you have to work on any project shoved your way, irrespective of whether you like it or not. In such a case, you may not give it your all. As a self-employed person, you will have soul-searched a client before bidding for a project and putting ink on the contract.
