Self-employed? Would you do it again?

[Kaiser]

For those of you who used to work for someone else, then decided to start your own business...

...would you do it again?

[eric in md]

o yea i would .. just keep telling your self i can do it ..  . i bought a business ran it for a couple of years then went back to where i left and working for them again and running my own still .. works your brain sometimes though . just try to get ahead thats all .. good luck thank god  for cell phones somedays... other then that i hate them dang phones

[Jess from VA]

In 1983, I opened my own solo law office. Did a lot of criminal defense (court appointments), routinely had my life and limb threatened by career criminals, and carried a .45 auto with no permit all the time (risking my license).  Could not afford a secretary, so had to type all my own work on an IBM Selectric.   I made about $8500 that year.  Had to pay my overhead before I could eat, so I didn't eat well that year.  It was a fun year with some excitement, and I'd never, ever do it again.  

Truthfully, anyone will tell you, the only way to make big money in your lifetime is to be in business for yourself.  Work 80 hour weeks for the first few years at least, live and breath your business, keep good records, use every available tax break, only incorporate (or "S" corp) if it is in your best interest, roll meager profits back into the business.... and if you are lucky, it will take off.  No one gets rich working for wages..... but a lot of folks with families are really locked onto a wages job for stability, and health insurance.  

Of course, the $64K question is:  What business can I (afford to) open that I know how to do, and that will do well in good times and lean times, and how can I distinguish/differentiate myself from everyone else?

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

I ain't getting rich, but after over 20 years working for myself, I don't know if I COULD work for someone else again. You get used to not answering to anyone else.  

[Daniel Meyer]

Used to. Don't now. Will soon.

Any security you think you've got in the corporate, soul sucking world, is a myth...or an illusion.

If you're not working for yourself, better find a job you really love.

[Pete]

Absolutely YES, YES.

Just wish I had done it earlier. Like 5 or 10 years earlier.

But do your homework to ensure that you will be successful.
Be very vigliant of expenses and overhead.
It is not what you make that counts it is what you get to keep.
Taxes can be a big issue so explore what you can do to limit taxable income and pay thru the business with before tax dollars.
 
Good luck

[Tundra]

Yes and No. You'd have to way the odds and decide for yourself what's more important to you.  Very time consuming for me, could never get away. Monetary rewards were the only plus for me.
(But that's why we work, right?)
  I would not consider it again, with the current state of affairs of this Nation.

[thewoodman]

I've pretty much been self employed most of my entire working life, since I really don't play well with others. Even if you work for yourself doing what you've been doing for someone else, it's better because you are in control of your time and your destiny. it's not only about the money, it's about being able to find real balance in your life; work, family, faith, play / body - mind - spirit.

What burns people running their own business in the early stages is the realization that it's much more than just the work; even if you love the work. If the work takes all your time in the beginning, it ain't done. Time must spent running the business and all the crap that running a business entails. And the paperwork and planning and details can take a lot of the fun out of it until you can find the balance.

My wife has had a decent county government job for alomst 25 years and still has to ask permission for everything. I've been self employed for most of 45 years and only have to please myself as long as my clients are cool with my travel schedule; and I only keep the ones that are.

So, do it if it's something you love doing, and you can run the business as a business then you'll not regret it and don't look back.

[Oss]

yes

I have a solo law office,  stopped doing criminal work and divorces back before I turned 40  Now its evicting tenants, real estate, wills and estates and personal injury work only

What really made by practice and bottom line take off is I stopped charging for consultations and rarely bill hourly.  Most of my clients are on the honor system. If they cant pay the full deposit I ask what they can pay and how often and I usually say ok to their answer.
 
The people who have honored their obligations are one of my greatest sources of referrals

Also not charging for consultations I could now decide NOT to represent folks who I can tell are lying to me and sometimes I give people homework to do before they return again.

Having a good bull$hit meter of course helps when you work for yourself. Woodman you are on a good path

The expenses are outrageous in NYC. Between the 15% SSI, the insurance NYC building tax etc but I would not wish to be punching a clock, done it didnt like it

[RoadKill]

Self employed since 1998 at age 23, I'd do it again and wished I had done it sooner. I would do it ALOT different knowing what I know now but the freedom is worth it. Only draw back is that I think the boss is sleeping with my wife!      And some days he's a real JERK !

[f6john]

     I spent 20 plus years in retail management. Started out as a stock-boy with a tie on and pretty much ended up the same thing at a higher salary. Some of these guys who knock down a pretty good salary and bonus have to ask before they can take a crap! I worked in the same building for 19 years as a store manager for a lumber and building materials company and during the 1980's the company changed ownership 3 times. Each time I found out that I was doing it all wrong and just needed to learn to do it their way.

    Now I work with my hands in the repair and remodeling business. I am small time, no employees, and if I had known then what I know now I would have started 20 years earlier. I am not getting rich, and currently am lucky to have the work coming in as good as it is. I enjoy doing quality work and with workmanship I find in many peoples homes I am sometimes astounded with what some people are willing to accept. I will say that back in July when I accepted a roofing job I questioned my sanity, but I lived to roof another day!

[Kaiser]

o yea i would.. just keep telling your self i can do it

I am an "all or nothing" kind of guy, so if I set my mind to doing this - it'll be 110%.  I'm sure there will be days (just like with any decision in life) that I wonder why I'm doing what I'm doing - but I'd rather be asking myself that instead of an employer.

Truthfully, anyone will tell you, the only way to make big money in your lifetime is to be in business for yourself....No one gets rich working for wages

Honestly, making more money hasn't even factored into my decision-making process.  Right now, I just want to make sure that I can provide for my family and give them the quality of life that we currently enjoy.  But I have to admit, there is that little thought in the back of my mind that if this works, I could be sittin' pretty when it comes time to walk away from it all.  That thought is not a motivator or deciding factor, though.

...after over 20 years working for myself, I don't know if I COULD work for someone else again. You get used to not answering to anyone else.

Answering to myself IS one of the key benefits I think I would enjoy.  I can't count the number of times that I have been frustrated beyond words because of the decisions handed down from "on high" that simply make no sense whatsoever (at least, to me they don't).  I'm not saying that I've got all the answers, but at least I'll understand the logic of why/how decisions are being made that impact my paycheck.

Any security you think you've got in the corporate, soul sucking world, is a myth...or an illusion.

And that, Mr. Meyer, is another main reason why I am considering this.  I watched as people with 15 - 20 years of service with my current employer got laid-off when things got tight.  I was glad that my head wasn't on the chopping block - but that just ain't right.  Those people gave a LOT of their lives to the company, and then to just be let go like that...Quite frankly (and please pardon my French) it chapped my ass (and still does).  Loyalty means nothing anymore.

Absolutely YES, YES.  Just wish I had done it earlier...It is not what you make that counts it is what you get to keep.

Don't take this the wrong way - but that is what I am trying to avoid.  I don't know if it's the onset of a mid-life crisis or what.  But I really feel like I'm at a crossroads with this decision and I don't want to have regret later in life for not trying if I don't give it a shot this go-around.  And while I haven't run my own business before, I am quickly learning the difference between what is made and what is taken home by a business owner.

Very time consuming for me, could never get away. Monetary rewards were the only plus for me.  I would not consider it again, with the current state of affairs of this Nation.

I hardly get away as is.   I'm assuming that your comment about not doing it again right now is because of the economic climate (recession).  Is that a correct assumption?  Please further explain your statement so that I can better understand why you would not do it again.

Having a good bull$hit meter of course helps when you work for yourself

I need to work on my preventative BS meter.  However, I am VERY good at noticing/smelling it once I've stepped in it.

I'd do it again and wished I had done it sooner.  Only draw back is that I think the boss is sleeping with my wife!   

That's just too funny right there - I don't care who ya are!

Now I work with my hands...

I'm so tired of sitting at a desk, frying my eyeballs staring at a computer screen all day.  I'm looking forward to getting out from behind a desk (if this all works out) and getting my hands dirty once in a while.

Thanks again to all for the posts.  Please keep 'em coming!

[MP]

I have only been "employed" about 6 months of my life.  I am 56.

Raised a farmer, been a farmer.  Also, added a trucking company later in life we run.  Built from the ground up.

Never could stand having a boss.  You will usually work harder than at a "job".  Be prepared to eat baloney sandwiches for a while starting.

One key, whichever way you go, is to have a "job" that is not a job.

Love, or at least like, what you are doing.  NEVER have to go to work hating what you are doing. I cannot understand people who hate what they do for 40 years.  I can see shortterm, as a way to pay the bills, but NEVER long term.  Life is too short, enjoy it.

As long as you like going to work, it is not work.  Get paid for doing what you would do for free.

MP

[alph]

Yes, and no. 

I worked for my parents when I was younger for ten years.  From ’83 to ’93.  in those ten years my brother and I built a company with assistance from our father.  We made Italian spaghetti sauce, frozen cheese and meat ravioli, manicotti, cavatelli, cannelloni, and another item called a “panzerotti” that only sold good in our parents restaurant (it’s like a pizza folded over and deep fried, we sold thousands upon thousands of them!!).  At one time we were in three states, had about 250 accounts.  Our sauce was on the shelf with Paul Newman on one side, and Frank Sinatra on the other!!  On average we put in 112 hours per week.  My parents paid us $35 per week, or should I say “weak”!!  At the end it was up to $150!!  After my brother and his wife had their little girl they decided that working for nothing wasn’t cutting it and that he would be better off working for someone else.  He left me and my wife the whole thing, bills and all.  In the three years my wife and I struggled with it, we slowly lost many of our customers, and with other situations that were going on at the same time (too lengthy to get into now) we decided to close shop. 

My first job after being my own boss all my life was as a temporary employee stuffing circuit boards on a night shift job making $4.75 per hour, I made more in one day then I made all week working for my parents, or myself!!  I only worked 40 hours that week!!  I had soo much time on my hands I didn’t know what to do with myself!! 

I now make enough money to not have to worry about buying anything I ever wanted.  I leave work, don’t worry about not being able to make payroll, don’t have to worry about the inspectors, people trying to sue you over stupid things, haven’t had a drunk employee on my hands in years!!  Paying for broken machines, vehicle insurance costs, FUEL!!  For me, life has become much easier!! 

Would I do it again, yeah, but I wouldn’t ever have my parents as business partners!!  Also, I would NEVER have myself work anything more then 40 hours (which some people would say I would never succeed with out doing).  If I started my own business, (and it has been contemplated) it would be a 12 to 9 job, nothing more….

[olddog1946]

After retiring from the Air Force, I started working for Sears as an Appliance tech, moved to another shop after 2yrs, then another 2.5 yrs, started my own repair business..Work my ass off for three years and finally built up a customer base that was making me good money, when I had the opportunity to buy out my last employer (with 2 partners)....worked even harder for the next 4 yrs, wife lost her job and when I asked to actually get paid my agreed on salary "the business couldn't afford it", so I walked away with them owing me $130000 in shares and wages...THE BEST DECISION I EVER MADE !! 
In my opinion, don't ever have a partner unless you have some ironclad parameters that apply to every partner, and all parties have the same investment and the same time investment and the same potential loss....just saying !!!!!

[Brad]

I thought that I would not do it again but now I am thinking about it.  I owned an automotive tire and service center for almost 30 years which I sold 3 years ago.  I took about a year and a half off to just spend time with my family and fix up the house and yard which had been neglected for awhile.  Working six days a week got old after many years.  Also taking a vacation and having to leave the family to fly home early when a manager or lead tech had a personal crises or some other problem and left the shop short handed.  Anyway when someone shows up with cash and wants to buy your business it is hard to say no.  The economy crashed less than a year after I sold it too.  There is a guy in this area that had five shops that just went out of business.  I am thinking of buying two or three of the ones in better locations and giving it a go again.  Been working for others for the past year and a half, love the hours but having a hard time doing things which I consider "the wrong way".  Thought that I would be able to adapt but can't seem to.

[fordmano]

You bet I would if a similiar oppurtunity came along as I had back then,,, but I guess I would have to get me a new wife also in the deal. Cause the one I got now (only one I have ever had almost 27years now) HATED it no benifits, no vactaion sick leave and on call 24x7x365 1 hour respnse time for servers or phone systems and 4 hours for any other office IT-communications needs. I sure could pull a BUTT LOAD of cash out of the very few accounts I serviced but the wife hated the TAX man.

[ILcruiser]

I've been a self-employed attorney for 29 years, after three years in a small firm.  I'm a self-starter and independent, so it worked well for me that way, and financially as well; I was usually the top biller in the firm, first to the office, last to leave, that sort of thing.   The downside has been that it's been tough to take extended vacations; if I'm not there, the income stops but the overhead keeps right on going.  All in all, it has worked for me.  That being said, if I were starting out today, I would not do it, mainly from a benefits standpoint.  Self-employed people just can't get the same health insurance coverages as are available in group plans.  About 10 years ago, my health insurance company filed for bankruptcy, and I had to both scramble and pay an arm and a leg to replace the coverage for myself and my employees.  Also, I look at the great pensions my contemporaries enjoy, particularly those in public employment, and I drool a bit.  I'm ok, but had to put in 80-hour weeks to get where I am; most of them worked 40, and some had summers off.  When my daughters were growing up, we took family vacations, but the longest was two weeks, and it was always a monumental undertaking to prepare for and recover from them, work-wise.  I've traveled more in the last few years than I did during the previous 30, and sometimes feel a little guilty that we didn't all get to do that years ago.  Just my $.02.

[Andy #7759]

started my bussines in 1990, many up's and down's.
But would do it again, not because of the money, if there where any hehe, no just because the way it works to be your own boss.