Self employment anyone?
 

Has anyone ever considered this or actually given it a shot? I'm really giving it quite a bit of thought. Seems like a good life to me... but then I'd think of it as more of a hobby than a job.

Guess I'm kinda fishing with this one but there's a debate in it somewhere I just know it. So, what would you/do you do? Run a shop, if so what type? Become an entreproneur? Specialise in something like plumbing or building? Fishing or farming? Tourism? Rentals?

Also what are your thoughts on it in terms of getting in any customers? Would you be strategically placed (IE somewhere people need your services or where it's easy to get customers) or would you be advertising and promoting to draw in the crowds?

Or what about internet business? Online trading and whatnot... anything appeal?

My Dad is self-employed. He hires himself out to companies. He offers mechanical services, but currently he is working as a site manager for a cement company and has done for about 4 years now.

It doesn't offer good financial security all the time but is definitely worth considering.

I've often considered self employment. Because i can only trust me. But i'm paranoid about failure and so i don't think i'd be very good in such a position of power.

I'm hoping to be a self employed graphic designer somewhere in the next few years. Obviously I need to work normal jobs for a while to build up the money to get my site and whatnot up and running. But if all goes well, I should be able to get a steady income within not too long.

Happy 5,000th thread! :D

And yeah, self-employment would rock. I plan on being some kind of digital/sketch artist or writer, so that'd be the thing for me. Freelance art is rough to live on though, so I might have to get a job at some sorta company. But whatever.

If that link in your sig is your band, then you should seriously consider going somewhere with that, cause you're really good.

Ditch your drummer though, he sucks. ;)

Personally I want to open a small surf shop, that sells all sorts of cool trinkets, shirts, jewellery, jeans and stuffs... I'd make my own stock as well as sell wholesale stuff at markup. I know a place where I can do it too... there's this tiny little shop up town that's totally empty, I'm going to find out who owns it and see about the costs involved and whatnot.

Wow, that's 4 people on these forums. It is us indeed, and thanks. :D

Funny guy.

Owning a shop like that'd be cool. That's something I'd do if I knew anything about business.... or surfing.

I know stuff about surfing but business is not something I know much about. (Shock horror! Something the knowitall doesn't know about! :D)

Frankly I have no idea how to draw in customers, how to run a shop, what's involved with it, what kinda costs you gotta deal with, what sort of insurance, government thingies, and red tape official whatnots you'd have there. So I'll probably ask around and see what advice I can get... if at the end of it I think it's viable then I'll go ahead.

I'd like to be self employed when I am older, Not sure what yet though.

I'd love to be self-employed. I've often thought of opening a cafe. But an internet/music cafe. It'd be all retro, all 1950s. But that's just my favourite idea for a cafe at the moment.

But generally, because it's not financially safe, I'll probably not go for self-employment.

- Rexy

That'd be cool. I'd like to do something similar to that but I'd split the cost with close friends who shared the same idea. Saves on the accounts. :p

Bit of a waste if the friends havnt helped. You would be wasting money on wich you could buy more things :p Unless you employ your friends or something. Or if you mean pay them do they dont sue you :p

Yes I second this... having a business partner is good in the short term but in the long run it can spell disaster, because inevitably one or the other becomes deadweight or trouble. You can have some real problems with people who become your business partner... like if you fall out and end up bickering about who's business it really is. That sort of thing can lead to the death of a business.

If you've got loads of people on board that would make the company very cumbersome and difficult to manage. Keeping it headed in one coherant direction, making decisions on changes or management issues, and all these sorts of things are the things that different people do differently, which leads to disagreements, especially if these people all have a great deal of power in the business.

Also, having to have a meeting just to reach a decision on every single little thing really slows down the progress of a business... you'd be hard pushed to make it work unless you assigned some pretty strict roles to each person.

Yeah, You could also argue about ideas (which is better) And then maybe even get taken to court. Lose the company. End up with no money... Then your screwed. So i'd work alone :) (with employees of course ;))