1432: Employee or Entrepreneur? The Pros and Cons of Self-Employment by JD Roth of GetRichSlowly

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Time for strong performance with the new Galaxy Watch Ultra.

[00:00:04] [SPEAKER_02]: No matter if you are a sportsman, a training junkie, a freidag athlete or a real sportsman.

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_02]: And no matter if you are a jogger, a trail marathon runner,

[00:00:15] [SPEAKER_02]: who wants to dance through the night or go on tour de France.

[00:00:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Get the best out of here with the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra with Galaxy AI. Let's go!

[00:00:25] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Work Daily. Employee or Entrepreneur The Pros and Cons of Self-Employment by JD Roth of

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_00]: GetRichSlowly.org. In my recent review of Pam Slim's Escape from Cubicle Nation,

[00:00:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Chet left the following comment. Quote,

[00:00:45] [SPEAKER_00]: I was talking with a good friend last week who is self-employed. I told him

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_00]: I envied his entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to go it alone. He told me he envied

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_00]: my work as a teacher and the set hours and guaranteed paycheck and insurance. I told him

[00:01:00] [SPEAKER_00]: there was nothing set about the hours, so I guess we both misunderstood each other's work.

[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_00]: So many people dream of working for themselves and only find out the true benefits and heartaches

[00:01:09] [SPEAKER_00]: after they make the leap. Take you for instance, what do you miss the most from

[00:01:14] [SPEAKER_00]: the box factory in terms of security or interaction? What bothered or motivated you the most to

[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_00]: drive you to self-employment? And what have you learned about your decision over

[00:01:23] [SPEAKER_00]: the past year and a half? In the same thread, Caitlyn wrote,

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Quote, every time I read an article like this, I wonder if I'm really that unusual because

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_00]: I love my job. I'm a molecular biologist and it's just not something I could do on my own.

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_00]: I've had a small side business for over five years. In that time, interesting and educational

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_00]: though it was, I've learned that I don't particularly want to run a business.

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_00]: I am not one who believes that everyone should be an entrepreneur. I think there's a sort of

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_00]: continuum. Some folks should absolutely work for somebody else. Others should definitely work

[00:02:00] [SPEAKER_00]: for themselves, and many should do a little of both. Although I tend toward entrepreneurial

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_00]: endeavors, I don't consider myself a diehard entrepreneur. The best job I ever had was

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_00]: actually flipping burgers at McDonald's when I was in high school. I'm not kidding,

[00:02:14] [SPEAKER_00]: I love that job. My fellow employees were smart and fun. Together we made serving burgers and fries a

[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_00]: game. We tried to do the best job we could. Our manager was great, and she fostered this attitude

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_00]: instead of stifling it with bureaucracy. Since then, I've had jobs I loved and jobs I hated,

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_00]: and many that just paid the bills. I've also tried self-employment twice,

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_00]: once as a computer consultant, and now as a professional blogger. Here are my responses

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_00]: to Chet's specific questions. What do I miss from the box factory? I miss daily interaction with my

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_00]: family. My father began the business almost 25 years ago, and since then there have always been

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_00]: several family members involved with the daily operations. I also miss talking with my customers.

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_00]: As much as I disliked the actual sales portion of my job, I genuinely liked many

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_00]: of the customers I dealt with. I find myself wondering how Robert is doing,

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_00]: and whether Lance finished building his house. There is almost no social aspect to the life of a

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_00]: professional blogger. I sit here alone in my office typing all day. While this is intellectually

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_00]: challenging, I miss seeing people and being a small part of their lives. This is one reason

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_00]: I've struggled with my restaurant spending over the past year. I often go out to lunch simply

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_00]: to be near other people. It's also one reason I rented office space. Note, Trent and I both

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_00]: discussed this loneliness on last Monday's episode of the personal finance hour. How bad does this

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_00]: loneliness get? Very bad. It's Thursday afternoon as I write this. A couple of hours ago, I had a

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_00]: near panic attack from the loneliness. No joke. To cope, I came down to the coffee shop for a

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_00]: couple of hours. What motivated me to self-employment? Well, there were a couple of things. First,

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER_00]: I did not like my work at the box factory. I did not like sales. I wasn't good at it.

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_00]: It didn't interest me, and I found it frustrating. Meanwhile, I wanted to write. I've always wanted

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_00]: to be a writer. I just never knew how to make money from this desire. When I stumbled into

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_00]: personal finance blogging, I was startled to learn I could make an income from it.

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_00]: It seemed natural to make the leap to professional blogger once that income sustained at a level

[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_00]: that could support me. What have I learned about my decision over the last year and a half?

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_00]: There's a difference between blogging as a hobby and blogging as a job. When you're

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_00]: blogging as a hobby and the income is extra income, the process is fun. It's a lark. But when you throw

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_00]: the switch and it becomes your sole means of making a living, some of that fun vanishes.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_00]: I still love what I do, no question. But sometimes I feel as if I've lost the spontaneity I used

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_00]: to have. That's one reason I'm hoping to reduce my workload around here a little.

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_00]: I'd like to pursue other projects, write a book, dabble with other blogs,

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_00]: possibly promote financial literacy education. There's a lot of pressure when you are required

[00:05:03] [SPEAKER_00]: to generate your own income. Sure, there's pressure when you work for somebody else too,

[00:05:08] [SPEAKER_00]: but there's also a sense of freedom. You're not responsible for the daily decisions.

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And if you don't like the job, you can leave. Plus, the actual source of income is not your

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: responsibility. I often think that working for somebody else is like renting an apartment.

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Working for yourself is like owning your home. Both have their rewards, but they each have drawbacks

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_00]: too. Conclusion

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_00]: As Caitlyn mentions, not everyone is cut out to run a business. It just doesn't interest them.

[00:05:36] [SPEAKER_00]: My wife is a perfect example. Chris loves her job. It's challenging and fulfilling and she

[00:05:42] [SPEAKER_00]: enjoys the interaction with her coworkers. She has no desire to strike out on her own.

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_00]: As always, I think it's important to do what works for you.

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Trivia According to the U.S. Small Business Administration,

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_00]: on average, self-employed people make more than those who work for others.

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: But there's a wider variance in incomes among the self-employed. Also, earnings for the

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: self-employed are lower at first but tend to grow more quickly until they surpass that

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: of traditional workers. You just listened to the post titled Employee or Entrepreneur,

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_00]: The Pros and Cons of Self-Employment by JD Roth of Get Rich Slowly.org.

[00:06:25] [SPEAKER_00]: This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. We're all marveled at how quickly kids learn and that

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_00]: sense of wonder meant they have while doing it, but as adults sometimes we lose that curiosity.

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, if there's something you've been wanting to learn, know that therapy can help you

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_00]: reconnect with your sense of wonder because your back to school era can come at any age.

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_00]: And make no mistake, therapy is for everyone. Whether or not you've been through significant

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_00]: trauma, therapy can be a great tool for setting boundaries, learning new skills,

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_00]: and ultimately becoming the best version of yourself. If you're thinking of starting therapy,

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_00]: give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible,

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_00]: and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_00]: a licensed therapist and switch therapists any time for no additional charge.

[00:07:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Rediscover your curiosity with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_00]: slash workdaily today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, h-e-l-p,

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_00]: dot com slash workdaily. And a big thanks to JD Roth who typically writes about finance,

[00:07:30] [SPEAKER_00]: so he's narrated pretty regularly over on Optimal Finance Daily,

[00:07:34] [SPEAKER_00]: which also serves as a reminder that you can hear many of the same authors

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER_00]: narrated across all of our shows. But back to JD, he considers himself just a regular guy who has

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_00]: learned about money through the School of Hard Knocks. By 2004, he'd acquired over $35,000 worth

[00:07:51] [SPEAKER_00]: of consumer debt through credit cards, personal loans, and a car loan, and he was living paycheck

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_00]: to paycheck on a salary of $50,000 a year. He didn't have any savings, and in October

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_00]: of that year, he hit rock bottom and he drafted a three-year plan to get himself out of debt

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_00]: and he never looked back. In less than a year, he had set aside a $5,000 emergency fund and

[00:08:12] [SPEAKER_00]: had increased his cash flow by 750 bucks per month. He put that into debt reduction and then in

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_00]: December of 2007, only three years later right on schedule, he became debt-free for the first

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_00]: time in his adult life. He's now an early retiree and you can come by getrichslowly.org

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_00]: to learn a lot more about JD. There's plenty of articles and resources for you there.

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's going to do it for today. I thank you as always for being here and for clicking subscribe,

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll see you right back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.