What You Need To Know About Self-Employment

Self-employment may seem like an intimidating venture, but it can provide financial stability in the midst of an uncertain job market. By setting boundaries, creating a routine, and developing a thick skin, you can have a strong start to self-employment. It’s also important to curate a support system, composed of friends or family you trust, along with employees.

By Timothy Mably

As more professionals opt for self-employment, there is a need for greater awareness about everything it entails. With benefits ranging from choosing your own schedule to being your own boss, you are also free from the anxiety of the economical effects on the labor market.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 9.6 million self-employed people throughout the country as of August 2022. The transition has allowed many to avoid potential furloughs and layoffs, providing financial security in a season of uncertainty.

Self-employment opens a door to many professional opportunities that are not available through regular full-time employment. It is often exemplified in creative services such as writing, editing, designing, and photography among other fields. It also pertains to digital marketing, consulting, coaching, web design, software development, real estate, event planning, and more. Whether you’re interested in part-time self-employment or full-time, it can be advantageous with the shifting state of the economy.

Tips for Self-Employment

Career coach Jennifer Smith is well-versed in the topic of self-employment and has advice for professionals considering a career shift. Smith warns against overworking as you may be tempted to bring it home with you. She says, “Build boundaries and stick to them—when you work for yourself and love what you do, it's difficult to turn it off; you will work way more than you think!”

Curating your work schedule, finding a routine , and setting a list of priorities can help distinguish your professional life from your personal life. It can also be effective to prevent burnout as you work to make your business sustainable.?

Experiment with your daily routine to help enable you in your professional pursuit. Maintaining frequent rhythms throughout the day can provide a sense of organization and relieve potential stress.

She also suggests building thick skin, as you may be met with rejection and face failure early on. She says, “If you plan to have public-facing profiles and opinions, be prepared for criticism. Saying no to clients or projects is more challenging than I expected!”

Getting Started

LinkedIn Learning author Chris Croft says that people who are pursuing self-employment should consider utilizing their current employer as a client or partner. Depending on the industry and your focus, there may be some relevant overlap. Croft says, “See if you can work out an arrangement with your current employer or your ex-employer if you've just left, that they can be your first customer.”

Maintaining connections as you begin can be a great way to create a foundation for success. Smith says, “Consider giving yourself a financial runway; when I started, I gave myself a runway of one year to go all in with enough saved to pay my expenses.” Setting a timeline with a budget will help you plan and start strong.

Smith emphasizes the need for self-discipline. As your own boss, you will need to hold yourself to a standard of productivity and assertiveness. She says, “Consider your self-discipline. I've seen people fail at self-employment because they don't have the self-discipline to manage day-to-day without structure or someone telling them what to do.” Before businesses have a chance to fail, they might not even have a chance to get off the ground without proper self-discipline.?

Lastly, she recommends finding people who can come alongside you in your professional pursuit. She says, “Consider finding like-minded people to help and support you. Often, your family and friends don't understand what goes into self-employment or starting a business , so having a community to support you is critical.” Having an additional outside perspective can be beneficial to learn how others perceive your business.

Misconceptions About Self-Employment

Often characterized by risk and fear of failure, self-employment can sound like an intimidating career path. However, self-employment doesn’t always mean you’re alone in your business venture.?

Smith says, “One misconception might be that you have to do it all yourself; I love partnering with other experts to support my business (i.e., copy editor, graphic designer, virtual assistant, etc.). And you get to choose your coworkers! It takes time — you must be clear on your why and use that to keep moving forward.” Whether you’re a small business owner or another form of entrepreneur, hiring employees is a milestone that can help you be sustainable in self-employment.

Contrary to popular belief, self-employment doesn’t always require you to stand out from the crowd with your own niche. Croft says that you shouldn’t worry about establishing a unique niche for your services or brand. Instead of focusing on being different to attract customers or clients, he suggests focusing on your quality and productivity. He says, “Just be reliable and good. And that will be enough to get you above 80% of your competitors.”

He explains by bringing up his job as a LinkedIn Learning instructor. He says, “I'm better at some things and less good at others, but I wouldn't say I have a unique niche. The key is just to be reliable and good. So if you do a good job reliably, you'll be fine.”

Croft concludes his advice by recommending that you charge more rather than less if you are in doubt about what you can make. He recounts knowing many people who underpriced their services due to a lack of confidence.

By entering self-employment with awareness of what it will require from you, your professional pursuit will have a promising foundation. Setting boundaries , creating a schedule , developing a thick skin, and growing in self-discipline will enable you to be successfully self-employed.

Top Takeaways

What does self-employment entail?

• Self-employment is often exemplified in creative services such as writing, editing, designing, and photography among other fields. It also pertains to digital marketing, consulting, coaching, and more.
• Setting boundaries, finding a routine, and creating a list of priorities can help distinguish your professional life from your personal life.
• It’s also important to build a thick skin, as you may be met with rejection and face failure early on.
• As your own boss, you will need to hold yourself to a standard of productivity and assertiveness. Self-employment is best characterized by self-discipline.
• Whether you’re a small business owner or another form of entrepreneur, hiring employees is a milestone that can help you be sustainable in self-employment.