Unfortunately, people still talk more often about the risks of self-employment than about the enormous benefits it brings. This takes away the courage of many people to consider self-employment as a possible way of life.
What is particularly bad is that most of those who have concerns have never set up their own business and draw their half-knowledge from the horror stories in the media. Too little is said about the many satisfied self-employed people who are successful.
This is not to say, that there are no risks. The good thing is that you can influence these risks. This alone is an enormous advantage. But there are many more.
Here are the most important advantages that I have experienced from my first 6 years of self-employment:
Advantage 1: You are independent
As a self-employed person you decide what you do, how you do something and when you do it. You always have complete freedom of choice – but you also have to make sure that you are aware of it. This is certainly not always easy, and discipline is also required – but you have the option. When your business is no longer satisfying, you can start something new or change your business to make it fun again. As an employee you will never have such freedom – even if you are (employed) CEO.
Advantage 2: You are not fixed on a certain role
As an employee you usually have a clear job description that defines what your responsibilities are. Sometimes these are narrow or less narrow. As a self-employed person, you can take on a variety of roles that will never be possible in an employee’s life – for example: you can do bookkeeping because you like finance, but at the same time do graphic design and work as a consultant.
Advantage 3: There are no financial limits
If you are employed, you have a clearly regulated income and with a career advancement and salary increases, you can earn more over time. However, there is always a limit. In self-employment this limit is defined by your own actions. If you want to earn a million euros/dollars in a year, you can. All you have to do is put in the right effort and take the right actions – whether you are willing to take these hurdles can be decided by every self-employed person for himself. But the important thing is: everything is possible!
Advantage 4: Success belongs to you alone
As an employee in a company, you might get a bonus if you have achieved success for the company – but most people often go away empty-handed even when they have done a great job. If you are successful in self-employment, you benefit fully from this success. It is precisely these moments that often bring great satisfaction in self-employment.
Advantage 5: You decide how you plan your life
In self-employment you have the advantage of being able to build your business in such a way that it is perfectly suited to your own life. If you want to go to the climbing gym twice a week in the morning when only a few others are around, you can plan this accordingly when you set up your own business. If you like to work in the evening and at night, you can do so. In self-employment, no one will look at you crooked if your desired working hours are 20:00 – 04:00 and you take a midnight break instead of a lunch break.
Advantage 6: You decide how much you work
In a job you are often contractually bound to a certain number of hours. In self-employment you are flexible in determining how much you work. If you want to get fully involved in your self-employment and work 100 hours a week, this is possible without suddenly having to take action to protect your health and safety at work. Just as well you can decide that you work so little that it is just enough to finance a simple life and then use the free time to work towards other goals in life. Whatever you want, the decision is entirely up to you.
Advantage 7: You learn incredibly much
If you take the step into self-employment, you will have to deal with many things that you have often never been confronted with in your working life. You will have to take care of customer acquisition, marketing, finances and much more. This will force you to deal intensively with new topics and you will learn a lot.
Advantage 8: The independence gives you a lot of life stories
In my opinion, life is like an interesting book. It must contain as many good stories as possible to make it really good. In your self-employment you will be able to collect a lot of stories – they will not always be positive, but they will definitely be enriching and intense.
Advantage 9: You are proud when you master challenges successfully
There is nothing greater in self-employment than when you suddenly master a challenge that you previously thought was impossible.
Advantage 10: Work where you want
Self-employment offers you the advantage of being able to work wherever you want, whether it is temporary (e.g. a morning in a chic espresso bar) or long-term (e.g. company headquarters on a Mediterranean island). You decide with your business how and where you want to work.
Advantage 11: Work when you want
Every person ticks differently. Some like to work early in the morning others are night owls. The modern world of work tries to do justice to these different types, but there are always limits. In self-employment you have the advantage of being able to decide when you work. Of course, you have to adapt your business model according to your needs, but basically anything is possible.
Advantage 12: You can implement the work according to your personal standards
If you are employed, you often have to bow to the standards of your company or your superiors – even if you personally know exactly that there is room for improvement. In self-employment you have the enormous advantage that you define the standards yourself. This is not only great for making your work more rewarding, but you can also differentiate yourself in the market with a better performance or a better product.
Advantage 13: You can do work thats better suited to your personality
In companies, employees are often pressed into roles or work processes that do not match their own personality at all. In the long run this can be very tiring. In self-employment, you can really be yourself and no longer have to pretend to be.
Advantage 14: You decide who you work with
A huge advantage of self-employment is also that you can choose who you work with and often even who your clients are. Surrounding yourself with people who are as ticking as you are can be enormously enriching and give you additional motivation.
Advantage 15: Have fun with what you do
For many employees, work is purely a matter of duty. It is, so to speak, the serving of valuable life time for money – in the end, it is not much fun. If you are your own boss, you can do whatever you want with your business. You have the freedom to design everything the way you like it and how you enjoy it.
Book tips on the subject of self-employment
UNSCRIPTED: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship by MJ DeMarco
This book shows you the benefits and freedoms you can gain if you choose to be self-employed. DeMarco is uncomfortable and direct in his language, but outlines with his book the ideal mindset you should have as an entrepreneur.
Making a Living Without a Job, revised edition: Winning Ways for Creating Work That You Love by Barbara Winter
This book is a compelling guide that describes the author’s path to a more fulfilling life and highlights the benefits of self-employment. The book offers insightful advice for those who want to explore their passions and shows how to successfully launch into self-employment with dedication, enthusiasm, and creative experimentation.
You can find more books about self-employment here at Amazon
