Being an employee vs self-employment

[gbang]

Hi Guys,

Just curious to see who on here are self-employed and who are employees. Are self-employed more satisfied? Are the self-employed people wishing they were employees?

Just as a bit of background info, I grew up in a migrant family. Was born and raised here so pretty much an aussie (except on the outside lol) and parents were almost always self employed. Now after being an employee for a few years, I'm re-considering where the future lies for me, I feel I am more comfortable in the hospitality industry as I grew up in it and it's kind of second nature and I therefore I grew up more independently, however, also more self motivated as you had to push to do things yourself. Being an employee in an office is more structured and I'm considering if this is really me or not.

 

[Aaron_C]

Some people are made for self employment while others aren't.

 

[TMNT]

good to see you are giving it a go but before you go ahead,

you dont do your own business ESPECIALLY HOSPITALITY for lifestyle,
you may start off with saying Pros vs cons of being an employee or not,

once you start, unless you literally run a cafe with yourself only or you have a huge extended family that will basically work for free

it will be your life 24/7, days off? possibly?
stress? plenty of it?
health? has a chance of getting worse
family/relationships? prepare to give them away
money? prepare to work for free for 6-18 months

etc. etc.

obviously im giving you the worst case scenario, but its a common thing to hear PAYG employees say "oh im sick of working for someone, i think ill start a business so I can get my current six figure salary plus more while working 3 hours per day while I go to the bahamas and sip cocktails on the beach

 

[Deltaberry]

You should do it. Get the life experience and don't sit there thinking what if.

 

[chilliblue]

I have a permanent part time employment agreement and am self employed for various projects.

Best of both worlds. Flexibility and constant income.

 

[geoffw]

I agree with TMNT.

I've done the self employed running a hospitality business- or rather, have it run me.

I'd love to be an employee again. I'm a full time student ATM.

 

[ok180]

You won't know if it's for you until you try it. TMNT touched on a few good points.

I have been self employed now for almost 10 years in two different businesses. I have seen many people try it and many fail. Some people tough it out and limp along for years and years never really getting anywhere and would be beter of just finding a J.O.B again but they are too proud to chuck in the towel. Only a handful really make it and sometimes the difference between giving up and hitting gold may only be a matter of months.

For me I have probably ended up somewhere between struggling along and now finally starting to see some big benefits. I have had years where I have made over 200k clear and some where I have barely made anything. This type of lifestyle isn't for everyone, it really isn't. Im 32 (tomorrow) and have gone through some real mind altering $hit with things I have experienced in business. The benefits have far outweighed the negatives though, Our PPOR is almost paid off and we have a bundle of IP's, super and business really worth something. We're now set for the next 10 years, then I can hopefully sell up and exit the full time rat race. Ever day that I look around and see what we have acheived im very proud. I left school at a very young age and have survived off my ideas for 10 years now and I'm still a young man.

It's great for your mindset though even if you don't really make it. You will never again look at any business the same once you have run one. You will gain an understanding of cashflow and the real costs of running a business that employee's will never understand.

 

[nhg]

I recently made the transition from employee to self-employed.

It's *&^% but I don't see myself going back to PAYG There's a sense of satisfaction that is coming from it I wasn't getting before. It was stated above and has been repeated to me by my mentors, having your own business is not for everyone, and it shouldn't be forced.

That said, I'm currently on a tenth of my PAYG income and working 30 hrs a week more. My friend pointed out for the first time in my life yesterday, that I had claimed I couldn't afford something.

It's not an easy path. As a PAYG we use to talk about the flexibility and time off we would have when running our own business. That is a lie. There is little time off, flexible? Maybe, but an hour off during the day means an extra hour of work well into the night.

Well that is my experience so far, anybody have it different?

 

[Lil Skater]

I started my own business a few months ago.

I've always loved what I do, but for me it is much sweeter knowing I'm doing it for myself.

Because of the business I'm in, my work and income is "regular", but I am still trading in a deficit, which isn't very fun.

As nhg stated, you may get more flexibility during the day, but it means you're working into the night.

 

[Jamie M]

You should do it. Get the life experience and don't sit there thinking what if.

Agreed.

Becoming self employed was one of the best decisions I've made. Despite what has been mentioned previously - my working hours are now more flexible, I don't suffer from too much stress and I get to spend loads of time with my family.

That's not to say I don't work long hours. I work hard - but when it's something you enjoy, it doesn't feel like work. I jump out of bed on Monday's eager to see what's awaiting me. I never had the feeling with any other job.

At the same time - I know that it's important to maintain a work/life balance and I make a conscious effort to do so.

Self employment isn't for everyone - and it can be a scary thing to jump into. For me, the thought of working in a PAYG role for someone else really scares me!

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Truly Exotic]

+1 for the hard yards in hospitality,

My first business (not hospitality) I literally went bankrupt, worked hard for 2 years, didnt earn a cent, didnt pay myself, chucked in life savings, came out with debt

My last business (hospitality), I didnt pay myself a cent, did ok out of it while it was running, worked 100 hour weeks, yes 100!, basically, 9am till about midnight, made a little upon selling it. Health deteriorated (went from buff to skinny), got my first grey hair, relationship suffered,
Had some really ***** days, and I mean *****,
Learnt so much, and loved it
its amazing what adrenaline and a huge business loan hanging over your head makes you capable of

 

[Deltaberry]

Running hospitality doesn't mean you lose your time. There're people who run properties who spend more time.

My folks once had a number of hospitality businesses each with at least 200 people capacity, and they spent less than 5 hours working per week.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Be neither, be a BOSS

I wrote a goal about 12 months before my 30th birthday not to work for anybody again, and it came true a couple of months before my 30th.
That was just over 8 years ago now.
Learnt and self developed so much in that time, it was well worth all the tough times and difficult experiences, the personal growth is priceless.
The financial freedom gained is nice too.

 

[TMNT]

Running hospitality doesn't mean you lose your time. There're people who run properties who spend more time.

My folks once had a number of hospitality businesses each with at least 200 people capacity, and they spent less than 5 hours working per week.

thats because your parents are cashed up, and can buy expensive businesses,

for the average joe, they have to start small, plus their passion is to actually work in the business themselves, hence that is what they desire

not many people will be fortunate enough to be able to buy/start a 200 seating capacity venue while only doing 5 hours per week

 

[LoneWolf]

thats because your parents are cashed up, and can buy expensive businesses,

for the average joe, they have to start small, plus their passion is to actually work in the business themselves, hence that is what they desire

not many people will be fortunate enough to be able to buy/start a 200 seating capacity venue while only doing 5 hours per week

TMNT, you have to understand, this is the guy who was making 80k a year as a student, so to him, owning a 200 seating business while doing 5 hours per week is for your average joes

 

[nhg]

TMNT, you have to understand, this is the guy who was making 80k a year as a student, so to him, owning a 200 seating business while doing 5 hours per week is for your average joes

No-one on this forum is an 'average joe', we all lived life in very different ways to get to where we are.

 

[TMNT]

TMNT, you have to understand, this is the guy who was making 80k a year as a student, so to him, owning a 200 seating business while doing 5 hours per week is for your average joes

well unless he is into illegal activity,
id assume he is quite smart or in a very niche market, probably the former, so I would expect someone like that to at the least understand that its not normal to be able to afford a 200 seated business doing 5 hours per week,

anyone with money can buy a 200 seated business doing 5 hours per week,

I suspect that a lot of people particularly older generation asians buy businesses to increase their reputation or perceived image/wealth

and yes many people of the forums here are not average, but I would doubt too many could afford to buy such a business being fully managed which would mean anything from $500k to $5m

 

[Brady]

PAYG but the thought to cross over to self-employed has started to cross my mind recently.

 

[geoffw]

BTW, the fact that I had the business run me doesn't mean that business is bad. It does mean that I was not good at it.

I have seen many other people in the same system do very well, with a lot of stores and a big income.

I struggled the whole time, while working my backside off.

There was a political side. I rubbed some of the wrong people the wrong way, and they were in a position to make things very hard for me.

Some of the people I've seen who did the best for themselves in that business had to step on other people to do so, and to have no qualms about it. There was no room for any sympathy or feeling- it was much better to undermine people on the way up, and to stomp them on the way down. I'm not that sort of person.

 

[TMNT]

BTW, the fact that I had the business run me doesn't mean that business is bad. It does mean that I was not good at it.

not really, sometimes a business is just not profitable enough, whether it be bad economy, bad purchase, bad luck, incompetence, increased competion, etc .etc.

I've met heaps of people that were paying themself $50k for a 60 hour week and making no profits, while people around them said, hire a manger for $60k and even though you make a $10k loss you dont have to work there

paying someone the $60k would free you up from letting the business run him, but he chose not to.