Considering Self-Employment?

Last week's post about becoming incorporated got a lot of discussion going with other bloggers and business owners. We got to talking about some very important parts of being self-employed and I thought I'd discuss those today.

While quitting your full-time job and working for yourself sounds awesome (which it really is!), there are some things to consider when leaving your full-time job. Your employer may offer you a lot of benefits that being self-employed will not.

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Medical Insurance

Medical insurance can be very costly. Chances are, your employer is able to offer you medical insurance at a fairly low rate. Insurance for self-employed individuals can cost about $300 per month.

Life Insurance

I don't know if this is a common benefit for employers, but my old employer offered free life insurance up to the amount of my base pay. I could also double or triple this amount for a nominal fee every month. Individual life insurance plans will depend on the amount of coverage you want, your age and your past health.

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Disability Insurance

Most full-time employees are offered disability insurance in the situation where you are unable to work for a period of time (surgery, car accident, etc). This may be full pay or partial pay depending on your employer and how long you have worked there. As a self-employed individual, have you thought about what you would do if you couldn't work. For a month? For six months? Definitely something to think about. Again, rates will depend on your age, the amount you want to collect each month, etc.

Retirement

My old employer offered a retirement plan where they matched a portion of my contribution. And they made it easy to participate as the money came (pre-taxed) out of my check each week. Now that I'm self-employed, that entire amount is dependent on me.

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Taxes

When you work for a company, your taxes are paid each pay period before you receive your paycheck. This makes it easy to pay your taxes because you don't have to think about it and it's all taken care of for you. When you are self-employed you will need to pay estimated taxes each quarter. It really isn't hard to do, but you must budget for them. Not all crafty business owners are good at the business side of things. (left-brain vs right-brained). So this may be something you need to pay a profession to help you with. If so, you will want to budget for it.

While I don't want to discourage anyone from quitting their job and living their dream, I just wanted to point out some things that aren't always thought about when running numbers. I know I hadn't considered disability insurance until the other day. Just a little food for thought :)

Being My Own Boss - 1 Year Anniversary

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Last Saturday I celebrated one year of being self-employed full time! This has seriously been the most amazing year of my life! I love what I do and I love that I get to do it every day! That's not to say it wasn't a difficult decision at the time, but it's been the most rewarding one I've ever made.

I put together a few pieces of advice that I've learned during my first year of being my own boss. If you're thinking of taking the leap, I hope these tips will help you :)

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 1. Love What You Do This may sound like common sense, but it really is true. What you used to do as a creative outlet or to relax is what you'll be doing several hours a day...every day. Make sure your "hobby" is something you are willing to turn into a "job". That being said, if you love what you do, your "job" isn't really "work".

I absolutely love what I do and I'd be doing it even if no one paid me. I love coming up with new designs and new ideas. I love watching things come to life in the laser. I love being creative. And I love working with my customers.

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2. Be Prepared to Work Long Hours Unless you're lucky enough to afford an assistant, be prepared to put in a lot of hours. This comes back to loving what you do. Unlike in the corporate world, the more effort you put into your "job" the more you'll get in return. You have to work for what you want and this can require long hours.

On a normal day, I generally work 12-16 hours. This includes everything from packing orders, answering emails, blogging, making product, listing product, etc. I also work weekends and holidays. When I worked my factory job, I used to count down the days til Friday. But now everyday is a Friday and it's great! I can also take time off whenever I want too :)

3. Wear Lots of Hats As a business owner of a one-woman-show, it is necessary to be able to multitask and prioritize your time. You have to be the owner, marketing director, buyer, accountant, secretary, creative director, maker, etc, etc, etc. It would be fun to just create new things all day, but there is much more to it when running a business.

Every day I make a to do list of things that need done that day. I start my day be answering emails and reading blogs. Many times I'm also running the laser while I'm on the computer. I then package orders so the mailman can pick them up (and save me a trip to the post office). Then I get to start creating :) At the end of the day I do my quiet work. I list new items, answer more emails and write blog posts.

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4. Go Over Your Budget (then go over it again) You might think this should be at the top of the list. While it is very important, I still think loving what you do is more important. Yes, you need to pay your bills, but if in six months you're burnt out, you won't be making any money. So make sure you love what you do before you even consider working for yourself full time.

I ran numbers for several months before I knew for sure that things would be okay. I knew exactly how much I needed to make and I knew I could do it. I also made the decision to sell my SUV. It wasn't a necessity (we have a spare car) and the payment wasn't worth having to stay at my factory job any longer. It felt great being out from under that payment and knowing I had that much more wiggle room with our budget. It is also important to talk over the budget with your spouse/domestic partner/room mate/whatever. Convincing Jesse things would be okay was a little trickier than convincing myself. It was a huge step and we both needed to be on board. After a few good talks, we both agreed it was time :)

I hope these tips help those of you considering working full time for yourself. While it is a lot to think about, if you're able to, I recommend it to anyone. I am a much happier, more satisfied person working for myself. Every day is a "vacation" day, even when I'm at "work" :)

 Those of you who are already working for yourselves full time...any other tips for my readers?

My First Week

Last week was my first week of full-time self-employment. So how did it go? In a word...AMAZING!

*I love my new schedule! I'm up before the sun rises already getting work done.

*I got to exercise everyday!

*I got to spend more time with Harley :)

*Orders keep coming in...making me happy with my decision!

*And best of all, I didn't feel stressed and guilty over the weekend when I wasn't working every minute. We got to enjoy time with family and friends. And I knew come Monday I'd have plenty of time to get work done :)

I do think I might be working myself a little too hard though...I broke two nails working on projects last week...LOL :)

 How was your week?

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

I interrupt today's Friday Features for a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!
Today was my last day of work at my factory job! I'm officially self-employed!!! It feels SO good to say that!
The first day of the rest of my life :)

I've worked night shift at the same factory for 10 years now. My how time flies! Although it wasn't my ideal job and many days I hated what I was doing, it wasn't all bad. They paid for my schooling and we wouldn't have been able to buy our home, vehicles or other toys if I hadn't worked there. I met a lot of great people too. All in all, I am grateful for the time I spent at that job.

But I am very much ready for the next phase of my life! Self-employed at 29...who would have thought! Before I bought my laser, being self-employed full-time wasn't really an option. I enjoy making my scrapbooks, but I knew it would never be a full-time opportunity. My laser has opened up so many opportunities for me! My business has grown so much over the last year! And I haven't even made half the ideas I have floating in my head!

My goal at the start of 2012 was to quit my job by January 2013...I'm 6 months ahead of schedule!!! How awesome is that! I really still can't believe it's all happening! I'm living my dream :) And my parents are still in town for this weekend, so we'll be celebrating tonight with the whole family :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*HAPPY DANCE*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~