Better work for yourself or being someone else employee?

[Billthecat]

During this month I can't be online as much as I want.

I simply bought the assets of a failed activity and I've got time till 2 January 2023 to leave the property.

If just I think I was at this auction just to buy some tools.

I think I've got the skills and the contacts to make it happen, if just the luck doesn't turn me her back.

Do you think it could be something crazy or is one of these crazy ideas you had at least one time in your life?

I'm really interested about your opinion

 

[velociraptor]

I have tried running businesses twice and it turns out that while I'm skilled in the services the businesses offered (one was PC repair and the other photography), I'm just not great at running a business. I work as an insurance broker for a large employer nowadays, and am satisfied with how it has turned out.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Being self-employed has it's pros and cons. It certainly depends upon the type of business. Are you looking to "just make a living",...or are you looking to "take on the world" with an innovative idea?

Fellow Aspie, Elon Musk quotes:

1. “The thing to remember is that when companies are little, they’re like tadpoles. I mean, they just die very easily. You need to have an environment that tries to protect little companies and help them get bigger. Silicon Valley does that very well and America, in general, does that very well a lot of the time compared to other countries. Most other countries tend to foster and protect the big companies. Big companies don’t need protection.”
– Musk’s speech at the National Press Club

2. “If you’re building a company, you’ve got to gather great people. I mean, all a company is is a group of people that have gathered together to create a product or service. So depending upon how talented and hardworking that group is, and to the degree in which they are focused cohesively in a good direction, that will determine the success of the company. So, do everything you can to gather great people, if you’re creating a company.”
– Musk’s commencement speech at the University of Southern California

3. “I think it’s important to take feedback from your environment. You want to be as closed-loop as possible. If we hadn’t responded to what people said, then we probably would not have been successful. So, it’s important to look for things like that and focus on them when you see them, and you correct your prior assumptions.”
– Musk’s commencement speech at Caltech

4. “In general, people want to do the right thing and they want to do what’s good. The issue we have right now is that the rules fundamentally favor the bad outcome. When you’re fighting for the good outcome and it’s an uphill battle, it’s just slower. It’s just crazy to have the rules of the game favor a bad outcome.”
– Musk’s speech at Paris-Sorbonne University

5. “I’m not sure looking at competitors really helps. It’s sort of like the old adage with running. If you start looking at the other runners, it’s not good, you know.”
– Conversation with Kara Swisher, host of “Recode Decode”

6. “I read a lot of books and talked to lots of people. I didn’t have any one person who was a mentor, but I always looked for feedback from the people around me and feedback from the historical context, which is books, basically. I don’t read many general business books. I like to read biographies or autobiographies. I think those are pretty helpful, and a lot are not really business.”
– Conversation with Kevin Rose, an internet entrepreneur

7. “Starting a business is not for everyone. Generally, starting a business, I’d say, No. 1 is to have a high pain threshold. When you first start a company, there’s lots of optimism and things are great. Happiness at first is high, then you encounter all sorts of issues and happiness will steadily decline, and then you will go through a whole world of hurt, and then eventually, if you succeed—and in most cases, you will not succeed—if you succeed then, after a long time, you will finally get back to happiness.”

8. “In order to make the right decisions, you have to understand something. If you don’t understand something at a detailed level, you cannot make a decision.”
– Conversation with Jonathan Nolan, creator of HBO’s “Westworld”

9. “Great companies are built on great products. When the product starts to become shoddy and uncompetitive, so does the company.”
– Conversation with John Paul MacDuffie, professor of management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

 

[Luca]

Everyone's different, but I have been way more successful and happy being self-employed than I ever was working for an employer. Running your own business is not easy though, and I do get some help with management stuff from older family members who have a lot of business experience. I also currently have an additional employee that I hired a few months ago and she's very reliable.

I found working for other people's companies really stressful and boring, and was never happy and never made enough money to support myself.

Running my own business probably wouldn't work as well if it wasn't something I was an expert on and was not in a situation where I was set up for success. Because my career is in such a niche thing that there is still demand for where I live, and because I have proven to be more reliable, responsible, and knowledgeable than my competition, it works really well.

I have gone from making $200 a week to making upwards of $1000 a week. I'm a professional dog trainer but I also do grooming, boarding, dog daycare, pet sitting, dog walking, and professional handling in dog shows and other sports.

If you know what you're doing and know you can be successful, go for it

 

[Fino]

I've tried and failed to have at least a dozen online businesses.

 

[Sherlock77]

I think the answer to the question depends on your personality, traits, etc...

Some people go about saying that "being your own boss" is the only way to be (and they say that to everyone they meet)

I personally think it takes a certain kind of person to be an entrepeneur, to start a business, and I really don't think I am that kind of person for various reasons...

 

[Billthecat]

Honestly, I don't look it as an enterprise, I think I could be considered more a "business killer", a vulture come out from the sky to clean the tragedy land.

Maybe I could jump the shark also tomorrow, but I'm not a kid anymore.

It was funny when all the other competitors at the auction were busy eating and drinking, maybe more interested in the auction hostesses, I tried to analyze all the goods, thinking about what every single one weight and the cost of raw materials, what I can fix and sell and what is scrap, the spares I could found around, the position to sell over there and the place security.

My only hope is this bad world situation doesn't change so quickly, two years ago my stuffs never cost nothing, that's why they were abandoned.

There's a big fair today, let's try to dig some other money from this manure pit.

 

[Progster]

I tried working for other people, and it doesn't work for me.

 

[Atrapa Almas]

In Rich Dad book they talk about 4 ways of making money. Working for other person, which I am doing now, working for yourself (freelancer), creating a company (like Elon Musk), and investing (like Warren buffet).

To me creating a company is way too much stress and time consuming, as I am focused on my family thats a no.

I have worked as a freelancer and its ok, I would say its a very good way to make money for people whose skills can be almost directly used by the final client. Like @Luca skill with dogs. It may be also nice way to get extra money out of a hobby and test ideas. I could (as an example) paint some miniatures for people, try to sell some art or become a personal teacher at some online platform. Most people in this category lack business skills to some degree. For those of them I recomend this book: The Personal MBA - Josh Kaufman

I am currently working for a company as the boss of a small specialists risk analisys team, and its very nice to just direct the team. I have a good health insurance, I can forget about work after my leaving time and my weekends are free. I can also take vacations. So its nice now. But It was difficult before getting to my current possition. And social soft skills are very much needed, so a lot of masking. I would say this is also worth to try. To me the trick has been to consider every work as something just temporal, so I would not fall into the consumist trap. So I always try to save something.

Finally investing is what you do with savings and to some point it is as important (or even more) than working skills. The first years, saving a bit more and investing well may be just the 1% of your Equity. Over the years will steadily catch up with your earnings, and by the end of your working life it must be your main earnings source and most of your Equity should have come from this source. I know a lot of people who have spent 5 to 10 years into learning about some stuff to earn money but less than a week to learn how to save and invest properly. This is a very big mistake.

Best of luck.

 

[Billthecat]

In Rich Dad book they talk about 4 ways of making money. Working for other person, which I am doing now, working for yourself (freelancer), creating a company (like Elon Musk), and investing (like Warren buffet).

To me creating a company is way too much stress and time consuming, as I am focused on my family thats a no.

I have worked as a freelancer and its ok, I would say its a very good way to make money for people whose skills can be almost directly used by the final client. Like @Luca skill with dogs. It may be also nice way to get extra money out of a hobby and test ideas. I could (as an example) paint some miniatures for people, try to sell some art or become a personal teacher at some online platform. Most people in this category lack business skills to some degree. For those of them I recomend this book: The Personal MBA - Josh Kaufman

I am currently working for a company as the boss of a small specialists risk analisys team, and its very nice to just direct the team. I have a good health insurance, I can forget about work after my leaving time and my weekends are free. I can also take vacations. So its nice now. But It was difficult before getting to my current possition. And social soft skills are very much needed, so a lot of masking. I would say this is also worth to try. To me the trick has been to consider every work as something just temporal, so I would not fall into the consumist trap. So I always try to save something.

Finally investing is what you do with savings and to some point it is as important (or even more) than working skills. The first years, saving a bit more and investing well may be just the 1% of your Equity. Over the years will steadily catch up with your earnings, and by the end of your working life it must be your main earnings source and most of your Equity should have come from this source. I know a lot of people who have spent 5 to 10 years into learning about some stuff to earn money but less than a week to learn how to save and invest properly. This is a very big mistake.

Best of luck.

It's really sad to say, but right now I don't need luck, I need world instability.

Today, I'm officially positive on my balance, my autistic brain could take a seat and have a coffee.

In one of my favorite movies, Antonio Albanese said:-noi non siamo come i panda o i koala che mangiano una cosa sola, noi siamo come gli scarafaggi, rovistiamo negli avanzi da tutta la vita..... -

 

[velociraptor]

I need world instability.

Nothing wrong with being someone who turns lemons into lemonade.

 

[Aspea]

I think I've got the skills and the contacts to make it happen, if just the luck doesn't turn me her back.

Do you think it could be something crazy or is one of these crazy ideas you had at least one time in your life?

I'm really interested about your opinion

It depends. I've been my own boss for over 10 years, although that has now ended. If you are able to plan and organize yourself and follow through, and you are highly motivated and driven, and you are good at something that is in demand, then you probably have what it takes.

How good are you at this idea?

How much competition is there?

Do you feel highly motivated and have a strong interest in your idea?

Can this idea be started with very little money down, or does it require a large monetary investment to get started?

Oh and important point: Even though the customer is not always right, you must behave and act and talk to them like they are. In fact, when it comes to business, you need to have an attitude that if the customer is not happy, then you are not happy, and you have to do whatever it takes to at least meet their expectations. But preferably you need to exceed them. After all, you're going to want those positive reviews.

These days, making people happy in business can be a bit more like being their counselor or psychologist; you need to do a little massaging of their emotional state. You need to make them feel safe by understanding their problem, and by reassuring them that you understand it, and that you have a solution that is going to make them happy. This is true in just about any field I can think of, from remodeling, construction, website design, retail, services, anything.

 

[Magna]

There are definitely pros and cons to both situations. Also, it depends on the person. Some people are suited to and rewarded from being self-employed while others are/do not. I've been self-employed and have run a successful business for over ten years of time and I've also been an employee (presently so as well). In light of my real-world experiences, I'd offer the following points:

Pros for owning your own business:

> Freedom. No boss, no manager, no assigned schedule or assigned job duties, no mandatory meetings or workplace interactions, etc.
>An increased potential for success, money. Many types of established and profitable businesses have potential for becoming even more so.
>Potential for a high level of personal satisfaction at making something successful and at overcoming obstacles, working out problems and thinking of solutions.
>Doing what you want to do. Presumably (hopefully) a business owner enjoys doing what they do.

Cons for owning a business:

>Ultimately all responsibility is on you, the owner to make things work. No one except for the owner will care as much about the success of the business as the owner will/must. Ultimately, it's "do or die" for the owner. While a lot of businesses have potential for increasing revenue and success they also have potential for failure.
> Time. Most people who own a business will report that even though they have the freedom to make their own schedule, running a business often requires far more time working than when one is an employee. The typical work week for a full time employee in the U.S. is 40 hours per week. It's absolutely common for a self-employed successful business owner to work 50-60+ hours per week.
>Very often when a person owns a business they "eat, sleep and think" about the business. It's easy to be all consuming. In addition to the actual work time, in free time the business owner has they're often thinking about the business, planning, strategizing, problem solving, etc. It's extremely difficult for business owners of many kinds of businesses to "leave work at work" and live a life completely separate from running the business.
> Financial planning, retirement planning, etc is entirely on the owner to take that initiative is many cases. Small businesses don't usually have a pension fund, benefits package, retirement plan, etc. The owner has to put aside money for their own future.

Pros for being an employee and working for someone else or working for a company:

>You can "leave work at work" and have a life separate from your job when you're not "on the clock". This is a big deal. Even if a business owner loves what they do, the all-consuming aspect of owning and running a business can take a toll on the business owner and their family if they have one.
>Knowing clearly defined job duties and being able to work the job without being obligated to take on any number of spontaneous tasks at a moment's notice (aka "putting out fires") required of a business owner is also a big deal and can reduce stress.
>Regular paycheck and oftentimes having benefits such as retirement matching, reduced healthcare, etc.
>Unless you're in management, a "line-level" employee doesn't have the responsibility of hiring, firing and managing other people.

Cons of being an employee and working for someone else or working for a company:

>Workplace friction and co-worker issues
>Possibly limited options for advancement depending on the job/company
>Lack of flexibility in work schedule requirements

^ The above is of course not an exhaustive list, but there are some key points.

I have been an employee for close to three years now after being self-employed for over 15 years. At this point in my life I love not running what was an all-consuming business for me (e.g. no formal vacation for 13 years straight). I have however, structured my job through my employer in a way that I find tolerable so it works for me and for me, works far far better and far far less stressful than running a business as I did.

To each their own.

 

[Billthecat]

I just think these days working hard is something out to date, better search for followers on social networks.

I've got nothing social, I've done my counts before the auction, I don't know where you are and how long it takes from the failure and the goods selling, my country is boot shaped, and we are running fast to compensate for the immovable system.

My only luck is these almost two years of bureaucracy, during this time, the lack of these goods raised prices up and up.

Before being good to sell something(and I think I still have to learn), you have to be good at buying.

 

[clg114]

I worked at a Caterpiller dealership as a field service technician for thirty-two years. When I was sixty, I retired and started working for myself. Six of my old customer's decided they wanted to have me continue working on their equipment. One of the customers had a fleet of twenty forklifts, so that customer alone kept me pretty busy. If I would have known that working for myself was as easy as it was, I would have done it years sooner. This is the best way to go for someone who is on the spectrum. I worked for myself for fourteen years until I was seventy four.