World, Writing, Wealth discussion
Wealth & Economics
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Employed or self-?
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It's always nice to be self-employed. I've been there. But, better yet, I good boss is a gem. Not too many out here. Being retired is the best. You can choose and pick, and do what you want. Because, you have a good backup--a guaranteed income. At least until everything goes belly up. Let's hope not.
Agree, GR, I guess well retired (how to become?) may be superior to both employed and self-employed -:)
This may be the reason some European countries do better than the US, because they have a buffer against failure fear--fear is the big word. Every citizen has a guaranteed income support. The biggest supporters of human value is Sweden, Denmark, then comes Germany. Lot of mom-n-pops shops all over the place. You won't get rich, but that isn't important. The important thing is being employ, having worth, and contributing. You can't do that if you're just receiving a handout.
Yeah, I like such a societal organization, coupled with low abuse of social benefits.. They manage to be economic powerhouses and provide for all of its citizens at the same time..
I am self-employed, and I started being this way when I fitted in with some entrepreneurs to capture the world's high-temperature plastics market - or at least a good chunk of it. In the end, I nearly went bankrupt when the venture collapsed due to a breach of the supply contract, and big player manoeuvring. I kept up my company (which was external to the disaster) and somehow managed to make a reasonable living. I am quite happy being self-employed, but had I known what was coming, I am not so sure I would have had the nerve.
I freelanced until the 1987 Black Monday crash. Then my world of self-employment crashed. I found I had no customers. I didn't suffer as bad as some of my customers. Some lost millions and their million dollar houses. On our block (all houses were custom designed and built) 3 out of 1 went up for sale. I was fortunate to sell my house below market value. Not what I wanted. When I had finished building my house, it was estimated at 350K. I sold it for 150K. I made 30K. Those years were bad times for me. There is no buffer in US to protect people from disaster, as far as I know. You take the knocks as they come and hope to survive.
Yep, life and biz ain't easy and are vulnerable to unexpected events, where little depends on you...
Ive had my own "firm" now since 2001. Started as a solo, built that into about 20 employees, now back to being a solo. Being the boss is worse than having a boss. Even being self-employed you still work for someone else. Everyone has a boss. Mine just happens to be clients. I just get to choose which bosses I would rather work for.
It sounds like we went through the very similar path... and I know exactly what you describe -:)
GR, I don't know of anywhere where there is a buffer for the self-employed, other than cash reserves built up by the person. I took a huge hit around the 1987 crash because not only did potential clients simply dry up (or become insolvent) but the supply agreement for a major project was simply torn up - The NZ Government actually OWNED the resource and when they tore up the agreement they simply smiled and said, force majeure - act of government!! Contingency law suits were illegal here then, and when your associated business is $5 million in the hole, it is not that easy.The only thing I could think of doing was to simply write the whole experience off, salvage what I could, and devote what few reserves I had left to the future. If you want to be self-employed, there are no socialist safety nets, as far as I know, anywhere.
Ian wrote: "If you want to be self-employed, there are no socialist safety nets, as far as I know, anywhere...."Not sure. Recently we have a reform in social support - equating between employed and self-employed, because latter paid deductions to social security but couldn't enjoy most benefits. Now it's changing and self-employed will be entitled to unemployment allowance and similar stuff.. Don't think we are more progressive than others - the idea is probably borrowed from somewhere -:)
Michael wrote: "Ive had my own "firm" now since 2001. Started as a solo, built that into about 20 employees, now back to being a solo. Being the boss is worse than having a boss. Even being self-employed you sti..."
Touche
Ian wrote: "GR, I don't know of anywhere where there is a buffer for the self-employed, other than cash reserves built up by the person. I took a huge hit around the 1987 crash because not only did potential c..."Touche again. Over the years you build up a money reserve, when a bust comes, it's amazing how fast that reserve goes. And the worst part of it is, you not only lose credibility, but all your support structure. Everybody fears you, you're bad luck.
GR, I am not so sure about the fear, but the money people certainly avoid you, which is bad for future progress. One of the things I did when it became obvious that I was in trouble wasI always paid my bills on time. As word of this got around, it paid big dividends in my recovery phase. People will still help if they know they will get paid, and they will avoid you if they think you use them as the banker of last resort.
Would you rather employ, be a freelancer (self-employed) or employed by others?
Since I have been self-employed for the last 30 years, I guess my preference is shown :-)
In my first marriage I was employed and my husband was a self-employed contractor. For me that covered both bases as best as possible. I had the steady income for the mortgage and food, along with health insurance for the family, and we had the benefit of writing off on our taxes many things as being self-employed. Or course, that has since changed as a result of tax laws so that there is less one can write off. Employment provided security; self-employed provided the risk vs. reward aspects.
Lizzie wrote: "In my first marriage I was employed and my husband was a self-employed contractor. For me that covered both bases as best as possible. ..."Yeah, sounds like an economically perfect duet
Nik wrote: "Would you rather employ, be a freelancer (self-employed) or employed by others?"I have been both. Both have had their benefits and prices. I am employed in Government and prefer the security.
https://data.oecd.org/emp/self-employ...
Being employed is nice - no risks or worries - at a known in advance date the money arrives to the bank acc. On the other hand - the boss may be greedy and/or stupid, co-workers - not the best friends and generally you need to follow instructions.
Self-employed - is also nice. You are the boss for yourself, except you still need to cater clients. But here nothing is guaranteed, except for expenses, - some months you can end up with decent amounts, while during others - with very little and insufficient to cover the costs.
Almost like - trad publishing and self -:)
Which route (not in bookmaking) do you prefer and why?