Self employment or Rat Race

ken.ny

Guys, do you think its better to be self employed and creating your own wealth, pension and financial independence rather then working for someone and being a wage slave..

mikey72

It's the same race, just different rats.
It all depends on what suits you.

iwblue

I think the main benefits seem to be not paying tax and having the option of claiming benefits on the back of that.....so in hindsight I'd say SE

atypical

iwblue wrote: »

I think the main benefits seem to be not paying tax and having the option of claiming benefits on the back of that.....so in hindsight I'd say SE

What?! :huh:

PasturesNew

My answer is to do both at the same time if you can. A job's good for regular money, perchance you might get lucky and get a good job/salary and a reasonable boss/company ... but build your self employment up in the background.

This prevents you going from boom to bust if you're in/out of work at any time. While you don't need your S/E money, you can just shove that into investing/pension/savings/whatever "in case" ...

The trouble with being S/E is many employers won't touch with with a barge pole once you've done it, so you have to make sure it's the right thing to do before you burn your boats.

ClaphamRanger

Totally agree with PasturesNew - if you can do both at the same time you are really cutting down on the risk.

Have personally done both - Rat race offers security of a regular income but the potential income (and risk) in SE is much higher (obviously depending what field you are in). You'll miss the income as soon as its gone so if you can do both at then take that option.

melancholly

i think most people i know who are SE do more hours than anyone else working for someone else! but it's their baby so they don't resent it. being SE doesn't often come with more free time, often much less.

i guess it also depends on what area you want to work in. there aren't always SE options in every field. the right answer will depend on the business plan, the personality involved and the specific circumstances....... i don't think this is an easy one or other question.

GoodNewmover

ken.ny wrote: »

Guys, do you think its better to be self employed and creating your own wealth, pension and financial independence rather then working for someone and being a wage slave..

Both. . But, if you can't find/do one do the other. Pros and cons of starting a business whether a student or not...

Pros:
you can start one with ten pounds or fifty pounds or thousand pounds and open up a free business account. you are your own boss. you decide your holidays long or short. you can make as much as you want. work longer hours you make more money. you build character and confidence. you can work almost anywhere. you make the decisions. have a look at smarta, businesslink, creativeboom.

Cons:
no 'salary security' meaning the business could make £100 or £10,000 in days weeks or months depending on how you advertise/market the business, whereas with a job it's £40,000 no less. pay your own tax, national insurance, form filling - but to many/some that's nothing.

tkc

PasturesNew wrote: »

The trouble with being S/E is many employers won't touch with with a barge pole once you've done it, so you have to make sure it's the right thing to do before you burn your boats.

Why is that?
Do you mean that employers will resent applicants who are currently self employed, or even applicants with a history of being self employed? Is it an issue of commitment?