

The Pros and Cons of Working for Yourself - ryannielsen
http://blog.earbits.com/online_radio/the-pros-and-cons-of-working-for-yourself/

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jasonkester
There are lots of different forms of Working for Yourself. This is evidenced
in the author's last few points, where he seems to equate Working for Yourself
with Consulting, or, rather, Working for Somebody Else.

My favored form of Working for Myself involves building self-sustaining
products that bring in the maximum revenue with the minimum commitment on my
part. That means, for example, a product that sells itself without my
involvement, is straightforward enough that it doesn't generate many support
requests, and stays finished once it's launched.

With that sort of business, the author's worry about income stopping when you
stop working goes away completely. The whole point is to stop working. State
that as the goal from the outset, and you'll be good to go. Quite literally.

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stdbrouw
'With a “regular” job it is normally easier at the end of the day to
completely plug out and enjoy the rest of the evening.'

Definitely have noticed this myself: it's easy to slip into a kind of mindset
where, no matter how much you work, you worry about not doing enough, which
makes your free time less enjoyable because not worry-free, which in the long
run makes you less productive.

That, and the fact that it's always just you and yourself, and you never get
to enjoy the dynamics of a good team.

Obviously a lot of people manage to make it work for them, but I did it for a
couple of years and it's been enough for me.

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yesimahuman
_My friends often make fun of how rigid I am about [working]. I think they
often overlook the fact that although I don’t have to report to a boss, and
nobody would fire me, I still need to report to myself, and if I don’t get my
work done it’s bad news._

I never thought about it like that. This is exactly the response I get from
people who don't understand that working for yourself doesn't mean _not_
working.

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gte910h
>Just like you’d own the success, you’d also own the failure, and you will
have to take full responsibility for it. Unlike working for an employer, when
you run your own business you can’t just give a 2 week notice, quit and get
another job. You’d have to work through the tough times.

I completely disagree about this. You will take a personal reputation hit, but
you most certainly can _stop working for yourself and take a new job_.

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ignifero
I 've been doing it for 3 years and i don't see these "cons". I presume people
who choose to work on their own are usually self-motivated enough so as not to
mind taking the blame, fixing their time schedule, and dispensing with
everyone else's opinion (maybe it's just me though).

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bambax
YES. I don't mind "taking the blame".

I much prefer taking the blame, recognize what I did wrong, and be able to do
something about it (even if it's hard, or even if I sometimes make the same
mistake more than once) than throwing my arms up in the air thinking it's
someone else's fault and out of my control.

Control is good. Control makes you happy.

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andye
pros: time freedom

cons: no one to discuss, share ideas or set up a strict deadline

I can finish my app bookspp.com in less than 10 days, but it took me more than
2 weeks...

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BasDirks
There are more classy and contributive ways of advertising your app.

