I’ve been self-employed since June 2008, which sometimes feels like a lifetime ago and sometimes last week! I’ve learnt a lot about myself, met some amazing freelancers, small business owners, written a book and won a few awards. Although, it is estimated that 4.8 million people in the UK are self-employed* which accounts for around 15% of the working population, there are still so many myths around self-employment and working from home.
*Stats from Gov.UK October 2018
7 Myths Around Self-employment
- Long Hours: HALF RIGHT. This is a hard one as sometimes I do work longer hours to meet deadlines and get things done, but I also take 6 weeks off for the Summer Holidays so for me, it swings in roundabouts. Most individuals are looking for flexibility and that’s the beauty of self-employment you can be as flexible as you need/want.
- Buy A House: MYTH! Of course, you can! Unlike employed individuals, you may need to have 3/4 years worth of accounts in which to prove your income and financial stability. An Online Mortgage Broker is a great option for the self-employed handling your application from start to finish. Mortgage brokers take all the hard work out of mortgage hunting for you, they will be able to advise you on Help to Buy mortgages and other Government mortgage schemes; including shared ownership.
- PJ’s = Uniform: MYTH! I don’t know anyone who works in their PJ’s. Firstly, you are far more productive if you actually get up and dressed to go to work, than sitting about in bed with your laptop. Secondly, my school has a no PJs at the school gate policy 😉 I work from home I’m not an animal!
- You Have To Do Everything Yourself: HALF RIGHT. I choose to complete a large amount of tasks myself but there are hundreds of freelancers out there you can outsource too. Accounts, admin, social media you don’t have to do everything, decide which jobs need your 100% attention and delegate/outsource those that don’t or that you don’t enjoy to other freelancers. Just because you are self-employed doesn’t mean you can’t develop a team around you.
- It’s Lonely: MYTH! I have a superb network of small business friends, who I regularly meet face to face, at least once a week and I usually chat with a few online during my working day. There are plenty of co-working spaces where you can work with other people, local networking groups, online networking and the local coffee shop if you fancy a change of scenery. I never feel lonely.
- You Watch TV All Day: MYTH! Seriously if I spent all day watching TV and eating, I’d be broke and the size of a house! I sometimes wish I had the time to do nothing all day! You do have to motivated to work from home and not be distracted by housework and your surroundings but I also think when you have limited time by yourself you work far better than if you had all day.
- It’s a Hobby: MYTH! Working from home doesn’t mean it’s a hobby. Business needs to start somewhere and some multinational corporations began life at someone’s kitchen table. It might surprise you to know that Amazon, Microsoft and Disney all started as home-based businesses, remember that next time you suggest working from home is a hobby.
Mythbusted! There you have it 7 myths around self-employed demystified! Do you work from home and have any other myths to add?
This post complies with my Disclosure Policy
I really enjoy working from home, also don’t feel lonely. I enjoy being by myself but, like you I have a balance of meeting others and running workshops .
And 3 o’clock comes round so quick !
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I know right!!
Freelancing would be the best option to balance work with family. You can have more time with them unlike with a full-timed time 9-5 hours a day and spending weekends with homeworks.
Cary recently posted..Scientific Approaches to Finding Quality Talent
These are such important myths to bust around self-employment, though I do hold my hand up to working in my PJs…
Working from home is my dream and one day I will. Yes, people often mistake self-employment as a joy-ride. It’s lots of hard work, so a great post to to educate people with. 🙂
Afshan Nasim recently posted..Three Christmas Party Looks From Oasis
Re: point 6, I think it’s far more motivating to work when you are self employed, not only because you won’t get paid otherwise, but also because the work you do is much more directly related to the money received. When an invoice is paid, all the money is for your work and your work alone – I find this very rewarding!
Charlotte Craig recently posted..8 Best Poole and Bournemouth Cinema Options
Self-employment is much better than being an employee, you can work whenever you want. Being self-employed, sometimes it might be tiring but you will be motivated in the same manner. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
At this point, I’m not even so sure “do what you love” is great advice. Folks accusing you of it being a “hobby” probably is wrong in the way you mentioned and that it’s probably not a great pursuit anyway.
Aside from the fact that lots of folks don’t necessarily love things that can produce an income, there’s also a risk to the thing that you love if you try to form a business or job around it.
Perhaps your hobby will turn into work…in the worst way.
Great tips on why you’re not finding the business success you might expect.
Chris@TTL recently posted..From Hobby to Business: Making What’s Fun Into a Job