excerpt from Home Alone

I can’t talk about self-employment and working from home without being honest about the flip side of things. You are taking a leap. The securities that come with working for someone else don’t exist for the self-employed.

There is no more direct deposit.

Sometimes you are going to have to wait, and wait, and wait on a check.

This is going to cause fear, anxiety, and anger. Especially if you’ve been waiting for weeks and the bills are stacking up and you have to keep contacting folks about your money. It’s part of the package, and I can’t think of anything that will make it easy. Apparently there are laws against cutting people.

There is no more company insurance plan. You are going to pay out of pocket and through the nose. Did someone say healthcare reform NOW!?

There are no more 401K matches. Unless you get a birthday gift of cash and put it in your savings account.

There are no more sick or annual leave days. You don’t work, you don’t get paid. It’s the way of the jungle.

There are no more staff members to blame screw ups on. It’s all you buddy. Own it, and then fix it. Your reputation is on the line. No excuses.

You are The Decider. (Seriously, at some point, I must thank George W for this classic line).

You are the Admin Assistant.

You are the Operations Officer.

You are the IT guy.

You are the asshole who didn’t put more paper in the printer.

And you are the one that gets the pat on the back for a job well done.

The trade off for being your own boss is the loss of your safety net. With all of the pitfalls ahead, there will be triumphs, and hopefully, financial rewards for your hard work and dedication.

And yet…

You have a job you are passionate about.

You are living your dream.

You don’t have to fill out a leave slip to take Friday off and head to your third cousin’s wedding early, even though you don’t like that side of the family very much.

Basically, you’ll never want to work for The Man (the one who puts profit before people, not the one I’m committed to) again.