Home Business

Exposing Myths of Self-Employment

Think you know the truth about selfemployment? Think again. Your day job might
be a much riskier proposition. But don’t view owning your home business through rose-colored glasses, either they’ll be shattered by stark reality.

Risk is part of starting a home business or any type of self-employment. Depending on your current job, you might be risking more at a seemingly steady, seemingly stable, nine-to-five job.

In this Work From Home Business Article, we’ll look at the risks and costs associated with regular employment and compare those with the risks you will assume as someone starting and running
a home business as your sole source of income. You will calculate the cost of your current employment
and use this information when you formulate your business plan and budget.

In fact, while reading this article, it is important to remember that we take only this one article to discuss the risks and costs of your probable current situation (regular employment). The rest of the book deals with the risks and costs of running your own business and whether such a business is right for you.

Calculating the Costs and Risks of a Nine-to-Five Job

Think a home business means taking on a lot of risk? Chances are, if you are currently employed in the United States, you are taking on more risk than you realize. As an employee, you expect to give up your ability to call all the shots and control your work flow and schedule in exchange for security. Most of us like to believe that if we do good work, we will always have a job. For most Americans who are not selfemployed, the control that they give up to attain that security is substantial. Here are some basic realities of being an employee:

• You are told when to come in to the office and when to leave.
• You are told what to do and (in many cases) when to do it.
• You are told who to work with whether you consider them to be qualified to do the job or not.
• You will be held responsible for the job you do, even if you are asked to perform a task that provides no real benefit to the company (and even if you must work with people you would not hire).
• You might frequently be asked to do all of this in a time frame that allows you little or no personal life - with no additional compensation.
• You will be told if you can take time off, when you can take the time, and how long you can be away. If you disagree with any of those decisions - well, too bad. Your choices are to accept the decision or to leave. With so much control being sacrificed, we should be the most secure workers in the world.

But ask yourself these home business questions:

• How many times have you rewritten your resume? How many times have you switched jobs?
• How many times have you or your co-workers been laid off - and not known you were “getting the ax” until you were shown the door?
• How many times have you been told you would not be laid off, and then been assigned the workloads of those who just left?
• How many hours have you worked without additional compensation, only to be told you cannot take time off, either?

Earn as much as you possibly can. are paid as little as possible.