I dislike people who post: QUIT YOUR JOB NOW kind of articles in which they are so interested in telling people how cool it is to be your own “boss” that they forget to also caution them to the fact self-employment is NOT EASY.

I have been freelancing for 5 years and only now I started my own design firm. Weird enough I still keep my job as a radio DJ and earn a decent buck. I want to live off of my earnings as a designer only, but I am not ready yet to make the big leap.

The contracts are good, but still the wage I get at the radio is a good part compared to what I earn on the web business. And I try to keep this source of income, especially since I don’t have to spend too many hours there.

Anyone needs to understand that being your own boss, as cool as it might seem, also means you WORK like crazy. When you are in a job at a company you go home after the 5-9 day is over. And do whatever you please. I don’t recall my last free weekend or the night I slept earlier than 2-3 in the morning. Having my own firm means working 10-15 hours a day at least (even in weekends).

It’s not all daisies and sun, it means getting almost no personal life at least till you kinda settle in the business and are able to think about hiring someone or just relax some more.

I would advice anyone to think about working on their own since the feeling is absolutely amazing, but also START CAUTIOUSLY on this road.

One thing I think that is important to remember is that you must realise in your day when to take breaks etc, and when you should step back from what you are doing to take a bigger look. You don’t want to end up working non-stop, losing sleep etc, cos that leads to getting ill, or over-tired and not working properly.

Eating properly is vital too. Keeping your energy levels up and staying focused. Getting your vitamins and other good stuff ^_^

Great post.

I followed a link from GoldyWorld, and discovered, I like how you write! I was an entrepreneur as long as I can remember (with brief stints working for someone else.) And since graduating almost a decade before you, I can tell you, the earlier you start, the better. But there ARE downsides, and I’m glad you put that out there for your readers, as well. For many of us, though, entrepreneurship is likely “in the blood,” and such pitfalls of working 14 hour days, when starting out, are greatly outweighed by the satisfaction of saying, “I made this. It is mine.”

Best Wishes,

Meg Meyer
http://www.centerofmuse.com

another way to go is to try to create income on the side. if you’re upto 50% of your current salary then its a lot less risk to quit the job.

Completely agree with your post, its easy to slip into lazy habits when the structure of traditional employment is taken away. I finds its helpful to have a timesheet for each day so you can just make a quick note of how you have spent your time, that way its easy to review how to manage your time more efficiently

Keep up the good work,
Greg

And every gameplan requires a set amount of hours to market and actively sell whatever you’re doing. Especially for a new business. That’s hard to do and it’s intimidating for a lot of people who are new in business and don’t have total confidence in their own product yet.

Without a commitment to spend X amount of hours out “sellin’ it” everyday, it’s easy to get into development hell and continuously create new things, but not bring in any cashflow.