Switch from working for “the man” to working for yourself.

Right now my work is a MASSIVE gong show which literally gives me a brain aneurysm daily . I am afraid I’m going to explode and walk out . I have done that 3 times in my life , just walked out and never went back to a job because it was such a massive gong show. Right now they dropped the ball again ( second time in a year) and I have to apply for unemployment for reduction of hours .

Nothing at my employment is guaranteed . Nothing about the home-based business I’m planning would be guaranteed either . But at least I would probably have control over my own destiny and work environment .

I just need courage to make the jump .

No, don't walk out. That's considered job abandonment and you won't get unemployment (at least in the US). I've burnt out on a company twice and just walked. But I'd always been a freelancer and I had money saved, so I didn't care. I lined up other work. I did collect unemployment when I was laid off from an office job and that cushioned things. But, hey, you'll have less hours and some money for not working, so that's a good deal (for a while).

No, don't walk out. That's considered job abandonment and you won't get unemployment (at least in the US). I've burnt out on a company twice and just walked. But I'd always been a freelancer and I had money saved, so I didn't care. I lined up other work. I did collect unemployment when I was laid off from an office job and that cushioned things. But, hey, you'll have less hours and some money for not working, so that's a good deal (for a while).

Right now I will be able to collect EI because of reduced hours but my work place is notorious for dropping the ball and shafting workers. The ED literally does not care.

I could do what I’m doing at work now at home and literally make 15,000 a year more and work the hours I want .

Good luck! Working for myself would never be for me, personally but I admire entrepreneurs so much. I am sorry about what's going on at work.

Some critical things about working for yourself:

1) Make sure you have enough money to pay your bills AND advertise yourself and get your business going AND cover all business expenses for months to come. It will take awhile to make enough and have your pipeline filled enough that you can comfortably cover everything.

2) The idea that you make your own hours is a huge myth...huge. Your clients and customers dictate your hours and when you are not jumping at their beck and call, you have to do everything else too - marketing, bookkeeping, the actual work for your clients/customers, etc. You will worker harder and more hours than you ever have in your life just to survive. It takes a long time to get to a point where you can get help, get others to do different tasks and you can actually take a one day off and not fret.

Working for yourself is not for everyone and before you just quit your job, I'd highly recommend that you do the soft approach and start out with moonlighting on the side. See if you can succeed or if it's even for you at all. Basically, if your moonlighting is going well and you are getting really busy and secure in your success, then you can quit your job. I don't recommend to anyone to just quit and dive in unless you've been fired/laid off and don't have a choice. Even then, keep in mind that you might still have to get a job to pay your bills while you get your business going.

Some critical things about working for yourself:

 

1) Make sure you have enough money to pay your bills AND advertise yourself and get your business going AND cover all business expenses for months to come. It will take awhile to make enough and have your pipeline filled enough that you can comfortably cover everything.

 

2) The idea that you make your own hours is a huge myth...huge. Your clients and customers dictate your hours and when you are not jumping at their beck and call, you have to do everything else too - marketing, bookkeeping, the actual work for your clients/customers, etc. You will worker harder and more hours than you ever have in your life just to survive. It takes a long time to get to a point where you can get help, get others to do different tasks and you can actually take a one day off and not fret.

 

Working for yourself is not for everyone and before you just quit your job, I'd highly recommend that you do the soft approach and start out with moonlighting on the side. See if you can succeed or if it's even for you at all. Basically, if your moonlighting is going well and you are getting really busy and secure in your success, then you can quit your job. I don't recommend to anyone to just quit and dive in unless you've been fired/laid off and don't have a choice. Even then, keep in mind that you might still have to get a job to pay your bills while you get your business going.

The business I would doing would be home daycare so I can’t really moonlight at it. I KNOW I can do it as I do childcare for my work sometimes 14 hours a day . There is a MASSIVE need for home daycares in this military town.

But your day doesn't start when the first child arrives and end when the last child is picked up. Fourteen hours a day sounds about right.

Plus, getting licensed might be pricey (not sure how that works in CN). And your home won't be your own during the hours the kids are there. Your family will have to kind of scoot around the children. And you would have to be super vigilant that your son never sees any of the children in a state of undress to avoid any potential perceptions of impropriety.

I'm sure you've thought of all that though.

But your day doesn't start when the first child arrives and end when the last child is picked up. Fourteen hours a day sounds about right.

 

Plus, getting licensed might be pricey (not sure how that works in CN). And your home won't be your own during the hours the kids are there. Your family will have to kind of scoot around the children. And you would have to be super vigilant that your son never sees any of the children in a state of undress to avoid any potential perceptions of impropriety.

 

I'm sure you've thought of all that though.

I am not looking to to license my daycare . Almost every person I know here who has a daycare is not licensed . I just happen at present to work for a licensed one who is a total gong show for the past three years .

Believe me I am used to hard work. My son is safe. If people want him to have a police check that’s fine I can do that. My husband loves kids . Yes, it would be a huge family adjustment as the day care would have to open at 6:30 AM as most military members need to be at work at 7. Pick up would be latest 5PM. And I would lose my dinning room to be a playroom.

My husband and I have been self employed for about 25 yrs and wouldnt have it any other way. Working for the man sucks, in our opinions. My husband was on the road daily doing his job, I did the at home stuff, got supplies, paid bills, all the mundane stuff. But that was good, it was our own biz and up to us to make it work or let it fail. It grew tremendously and we sold half to a friend who is still doing it to this day. It was to lighten my husband's workload, he was that busy.

When we moved 2.5 yrs ago he shut down that part of the biz and we continued with our online biz which we've had for 7-8 yrs now. It has grown in leaps and bounds, thru hard work and determination but we still love it.

The money we make beats any money we ever made before, including when he was on the road. We take our winter vacation to Mexico every Feb. when biz is slow, and we are also planning a Nov. or Dec. getaway for a week when things start to slow down. We can do this and not affect our biz in a negative way.

We work mostly in the mornings, I do the shipping, then the rest of the day is ours. Sometimes we have to put in extra hours when we are busy or have a sale which makes us busier, but the joy and freedom of working for ourselves is second to none. I often suggest to people who hate their jobs to think about a biz of their own that they could develop.

It really is the freedom we appreciate and love. The fact we can work in our pyjamas if we want is just a bonus! Same with setting our own hours. As long as we do what needs to be done, it doesnt matter what time of day it is. if the weather is crappy, that's ok, we dont have to go out if it's that bad.

I encourage you to consider your own business. I dont know what you do or would like to do, but hopefully you can make it happen, I'm sure you'd be a lot happier! I know we are.

Kind of the same, but my friends, a couple, own a doggy day care. They have a couple of part time employees but they are the only full time. The problems are, like someone said before, when people are late for pick up or drop off. If you have plans to do xyz, you can't do that until they've picked up their kid. Their busiest times are the holidays, but presumably people won't leave their kids with you all weekend, lol. They told me that one of their clients left their dog with them for 2 months straight, without telling them that in advance!! He has some job where he is suddenly called out of the country for an extended period of time (maybe a spy??) I don't think you'd have to deal with that either. yikes.

What would you have to do to be able to register your home (or an office) as a day care center? Would you hire a helper?

2) The idea that you make your own hours is a huge myth...huge. Your clients and customers dictate your hours and when you are not jumping at their beck and call, you have to do everything else too - marketing, bookkeeping, the actual work for your clients/customers, etc. You will worker harder and more hours than you ever have in your life just to survive. It takes a long time to get to a point where you can get help, get others to do different tasks and you can actually take a one day off and not fret.

I am going to disagree with that, it depends on what you are doing and how you do it. Our business is online, we dont have people coming to our house, we dont go see customers. We dont work harder than we did before, we work smarter, and know what needs to be done and can do it efficiently. Our son helps one half day a week to prep packaging for us, but if he didnt do that, I would, it doesnt actually take that long. If a business has to see/meet clients then that's a different story. Being online only lets us work it the way we want it to be. I wouldn't want to be a consultant or accountant or something like that where people came to my house or office.

Kind of the same, but my friends, a couple, own a doggy day care. They have a couple of part time employees but they are the only full time. The problems are, like someone said before, when people are late for pick up or drop off. If you have plans to do xyz, you can't do that until they've picked up their kid. Their busiest times are the holidays, but presumably people won't leave their kids with you all weekend, lol. They told me that one of their clients left their dog with them for 2 months straight, without telling them that in advance!! He has some job where he is suddenly called out of the country for an extended period of time (maybe a spy??) I don't think you'd have to deal with that either. yikes.

 

What would you have to do to be able to register your home (or an office) as a day care center? Would you hire a helper?

I have a gf who would be willing to help. Well, people have to pick up their kids unless they want to be charged extra. No, no weekends or holidays. I know personally 5 people in my neighbourhood who do this including my next door neighbour. Most people doing this have their own young children so they are limited and a lot of capacities. I’m not limited in that way.

I don’t have to register ,no. But I can claim 1/10 of my living space some of my heat and Hydro and my phone on my taxes as business .

My husband and I have been self employed for about 25 yrs and wouldnt have it any other way. Working for the man sucks, in our opinions. My husband was on the road daily doing his job, I did the at home stuff, got supplies, paid bills, all the mundane stuff. But that was good, it was our own biz and up to us to make it work or let it fail. It grew tremendously and we sold half to a friend who is still doing it to this day. It was to lighten my husband's workload, he was that busy.

Ok

When we moved 2.5 yrs ago he shut down that part of the biz and we continued with our online biz which we've had for 7-8 yrs now. It has grown in leaps and bounds, thru hard work and determination but we still love it.

 

The money we make beats any money we ever made before, including when he was on the road. We take our winter vacation to Mexico every Feb. when biz is slow, and we are also planning a Nov. or Dec. getaway for a week when things start to slow down. We can do this and not affect our biz in a negative way.

 

We work mostly in the mornings, I do the shipping, then the rest of the day is ours. Sometimes we have to put in extra hours when we are busy or have a sale which makes us busier, but the joy and freedom of working for ourselves is second to none. I often suggest to people who hate their jobs to think about a biz of their own that they could develop.

 

It really is the freedom we appreciate and love. The fact we can work in our pyjamas if we want is just a bonus! Same with setting our own hours. As long as we do what needs to be done, it doesnt matter what time of day it is. if the weather is crappy, that's ok, we dont have to go out if it's that bad.

 

I encourage you to consider your own business. I dont know what you do or would like to do, but hopefully you can make it happen, I'm sure you'd be a lot happier! I know we are.

I am sure I would be a lot happier . Typically I don’t like jumping through hoops or being told what to do . My present workplace is a gong show and there’s always the micro manager .

Seraphim, Ok I see you work for a daycare and would consider starting one at home. Good idea, especially if you could make more money that way. Do you have a 10 room house? The way I understand Canadian income tax rules is you can claim, as an example, 1/6 of expenses if you have a 6 room house, 1/10 of expenses if you have a 10 room house etc. and the daycare only occupies one room. Two rooms doubles the deductible expenses. Plus you can deduct a portion of heat, hydro, insurance, repairs, property taxes, water, an office if you have one for the daycare paperwork. Working at home offers lots of deductions.

Seraphim, Ok I see you work for a daycare and would consider starting one at home. Good idea, especially if you could make more money that way. Do you have a 10 room house? The way I understand Canadian income tax rules is you can claim, as an example, 1/6 of expenses if you have a 6 room house, 1/10 of expenses if you have a 10 room house etc. and the daycare only occupies one room. Two rooms doubles the deductible expenses. Plus you can deduct a portion of heat, hydro, insurance, repairs, property taxes, water, an office if you have one for the daycare paperwork. Working at home offers lots of deductions.

I live on base so I have no repairs or property taxes. The other stuff we pay. No ,I don’t have a 10 room house I have a six room house and a basement . The basement which cannot really be used for anything but laundry because there’s too much Radon. Upstairs we have our two bedrooms and a bathroom we have a living room kitchen and dining room . I would have to take out my dining room furniture to put in the basement to make my dining room into a playroom . To me that’s far better than the circus I’m living with at the moment .

The thing is is I can have five children on my own . Two children under two and the other children have to be over two. So if I have five children and I charge $35 a day that is 3,500 a month. And $35 a day is very typical here for a home daycare. If you are looking for a licensed daycare it is $62 for an infant and $45 for a toddler.

Yeah, that doesn't sound too shabby! You said that your hours at your current work aren't really too stable?

Yeah, that doesn't sound too shabby! You said that your hours at your current work aren't really too stable?

Nope. I am contract and my hours are extremely variable . I can have 90 hours in 2 weeks or I can have 20 or none. Like right now my busy day I can’t work because they dropped the ball again and got a building condemned . My bosses are all working I am the only one not . So now I have to apply for unemployment which will take three weeks to take affect . And last November they got our room closed by not following their license . And I lost a month’s work again. Either way I can’t take the BS.

Try it & see! You sound like you have it all worked out & had a long hard think about it.

If it doesnt work out as you think it will you can always go back to paid employment!

Best of luck, I hope it works out well for you!

I totally think you should go for it. You have one life, don't stay where you are unhappy and frustrated when you have other options available to you. Your plan sounds good!

I know you aren't afraid of hard work!! Does it fill you with excitement thinking of working as an independent? !

There's a huge need for affordable daycare - 35 bucks pfft that's reasonable!

I'm making the transition myself , my sweetie already has ( a few months ago). He's happier than I've ever seen him. And making better money too! Like you said, it's being in charge of your own - the more you put in, the more you get out.

And you've seen so very unhappy where you are.

Start the process, see if you can swing it! It's not like the need for your work is going away any time soon.

Try it & see! You sound like you have it all worked out & had a long hard think about it.

If it doesnt work out as you think it will you can always go back to paid employment!

Best of luck, I hope it works out well for you!

Thank you!

I totally think you should go for it. You have one life, don't stay where you are unhappy and frustrated when you have other options available to you. Your plan sounds good!

Absolutely we only have one life and we shouldn’t spend miserable .

I know you aren't afraid of hard work!! Does it fill you with excitement thinking of working as an independent? !

There's a huge need for affordable daycare - 35 bucks pfft that's reasonable!

 

I'm making the transition myself , my sweetie already has ( a few months ago). He's happier than I've ever seen him. And making better money too! Like you said, it's being in charge of your own - the more you put in, the more you get out.

 

And you've seen so very unhappy where you are.

 

Start the process, see if you can swing it! It's not like the need for your work is going away any time soon.

Absolutely ,I am very unhappy where I am at present . Every day I leave there totally enraged. And truthfully, I haven’t seen many gong shows this bad . I just have to find the courage to make this leap. There are not many jobs in this town if it doesn’t pan out and I would never be able to go back to where I was . I have my son and my gf to help me out as well. And I am excited about doing my own thing.

I am glad you guys are happy! That makes life so much better!

You’ll want to check on insurance prices - both personal and for your business. Self employed people often make more but they have more expenses so it may not be better.

Are you 100% sure you don’t have to register or get licensed? That seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen. It doesn’t matter if everyone is doing it