Why I Never Want to Be (Completely) Self-Employed

Oy, unpopular opinion much? It seems as though every millennial you talk to is somehow in the process of starting his/her own business with the hope to eventually take it full time. While I openly admit that this was once my plan and trajectory, thinking back on it, I realized my intentions for this were not altogether pure.

If you have drank the millennial “you must be self employed by 30” kool-aid, read on. It’s not always all that it’s made out to be, so make sure you’ve given it a ton of thought before pulling the trigger.

I like my job.

I think a large part of why millennials want to start working for themselves is that they don’t like their jobs. As someone who has been in situations with histrionic bosses (one in particular), I totally understand the strong desire to not work for anyone. What people tend to forget, though, is that there are plenty of places to work where people treat you with respect, and are flexible and humane. If you have the grit and determination to work for yourself, odds are you have the grit and determination to work for someone else.

Find a job you love that gives you passion and makes you excited to get out of bed on a Monday morning. I found one and I know you can too. Find it.

Having colleagues is fun.

I admit I was a bit of a terrible colleague at the jobs I didn’t like because the last thing I wanted to do was seemingly extend the work day by going to happy hour and talking about… work. That isn’t to say that I didn’t have great colleagues at former jobs. I just tended to hang out with them on weekends rather than after work.

Self-employed people underestimate the value of having great colleagues. When you’re in your echo chamber, bouncing ideas off people isn’t always possible. Plus, it’s really nice to take a bit of a “brain break” and go to lunch with a colleague or go hang out and chat for a few minutes. These little breaks make a huge difference for me, and I’m so glad I have them. I know co-working spaces like WeWork try to make this possible for self-employed people, but it’s just not the same. Having someone you can chat with who is sharing in your work mission is huge and much needed.

There are a lot of hidden costs to owning a business.

A lot of people think that if they’re making, say, $50k at their corporate job that they would need to make $50k at their startup. WRONG. Things like insurance (health care and business insurance), marketing, franchise fees (if you choose to go that route), legal fees, travel expenses, professional development, etc. all cost money that you don’t ever have to worry about when you’re working for someone else.

You can still be employed as well as self-employed.

I happen to love this balance. Even though I do have a day job that takes up 40-50 hours a week, I also love that I sell Arbonne, blog and occasionally walk dogs for Wag. It gives me some autonomy with my income and also gives me a creative outlet… And, as far as Wag goes, who doesn’t love the idea of getting paid to exercise? It’s pretty great. If I know I have a big spend event coming up like a vacation, I’ll scale the hell out of my side hustles. Also, even though I plan on staying at my day job for a long time, circumstances can change and it’s nice to know that I wouldn’t be cold turkey on the income department.

You gain some great contacts from being in the “corporate world.”

My current boss always jokes that I know everyone, and he’s not entirely wrong. Because of where I went to college, my professional network, as well as the people who have cycled their way through living in D.C., I do know a TON of people. While I don’t plan on job hopping any time soon (or ever…), I’m very good at cultivating my network to where I always have someone to grab a drink with, connect me to other people and bounce ideas off of.

I still listen to and love entrepreneurial podcasts and still relish in having a fair amount of autonomy with my finances, but I intend on staying in this “employed” world. Do you agree? What are your thoughts on self employment? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!