This article will discuss the pros and cons of becoming self-employed, working from home or running your own business from home. If you still haven’t decided whether this kind of lifestyle is right for you, keep reading.
Working from home, or becoming self-employed sounds like the ideal life. You can get out of bed when you want, work whatever hours you feel like, and literally sit around all day in your pajamas (if you really want to). However, like anything in life, there are some negatives that come along with the benefits. You have to take the rough with the smooth.
Not everyone is cut out for working from home. You have to decide whether the positives outweigh the negatives if you want to continue.
The following list will start with the cons; let’s end this content on a positive note!
Cons:
Motivation
Because you may not have a boss, it can be easy to put work off for another time. Motivating yourself can be difficult because there is little risk there if you do not complete the work.
When you have a boss or manager, there is a danger of losing your job if you under-perform. An employee would usually complete the task assigned to them with the best of their ability and, as quickly as needed. When you only have yourself to answer to, however, you have as much freedom and choice as you desire.
When work becomes difficult or tedious, it becomes tough to motivate yourself to get the work done when there are so many distractions around. If you had total freedom, which would you be most likely to choose? Writing that 3000-word article, or staying in bed an extra hour and catching up on the latest season of your favorite Netflix show? The work can be done later, right?
Family never seem to understand
It doesn’t appear to make sense to other family members and friends who have held down traditional jobs for most or all of their working lives. For them, seeing somebody who wakes up whatever time of day they want to, seems to be at home while other people are at work, and does whatever hours they want to, doesn’t seem right somehow.
This can lead to very awkward conversations about what you do for a living. No matter how hard you explain, regular people with normal jobs never seem to understand exactly what you “do.”
Cabin fever
Working from home can become lonely. If you’re not the type who enjoys being on their own, this line of work can be difficult. You’ll be at home for long periods, sometimes without socializing or speaking with anyone face to face for hours at a time.
Distractions
Your home is a place of comfort, traditionally a place to retire to at the end of a busy workday, somewhere where you enjoy your weekends outside of work.
Home is set up the way you chose to please you, to comfort you, and contains all of your favorite things and enjoyable activities. When you’re trying to knuckle down and work hard on something, all these pleasures become distractions.
The TV, your favorite food, the internet at the click of a mouse. All these simple distractions will seem to become an excuse on why you only got half an hours work complete in a full day.
Success comes later
If you start your own business or become a freelancer, success does not come immediately. It takes time and momentum to build things up. Like most businesses, you might not even break even until year 2, and then slowly break into making a profit. Do you have the fortitude and persistence needed for this? The first year or two may be entirely about building the foundation of your business, which can sometimes seem like there are no little to no returns for a lot of effort. It takes time to build your reputation and bring in enough regular work and custom to get the amount of income you desire.
Pros of working from home:
No more living by the clock
You no longer have to get up at 6 am to commute to your place of work so you can be there on time, for a job that you hate. Time is yours. Set your own hours to achieve what you need to each week, and work these hours at whatever time of day you want to.
Traffic
No more sitting in the rush-hour traffic each day. Imagine the time you will gain back and the freedom you’ll feel by not having to sit in traffic all day, or having to put up with public transport?
Wear what you want
No uniform or dress code. You can work at home in your pajamas if you really want to. The only communication you need is by phone or email. Your clients, in general, won’t know or care about what you are wearing as long as you perform your task well for them.
Flexible schedule
If you have children, you can take them to and from school; you’ll be there if there’s ever any emergency, you’ll never miss a school play or performance by them ever again. You can work when you want, and you can make up any missed hours at any time.
Answer to no-one
The only people you will be accountable to will be your clients.
Earnings can be limitless
If you are working for yourself, there is no real cap on your earnings. The rewards come from the amount of hard work and business planning you put out.
Working from home offers many benefits as well as drawbacks. As long as you come to the conclusion that the benefits are worth the hard effort and sacrifice, everything will be good. Even though there are a lot of cons of working for yourself, and things can be rough in the beginning, working from home can turn out extremely lucrative, and expansion is almost unlimited. The sky is the limit!
