Self-Employment

Posted by KC Morgan

You may hear that self employment is very freeing, an independent lifestyle where you pick the jobs and call the shots. What they didn’t tell you is that work at home can come with its own unique set of troubles as well.



The Reality of Work at Home

The reality of work at home is that it can be very lonely and the work isn’t always steady. Your budget will change, your finances will fluctuate and sometimes your nerves will be frayed. You can handle all of these troubles. How about a few more?

What They Didn’t Tell You

Explore a few little-known facts associated with the work at home lifestyle, and find out if you’re still up to the task of self employment:

About Payment

Many employers may offer written or verbal promises of compensation. If you don’t understand the terms, do not agree to them. That revenue-sharing deal may sound great at first…until you realize just how hard it is to get more than one thousand clicks. You may also be required to ask for payment through PayPal’s invoicing system. Be advised that PayPal will take a percentage of every invoice amount received.

About Samples

You may have to go through a lengthy hiring process with some employers, who will ask for samples of your work. They may give you an entire assignment so they can see your style. You’ll have to take time out of your work day in order to provide this. In many cases, you’ll be compensated for none of it.

About Schedules

You decide when you want to work, sure, but they decide when they want to receive their projects. You’ll still have to work around an employer’s deadline in order to be compensated, and that means scheduling your time depending on their whims.

Posted by KC Morgan

Getting paid less that what you’re worth? Work at home gigs often feel tenuous. You know you’re doing a good job…but you also know there are many other people vying for your position. You want to make more money, but you don’t want to lose a good thing. Find out how to ask for a raise and get a good chance of getting it, too.

How to Ask for a Raise

You really like the job, but you can’t keep spending time on it unless you get compensation. In the world of self employment, any misstep could leave you out in the cold. Don’t alienate your employer by making demands. Instead, learn the right way to ask for a raise.

Be Indispensable

In a way, you have to prove that you’re “worth it.” Don’t start out by asking for more money. Start out by asking for more work. Take your existing tasks above and beyond what’s been asked for - throwing in a little extra for every assignment. Prove that you’re willing to do more by showing it to the ones writing the checks.

Be Independent

Always turn everything in ahead of schedule. Don’t cut deadlines too close if you’re angling for a raise - you won’t get it.

Be Indifferent

Once you’ve shown your high quality and proven that you can take on extra tasks, it’s time to think about that raise. Don’t threaten or become desperate. Instead, stay indifferent and professional. You have many other jobs to consider and many pressing tasks on your time, and you feel that you’re getting paid less than you’re worth. Say that you’re willing to accept new responsibilities to go with your new pay, but otherwise you just might have to terminate employment. If you’re really doing a great job, most of the time you’ll win that raise.

Posted by KC Morgan

It’s true that self employment takes strong self-discipline, shameless self-marketing and serious self-confidence to have any chance of success. There are a lot of reasons to be afraid of being self employed. But there are at least five reasons you should rejoice in work at home. Let’s look at some of the perks of being self employed.

Perks of Self Employment

You know plenty of reasons for disliking self employed - unstable pay, working holidays, an abysmal lack of benefits, even extra taxes. Buck up with these five reasons to rejoice:

Expensive gas? No problem!You don’t drive to work, ergo you aren’t spending hundreds of dollars a week on the gas it takes to get you there. As your friends and family grumble over the commute, you’re worrying only about Internet traffic.

Bad hair? Who cares?

There’s no such thing as a bad hair day when there’s no one around to impress with your appearance. For you, business attire is clothing optional.

Good manners need not apply.

Struggling to break off that phone conversation instigated by your mother-in-law’s call? Looking for a way to shoo out an unwelcome houseguest? You can always pull the “got some work to take care of” card and send them on their way.

Everything is a potential write-off.

Do you use your high-speed Internet to facilitate work at home? Did you buy a laptop to make the job easier? The stamps you use to mail the bill, the gas you burned up driving to the electronics store and all work-related purchases themselves can be applied as business expenses on your tax forms.

Snooze bar? Who needs it?

You can almost toss out the alarm clock when you create your own schedule. Sleeping in takes on a whole new hue when you can absolutely get out of bed whenever you feel like it.

Posted by KC Morgan

If you aren’t earning revenue, is any work at home job really worth your time? When finances are lean and your nerves are short, you may be ready to chuck it all and seek out gigs that reward you in cold, hard cash. But remember that some work at home positions offer other perks. Non-monetary compensation doesn’t always sound attractive…until you weigh all the variables.

Non-Monetary Compensation

“We can’t pay you right now, but we will give you a full-color page on our site and the work you do for us guarantees your name will be in the search engines.” If you stopped caring at “we can’t pay you,” you might be missing out. It’s difficult to weigh jobs on merit when you imagine bills looming above your head, but sometimes you might have to take a step back and look at a larger picture.

Work at Home Perks

If you like the job, it’s important to consider this reality. Even in work at home, no job is likely to be ideal. There will be times when you feel bored, bunt-out or dissatisfied. Actually enjoying the work can go a long way toward brightening your day (and keeping you sane). Having a true affection for what you do it its own reward.

Exposure is another huge factor in self employment. Maybe you aren’t making money, but you’re getting your name out there in a very big way - there’s no telling when this could lead to a bona fide paying opportunity.

Creative control is a huge reward, and one that doesn’t come with every gig. If you’re given the freedom to work your own way, pick your own topics and be as creative as you like, you have a great outlet for all those creative energies. Why would you want to give that up?

Posted by KC Morgan

At some point, following the boss’s orders may take on a very negative feel. It’s something which happens to everyone, but somehow it seems much more monumental when it happens to the self employed professional. Low job security, unstable payment and the truth of working all alone is bad enough - throw in a directive that feels weird and suddenly, you’re living in a work at home nightmare. Just how much should you take?



Following the Boss’s Orders

Work at home employment is unlike more traditional jobs which involve clocking in and out five days a week. You choose the hours, you choose the jobs, you call the shots - as long as it’s all within the framework of what your clients want. Even when you’re self employed, someone else writes the checks that keep you going, and those people expect something for their money.

What do you do when it seems like they’re starting to expect too much?

How Much Should You Take?

Maybe it’s software you have to download, hardware you have to go out and buy, an online company you’re told to sign up and join, an extra step in your work that requires a ridiculous amount of time - but for some reason, the directions you’re given just don’t sit well with you. How much hoop-jumping does a professional have to do to make a buck, anyway?

Drawing the Line



If you’re self employed, you’re the boss. You’re the one looking for and finding the jobs. You’re the one completing the work. And you’re the one who is going to put their name on the products or services given. Work at home may feel a little different than working at a company, but your morals and ethics haven’t changed. Follow your own counsel and conscience, and you can’t go wrong.

Posted by KC Morgan

Is overwhelming them a good idea? Writers seeking to get published are advised to send out as many letters as possible, to create huge lists of addresses and mail a standard letter to each and every one. Freelancers building their portfolios often use as many links and projects as they possibly can, showing off a prolific amount of work. Those seeking to gain a certain customer or position may send repeated emails to reach what they desire. And when a self employed professional is faced with an employer who won’t provide compensation, it’s tempting to send note after note to this person in hopes of forcing them to yield.

...Does any of it work?

The Fine Art of Persistence

It’s always good to be persistent, and in some cases it truly pays off. For instance, there’s a certain company you’d like to work with. Every time a position opens, you send another application. Eventually, all this effort may result in a viable opportunity. This is a form of positive persistence.

Let’s take the same situation. There’s a certain company you’d like to work with, so you send them a copy of your resume every single Monday. At the beginning of the week, someone at that office is greeted with your name and information - unsolicited, of course. This isn’t exactly negative, but it’s not usually effective either.

Overwhelming Them

Be persistent, but only up to a point. It’s a good idea to regularly look for jobs and to regularly apply to open positions, but not necessarily to send out un-asked-for resumes and letters on a frequent basis. Your portfolio should likewise not be swamped with links - quality over quantity. Overwhelm them with the quality of your work, not the amount of time you have to send out letters.

Posted by KC Morgan

You probably never thought of these 10 self employment jobs, but anything is possible in the modern world. What ideas could you come up with for work at home today?

Candle maker. All you need is a few saucepans, a little bit of paraffin and some time and you, too, could make elegant and sought-after candles to be sold online.

Psychic. It’s not illegal if it’s entertainment. Most people who phone psychics are really just looking for someone to talk to. A willing ear and a calming voice can go a long way toward a bright work at home future.

Researcher. Many companies and individuals can use the services of someone who is data-savvy and knows how to get their hands on reliable materials. Many, many writers are in the market for researchers who can commit time and effort to digging up the facts.

Genealogist. If you’re that good at research, how good are you at family backgrounds? There is a huge market for those who can locate records on family history - market your services and see where it goes.

MySpace Page Designer. Great at graphic design and up on the latest social networking trends? Market your services to a single niche, gather a backlog of contacts and specialize.

Posted by KC Morgan

Many employers will want your bio information. Here’s the rub: you’ll have to provide that information all on your own. Do you even know how to go about creating your bio? ...Do think you know how to write yourself?

Creating Your Bio

Even when writing isn’t your self employment trade, there are times when employers will want a few concise paragraphs on who you are. Often, these bios are displayed on Web pages, newsletters, flyers, etc. - places where the public at large can view them.

Just what will they see when they read yours?

Do You Know How to Write Yourself?

Creating a bio may not sound like an insurmountable feat. But even for those who write creatively, writing about oneself is a difficult task. It’s tough to be objective and tougher still to brag about one’s own accomplishments. But in a sense, that’s exactly what it takes to craft a great bio.

Always start the biography with your name, and write in the third person (don’t use the word “I” - talk about yourself as if you were talking about a stranger). The first sentence should describe who you are and what you do (fJane Doe is a graphic Web designer and entrepreneur). The next few sentences should list experience (fJane received her Master’s Degree at the University of State and has worked in the field of graphic design for ten years). The next paragraph should list professional accomplishments (In her years as a graphic Web designer, Jane has created pages for such prestigious companies as X, Y and Z. She has appeared as a public speaker and lecturer at Blank College and Pretend Group).

Remember to stay objective, but always to keep in mind that you’re making yourself sound good. Once you master this, creating your bio will seem much easier.

Posted by KC Morgan

Do you know how to explain quitting a job on a resume? Everyone understands the desire to move forward, strive for better and to take on new challenges. But truthfully, no employer wants to be the next in your line of people left behind. Learn a few resume writing tricks to make even quitting seem like an asset.

Resume Writing Tricks

A good resume is not necessarily the one featuring the most experience and accolades. You want your resume to highlight your successes, but also to downplay your failures so well that these, too, look like successes. At some point, you’re going to have to explain away a job you left behind. But how do you explain quitting?

It’s standard practice on every resume to show the duration of employment with every job you list. As most resumes show employment history from at least the last five years, this will inevitably mean listing a job you left at some point in the past. Whether you quit or were perhaps asked to leave, there’s always a way to spin this truth to make it more resume-friendly.

How to Explain Quitting

Never lie. You can tell the truth and still find the best way to tell that truth. For each job to which you are no longer currently employed, be sure to include a “Reason for leaving” under the job description. Here, list a reason that highlights the best part of the truth. Instead of saying you weren’t being paid enough money, say you “chose to leave in favor of work offering higher compensation.” Instead of saying you didn’t get along with coworkers, say you “left to pursue a more challenging environment.” Get the idea? Anything can sound like a positive - just find the right way to present it.

Posted by KC Morgan

Are you too lazy to work at home successfully? When you work forty hours a week for someone else and strive every day on the job, your first reaction is going to be “no, absolutely not.” But when you’re all alone and no one is around, everything suddenly becomes different. Asses your self employment capability, and find out if you’re up to the task of working at home.

Asses Yourself

It’s easy to be self indulgent when you are your own boss, easy to play solitaire instead of finishing off that job search, easy to think “I can just save that for tomorrow” when really you should probably get it done today. Everyone is probably guilty of a little laziness, whether they work for themselves or for someone else. But does that mean you can’t stand up to self employment? Asses your self employment capability, and find out.

Everyone works differently, but some are perhaps more suited to self employment than others. Are you capable of shutting out all distractions to the point of obsessing on a single project? Can you meet a deadline - no matter what it takes, and even if it’s self-imposed? Can you deal with not knowing your own future and having a rather unstable economic future from time to time?

Working at Home

The truth is, when you love what you do laziness doesn’t play a part. Sure it’s easy to get distracted at home and sure it’s easy to put off or ignore work which ought to be done. But when you love your job, none of it matters. If you love the idea of going it alone and working only for yourself, then you just might love being self employed.