what do you do?
do you like it?
do you make a reasonably good living at it?

crikey! there's got to be at least one of you.

Milty said:

Nope I dont see any

I am self employed ...

I am not sure i should say exactly what field i am in ... its real estate related ...

I do like the job ... for a long time - i thought it was a dream job ... but now i am realizing ... its just like alot of jobs ... it has ups and down s ...

big think that sucks about self emplyed is always TAXES ... and health insurance ... (for myself ... in the states ) ... You really only start to understand the tax issues , etc ... when u pay out of your paycheck and feel it every time !!! ... also the health insurance delemna is such a tough one ... to pay out .. . I always say ... if the average income in the US is like 35,000 ... if you are self emplyed you have to make 55,000 just to make up the differences (of paying your own health ins and taxes !)

so - does that mean you are looking for a job Milty ... or ... just investigating ... or nosey ...!!??

dagodfather said:

Howard Dean wants to raise your taxes and everyone in the P&R forum agrees!

I agree with your H Dean assessment ... as little as i do know about him ...

but unfortunately ... Bush hasnt done too well balancing the budget ... so i hope he improves in that as well ... (altho i do remember gettin some money back from Mr Bush ... )

dagodfather said:

yeah i'm looking for a new job. i'm thinking of being self-employed - something in computers.
i was asking to see what people are into, etc. how they deal with not answering to anyone and all that. thanks for the heads up, dagodfather. that was insightful.

i'm self employed and the paper work does suck.
but hey i can take into account all the clothes i buy (gotta look nice in my proffesion)
the make up (ditto)
travel (well got get to places)

ok so holiday pay doesn't exist...but hey i just take time off after a good job!

i'm def much happier being self employed.

I am...

The "self employed" part is in graphic design/multimedia design...there are a lot of options available to me, as well as a lot of opportunities. There are also TONS of sites online which you can join, which specialize in matching the freelance/self-employed with perspective clients...one I've joined which has been extremely beneficial to me is creativemoonlighting.com...it's mainly for designers/photographers, tho...but I've received sooo many offers thru that site.



...grammar edit...
[This message was edited Tue Jan 6 13:16:11 PST 2004 by Byron]

the only isues are of course when it comes to stating your income for loans/mortgages

self employed ppl prefer to state lower earning due to tax issues so it kinda becomes a nightmare.

msserendipity said:

THAT, right there, is an amazing benefit to being self-employed...vacations pretty much at-will.

msserendipity said:

I've always stated my income accurately...

Now, deductions are another matter...

Byron said:

Byron said:

dontcha just love the deductions.
you know you've got a box full of receipts under your bed

msserendipity said:

LoL...

How nice is it, to not have to ask for time off...but instead simply tell your clients "I won't be available during the last two weeks in February"??...

msserendipity said:

Oh, I got receipts out the ying yang..lol...I keep receipts for ever'thang.

Milty said:

Build and restore custom cars,mostly street rods.My brother and I own the buisness and I love it

crazyhorse said:

i think you should have a side job as a lyricist/songwriter too.

dagodfather said:

you my friend need a better tax consultant..

self-employeed here too...i love it!! just make sure the industry you get into is one thats going to permit for a lasting career...unless you dont care 'bout longevity...and make sure you always have two months of reserves (ie, rent or mortage, bills, food money) in savings...that will help you get over any rough times you might come across...

teller said:

i love generalized statements...

i guess the truth isnt as fun as rhetoric... thanks bub!! two times!!

sosgemini said:

So true... (I have a few months of reserves, with--thankfully--more on the way...it's such a stress reliever)

sosgemini said:

Hold up, sosgemini--when teller makes generalized, extremist political statements, it's called "putting it in a nutshell". When a non-Libertarian (especially a 'liberal') does it, it's called "whining" and "half-truths".

((sorry, slight P&R conversational overflow--we now return to our regularly scheduled programming ))
[This message was edited Tue Jan 6 13:46:16 PST 2004 by AnotherLoverToo]

Byron said:

reserves?...oooh you mean my credit card

msserendipity said:

...Yeah, that'll work, too...

I had a separate account...helped me organize better.

Byron said:

this thread has reminded me to call my accountant to make sure he's filed my paperwork...otherwise i get a fine.

msserendipity said:

I did/do all my own paperwork..(my dad was an accountant as well as he worked for the IRS for awhile...)...and paperwork is a complete pain in the patootie. ...

I've been a self-employed computer programmer for 12 years now. There are a lot of advantages to being self-employed, like being able to work at home, set your own hours, etc. There are also disadvantages, like the extra self-employment tax, the lack of medical insurance, etc.

And while somewhat true that you can take vacations/time off when you want - you don't get any paid time off.

I'm an artist.

A piss-artist!











boom-boom

I can't speak for myself, but i can speak for my daddy! He has been self-employed before, but he's been jibbed off by a business partner and in a previous business before that (both hospitality based) he got jibbed by some clients aswell. That hasn't put him off, but it's made him look at it all from a different perspective...it's all about who your work with, how well you get along proffessionally etc. It takes time, but it can work well if you keep your eyes open real wide :OMG: