So You Want To Work For Yourself?

First of all-- put that thought away because there is NO SUCH THING. To gather an actual income you must have clients or customers to buy your stuff-be it physical stuff or intangible stuff. Stuff is still stuff and you must sell it. SO! You never work 'for yourself' - you work for as many clients and customers as you are willing to gather. Still interested? Here's a handy-dandy field guide to let you know what you're in for:

1.) No Office Hours. The Good- you can take an afternoon off and work later in your jammies at 2am
                                   The Not So Good - you really never have 'off time'- just 'rearranged time'.
 For those of you who read this and are thinking 'well crap, just organize yourself and work regular hours'. I reply with LMAO!!! That will work until the one or two major clients you have -the ones who's checks pay your mortgage - flip out and need 150 of whatever stuff you make YESTERDAY. And you will do it because the mortgage is due.Now you have just taught your clients that you can produce at an amazing speed which can only be accomplished by NOT having regular work hours.

2.) You Can Work from Home In Your Jammies. The Good - comfy and less money spent on clothes.
                                                                               The Not So Good - at some point you will start to feel like a nursing home patient shuffling around in your slippers and robe.

3.) You Can Work From Home Though! The Good - convenient, and affordable and you can spend time with your family. Or the cat.
                                                                  The Not So Good  - Just by way of working out of your home you are facilitating the 'always at work' vibe. Even if you are lucky enough to have a dedicated work space, at some point the current project will ooze into the rest of the house and stare at you over dinner. Then there's dinner and laundry and phones and those other people that you live with. Or the cat. These are all distractions that can seriously way-lay your work time.

4.) You Don't Have A Boss Telling You What To Do. The Good- go back up and read the introduction
                                                                                       The Not So Good  - ditto.

5.) I Can Be Creative and Make The Stuff I Want. The Good - Yes! Absolutely! If people buy it.
                                                                                 The Not So Good - To sell stuff you must produce what people want which is not always what you feel creatively inspired to do. Think 'Mortgage Payment'.


  I'll stop here, because- quite frankly, I have a large order awaiting my creatively inspired hands
( Think 'Mortgage is Due').
 I am by no means discouraging working for yourself --or rather your clients. I've noticed, however, that the ability to do so with any success requires a special kind of give and take in the time and creativity department. The utopia of simply creating what you love and someone somewhere will purchase enough of those things to enable you to pay your bills is simply not true. Artists still need to think business, money, taxes, time and bottom dollars. Working from home requires an inordinate amount of dedication, stubbornness, and  inner fortitude (it can become pretty lonely). Not to mention the organizational skills of a God or Goddess. Preferably not Pan...
Can you do it- of course! I do it all day and darn near every day and for the most part it is wonderfully fulfilling and exciting. But I learned the hard way about the Not So Goods that accompany the Goods. I wish someone had handed me a list like this early on :-)
 so go on out there and collect your clients and turn the spare room into a work space and succeed at what you love, but please be realistic in your endeavors, you'll be happier for it ...