Is going self employed worth it

[Deleted member 120897]

£56k even 50k without the scrap is a great wage - my wages are just over half that, granted probably not doing as much, but still. I earn slightly more than what I’ve said previously but can be hit and miss as it’s upped only by callout. Agree with others, probably best sticking where you are. I do wish I could get out of my current employment but there doesn’t seem to be much on offer that meets my wage, let alone yours.

 

[Ric2013]

The main benefit for me and prob most others is flexibility. I see my kids, do school runs, have more holidays etc.
If I need to I can do 16h days and earn over 2.5k a week but I generally do 8h and earn 1 - 1.5k,
which is equivalent to 30k - 40k PAYE salary (once you account for overheads, losses, downtime, benifits etc)

Absolutely. I had a minimum wage job I used to do and it made me more money than plumbing. Overtime was time and a half which wasn't bad though. And, in fairness, I did enjoy parts of that job very much indeed.

But it was 8 hours of flat out working as fast as I could all day long in a cold building without a moment of being allowed to stop and think about anything, so I was constantly tired as still trying to do all the things I wanted to do out of work hours. Getting a specific day off when I needed it was almost impossible without a month's notice. I had to listen to stultifying music all day long while working. The company I worked for sold food that was mostly junk: bad for the planet and unhealthy for the person eating it. However well I worked, any advantage went to shareholders. I have family abroad and, because I refuse to use air travel, it effectively meant I could never get enough time off to visit. The work itself was mostly enjoyable but it hardly felt like a noble profession.

Self-employment means I take on the jobs I want. Essentially I still work in exchange for money, but I can choose what I'm interested in doing and what I'm not really interested in. It's more responsibility, but I can actually make use of my intelligence and education (and former work experience involving contracts) rather than just follow orders. I feel less knackered. One of my parents now lives abroad and needs a hand with things from time to time and so I can make time for this. I can take out a library book and actually finish reading it before it's due back. And my job cannot become redundant as it's not easily automated. I don't feel I'm merely swapping a proportion of my life in exchange for a salary.

£56,000 a year is more than I'd ever want to earn as I wouldn't know how to spend that much without increasing my environmental footprint beyond the point I'd be comfortable with. That said, if I wanted to really push my business and get as much work as I could, I could probably earn my old employed salary in 2-3 days a week and spend the rest of my time doing what the ---- I want.