Do You Have What it Takes to Be Self-Employed?
By Sherril Steele-Carlin
A recent survey created by Techies.com offers some surprising new information to the hordes of people who long to become self-employed. Survey participants included full-time, part-time, self-employed, and unemployed tech professionals throughout the U.S., who answered questions online at the site. Respondents from every level of the high-tech industry participated - from top managers and business owners to data entry operators.
During June 2001, these 818 respondents answered questions about their willingness to leave their current employer and strike out on their own. Some of the most surprising results came when comparing female responses to their male counterparts' responses.
The survey found that the more money the respondents made, the less excited they were about starting their own business - they felt there were too many "risks involved." Cynthia Morgan, Techies.com's executive producer and vice president for content, has been compiling the data. She said in a CNN.com interview, "We found that tech pros with high income levels were especially concerned about risk, which makes sense, since they probably have the most to lose."
"One surprising point: the younger and less experienced you are, the more likely you were (as a respondent on this survey) to think that self-employment's biggest advantage is the ability to control your work hours. I would have thought just the opposite," Morgan continued, "since older, more experienced workers are also more likely to have established families and homes."
The Best Things About Self-Employment
When asked, "what would you most enjoy about being self-employed?" 31 percent of all respondents and 32 percent of self-employed respondents said, "I can choose the work that most interests me." The question " If you did start (or have started) your own business, what's the single biggest asset you lack?" brought money into the forefront. Thirty-four percent of all participants said money was the biggest asset they lacked, along with 32 percent of the self-employed participants. The next highest answer was a lack of customers. Respondents were least happy about having to sell themselves to potential customers.
John Clausen, author of "Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal: How to Have a Great Life as a Freelance Writer," has worked for himself for over 20 years. He says, "I'd say that the best part of working for myself is that I'm my own boss and there is no ceiling on what I can earn. Lots of freedom, too. And as much free time as you can work into your schedule. I don't have to sit around and look busy when I'm not, just because the boss might be looking. When I'm making a lot of money...I try to take a lot of mental health days just to keep sharp. When my son, Pete, was younger I used to take frequent days off to play with him. G.I. Joe and I got to be pretty good pals during those days. Not a lot of dads these days get to do that."
People also agreed on the traits necessary to succeed in your own business. 22 percent of all the respondents and 29 percent of self-employed respondents said "ambition and a willingness to work very hard" were the most necessary traits for success as a self-employed professional. They also felt that they needed "excellent communications and sales skills, and confidence in themselves" to make it in the world of the self-employed.
Could You Change Fields?
In an overwhelming result, 84 percent of the people polled said they would stay in their current field of technology if they went solo. Only six percent said they would leave their field entirely. Most of the people who said they'd leave the profession were employed in the data entry, engineering, project management, and sales areas of technology. Forty-four percent said they thought technology professionals would have an easier go with self-employment. Database developers were the most likely to stay with their current field of expertise if they moved into the ranks of the self-employed.
There were several questions related to gender-specific issues in self-employment. Overall, "I got the feeling from the survey that women just wanted more control over their lives, period," Morgan said. Women said they wanted more control over their workload, hours, and location. They also worried about making less money, isolation from friends and peers, and about having to sell themselves to their clients.
Men on the other hand, were excited about being their own boss. They worried about risk, and lack of a team for collaboration. They also worried about a lack of money when starting, but were more comfortable with the idea of starting a business with a family member.
Surprising Results
One of the most surprising results of the survey was how people viewed their own skills. Many technical workers felt they were missing some necessary skills to open their own business, like communications, sales, and financial management skills. More women than men said they were less confident of their skills and knowledge in these areas.
Self-employment is also viewed differently in various areas of the country. People in the northwest don't feel as positive about working for themselves, and feel they couldn't earn enough money on their own. Even though they didn't think their earnings would be enough, more people in the northwest were eager to try self-employment because their current job was vulnerable to layoff. People in the mountain states were the most positive about self-employment.
The survey shows that people who aren't self-employed still look at self-employment as a better way of life. Only two percent of all respondents said they would "never" consider working for themselves. However, most people who are self-employed wouldn't change their situation for anything. Clausen continued, "Another benefit is job security. No one lays me off. No one fires me for being late or insubordinate (I am both of those things on a frequent basis), and I get to take a nap every day if I want to."
