Are you, or have you ever been, self-employed?

[MacMahon]

What line of work are/were you in?

What was self-employment like? How's it going?

AIBCI to consider it for myself?

Have been doing it since I left school. mid 30s now.

I think my main issue is that I don’t want to do what I have experience and expertise in.

I was self employed for a few years, and enjoyed many aspects of it. But I was in retail, so there was none of the flexibility of being home based. My business was very successful, but after a few years I realised I could earn a lot more, and have more of a life, if I went back to paid employment.

Now I work in a completely unrelated industry, but in someone else's small business (so have the advantages of not being somewhere corporate), but I get paid holidays, sick pay, no VAT returns, pension contributions etc.

@MacMahon

I think my main issue is that I don’t want to do what I have experience and expertise in.

Then I would say don't go self employed. Learn on someone else's training budget, build up knowledge, skills and contacts, then, when you are ready, go self employed.

Yes, for 7 years.

I failed at it. No massive debt or anything, but I don’t think I managed to pay myself more than 9-10k a year the entire time. I should’ve scrapped it at year 2. It took me til year 6 to actively start trying to get out of it. I was frightened of the change and people thinking I was a failure. The reality is I wouldn’t be able to make what I earn now unless I’d sunk more money and got employees but even then it would’ve been a long shot.

If you’re passionate at your thing, skilled and there’s a gap in the market then go for it - but I would always err on the side of caution and do it part time etc alongside employment personally.

Thank you Matilda, that’s really thought-provoking and wise.