If someone told me 10 years ago, when I was in college, that I would be working for one of Southern California’s largest employers, doing software development and being paid handsomely to boot, I’d be ecstatic. Well, I am working for that employer now, doing software development and being paid very well, but I’m far from ecstatic. In fact, I don’t want this anymore. I don’t want a daily 2 hour round trip commute. I don’t want to spend 8-10 hours a day stuck in a cubicle. I don’t want to deal with office politics.
Now, I want to work for myself. I want to work where I want, when I want. I don’t mind working more than 40 hours a week, but I want to set my own schedule. The Internet makes all this within reach. I just need to go out and do it. This is easier said than done though. As I struggle with this, I hope to explore what others are doing and how they’re doing it here. I hope you will find it informative and maybe even helpful if you are striving towards the same goal.
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- Carla Blazek, free from 9 to 5
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March 16th, 2005 at 1:48 pm
I don’t know if you want to take advice from me, as I’m in the same place you are now - a regular 9:00 to 5:00 job, but I think I might have something to offer on this topic.
If your goal is to work where you want, when you want, you have more specific aspirations than to just “work for yourself”. Many small business owners, especially those with storefronts, are working longer hours than 9:00 to 5:00, every day, and they’re doing it at the same place all the time. I’ve never known a restaurant owner who isn’t at the restaurant from early in the morning to late in the evening every day. Certainly starting a restaurant would qualify as “working for yourself”, but it wouldn’t get you the schedule that you want.
You’d get a more flexible schedule as a software developer. You have to show up for meetings and presentations with clients, but when you sit down in front of your IDE is up to you. However, you don’t necessarily need to work for yourself to have this kind of schedule. Personally, I’m thinking of starting a software company with a few people I know from college. This type of partnership doesn’t necessarily count as “working for yourself”, as there are plenty of obligations to your partners in a situation like this, but it also doesn’t stop you from taking afternoons off to go to the beach.
I guess what I’m saying is that your goals have to be specific. Do you want financial control of the company you’re working for, or do you want control over your schedule, or do you want both? It’s going to be really hard to get to one when you’ve been working towards the other by mistake.
March 16th, 2005 at 3:52 pm
That’s a very good point. I definitely don’t want to work for myself by owning a storefront type business or restaurant. I was thinking more along the lines of software product or web business.
I don’t need financial control over the company. Your example of running a software company with partners would suit me fine as well, with someone else handling the finances.
Thanks for the important clarification. As you can tell, my thoughts on this are still in their infancy, and will hopefully develop over time. That’s one of the goals of creating this website.
April 12th, 2005 at 4:40 pm
i just want to be my own boss