[The Boss]

I was reading the "When was the last time you got a raise?" thread http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=659361 and was struck by a number of the responses.

I realize good work demands good pay, and that with difficult times come compromise. However what struck me was the number of times people mentioned profit sharing, health plan contributions, bonus pay, vacation pay, and other very attractive benefits.

I've been self employed for nearly 20 years now. In that time I've paid 100% of my health insurance or gone without, paid the full 15% of Social Security/Medicare taxes, paid all of my vehicle expenses, at times gone months without pay at all, worked 100 hours in a week for only a couple days worth of pay, paid my own liability insurance, and every local, state & federal tax and/or fee those entities could conceive.

In that time I have also gone without the security of workman's comp, disability insurance, and unemployment insurance. I have received no vacation or holiday pay, no sick days, no annual bonuses, no cost of living adjustments, no 401k matching contributions and no Thanksgiving turkey. I have worked sick and with broken bones - because I had to.

As for employees, I have dealt with every possible reason for not showing up from sick kids, car won't start, overslept, still cocked from last night (it was a Tuesday), DUI arrests (multiple of these), to "I just didn't feel like coming in"! I was also asked by one of my employees for a raise once after he had just ruined about $800 worth of materials the day before!

I'm not looking to start any arguments out there, but I don't think the majority of people actually realize that for every dollar they earn in employment, there are probably 2 more it costs to the employer to have them there....that is to say, if you earn $50k a year, the total dollars spent for your employment is between $100 & $150k. The office or vehicle you sit in, tools & equipment, computers, phones, utilities, taxes, insurance and benefits all exceed your earnings.

Who else here knows what I'm talking about.

[Mr. P-Body]

I do! I do! What starts as a dream can quickly turn to a NIGHT MARE! You're right, few understand what goes on "behind" the scenes... Particularly in a "micro business" (far too small to call it "small").

Jim

[Ken -Ace- Brewer]

I know all to well! Just because you own a buisness everyone thinks you are full of cash. I can tell you it is usualy the oposite. The Nightmare? Yes I know it!

My Blue Shiled went up to over $600 this year! Almost $200 increase! Guess who is doin without now? Yup! ME.

Ace

[68gtoMN]

Agreed! Self-employed since 2005. Was Sr. Management at large corporate electronic retailer in Minneapolis. After that, I ventured out on my own because I felt I could do it better. Like Chris, I have worked ridiculous hours for weeks on end for little pay, had contract resources (not exactly employees, but similar) who failed to deliver (always have a back-up plan), spent months without income, paid my liability insurance, home, auto, health insurances, vehicle costs, retirement plans were 100% up to me, etc. I even have a "vendor" who still owes me enough to allow for the purchase a nice, new German luxury car in cash - but I will never see this money due to less-than-honest dealings and sneaky accounting. I use this as a learning tool and as motivation to ensure that this will never happen again.

There are great benefits to self-employment. They do not come without sacrifice, however. My subcontractors always get paid and with that they are always willing to work with/for me. As mentioned above, there are many costs associated with having your own business that the average person does not see or comprehend. Yet, with these challenges, I still would not have it any other way.

[sleepy]

Yep. I don't pay myself.(my wife make good money and pays the household bill,carries OUR insurance) All of the money I make goes back into the business. That's not to say I don't have a LOT stashed away for emergencies(like $15,000 to rebuild a motor last week)(or the $36,000 for plates last month).
I just don't spend on the nicest high dollar new pickup for me to drive around when i can get a nice couple year old pickup for 10s of thousands less to do the same job. I save the buying new for the semi's(mostly for warranty and write off).
I pay Half the health insurance for the drivers and match what THEY WANT to contribute for the 401K.
I pay based on performance and so far nobody has quit for greener pastures.

[t/a 79]

amen the government slams us with tax after tax employees did not get a raise in 09or10 but they didnot take a cut like i did

[Gulliver]

Yep, self-employed since... forever. I have had a few jobs working for others in the past, but it's been a looong time.

I am a freelance recording engineer, fortunate enough to get my foot in the door with the major labels in Nashville years ago. The pay "can be" good, but it might take me 6 months or even a year (!) to get paid for an album project. I also own my own recording studio, with it's own property maintenance and employment issues with engineers and musicians. Talk about a money pit, lol- this stuff is e x p e n s i v e.

I do tangle in the collector car and real estate markets as well, but it's all hard work. I've found that I get paid about equal to what I work. There's still lots of opportunity in America, but not many shortcuts..

[nashcar]

Good post, all good points. I've owned my company for over thirty-five years. Workers with a benefit package got nothing to complain about. My son-inlaw is a police officer. He's going to retire in 6 years at the age of 45, I'll still be working. Right now work is slow, just recovering from having a stent put in a main artery. I have to pay $2500 deductable and I can't collect any disability or unemployment. Maybe I should go to the state capitol and protest.

[Bermuda Blue]

Good post Boss. The average employee has no idea what costs are involved in running a business. Federal and State government regulations, codes, taxes, fees, inspections, filings etc. make it very difficult to do business today and the average employee who gets a paycheck has no clue what it takes to generate that check.

I understand your frustration about employees. i could tell 100s of story but your story reminded me of a guy who destroyed over $7000 in equipment. He claimed he was not trained correctly and was not at fault. What kind of training do you need to realize that hitting something with a hammer may cause some damage?

You have to place a value on running your own business to justify all the headaches involved.

[mike nixon]

Right there with you guys! Been self employed for 10 yrs full time and with other jobs off and on since the 80's.
Right now I'm teaching part time for a local community college for side income.

If you figure your time invested self employment is the worst pay you'll ever make and the most rewarding experience you'll ever have!

[T A 70]

I'll say this, working for someone else is taking the easy route generally. As an employer you never stop thinking, worrying, or living the business...BUT!! The risk, control, and income potential are worth it, at least for me.
When I bought my company it was already a thriving business; and years of corporate management gave me the opportunity to "hit the ground running" not needing further training with tax and labor laws, employee management, and cost controls. I really wouldn't recommend starting or running a business without a reasonable amount of time in upper level management...a wise time investment IMO.
For me it was harder working for someone else; harder still resisting the urge to leave without stashing a comfortable amount of cash away to buy the "right" business and not settling for a less profitable/successful venture. But I'm a control freak, surely some of you can relate to that!

[Bjorn]

I was......but I had such a bad boss , I never got vacation, so I took employment 15 yrs ago with my largest client...no more hassles with , payroll, taxes, invoicing clients , and
"going without" in bad months.......this is something union employees have NO CLUE about!

[gregsgtos2]

raise? isnt that what you do when you get out of bed in the morning?

[sleepy]

Originally Posted by gregsgtos2

raise? isnt that what you do when you get out of bed in the morning?

Raise the dead because you just got 2 hours of sleep. and not because you wanted to sleep, because you passed out from exhaustion.

[gregsgtos2]

Nothing like taking care of other famlies that dont have a clue of what you do for THEM.

[David Jones]

Self employed since 1998. I got to work this morning at 6:45 and normally leave around 4:30/5. This weekend I'll work a trade show over in Atlanta with return to the office Monday evening about 6:30. I keep up with 5 employees and generally write over 100 checks a month for various things. I deal with Uncle Sam, the state, county and the city of Hoover. Take a few days off? Hard to do since I keep all the books and therefore handle writing paychecks. Try that while enjoying cancer treatments like I did a while back.

Retirement? We're building our inventory and I'm investing in various other things on the side.

Damn I'd hate to answer to somebody else......other than the wife.

[65gto69]

I am new to the self employment game. Became self employed after getting laid off from my full time job in 2008 because of the economy.

I wasn't expecting to make a lot of money just enough to help pay the bill and keep the business going and my CAD/drafting skills up to date and my IT skills up to date.

Well, reality sets in and only making enough money to keep the business going. No money towards the house bills and no fun money to to do fun things on the weekend with the wife.

We haven't taken a vacation in over 5 years and haven't been able to frivolous buy in about 5 years. All monies coming into the house hold are going right to bill collector and our get rich government while everyone else suffers.

I am hoping for a turn in the economy soon so I can get back into the employment world and start getting a paycheck again.

Mark

[Bjorn]

Originally Posted by 65gto69

I am new to the self employment game. Became self employed after getting laid off from my full time job in 2008 because of the economy.

I wasn't expecting to make a lot of money just enough to help pay the bill and keep the business going and my CAD/drafting skills up to date and my IT skills up to date.

Well, reality sets in and only making enough money to keep the business going. No money towards the house bills and no fun money to to do fun things on the weekend with the wife.

We haven't taken a vacation in over 5 years and haven't been able to frivolous buy in about 5 years. All monies coming into the house hold are going right to bill collector and our get rich government while everyone else suffers.

I am hoping for a turn in the economy soon so I can get back into the employment world and start getting a paycheck again.

Mark

exactly...I didnt take one in 6....was at work at 7 am , getting home about 10 pm, including most sats and sundays....1st year I was working for myself...I took 2 days off all year...Christmas Day and NYD...all other days were work days...
as I said abv I was a hard boss, got burned out after 6 yrs....

[T A 70]

Originally Posted by David Jones

Self employed since 1998. I got to work this morning at 6:45 and normally leave around 4:30/5. This weekend I'll work a trade show over in Atlanta with return to the office Monday evening about 6:30. I keep up with 5 employees and generally write over 100 checks a month for various things. I deal with Uncle Sam, the state, county and the city of Hoover. Take a few days off? Hard to do since I keep all the books and therefore handle writing paychecks. Try that while enjoying cancer treatments like I did a while back.

Retirement? We're building our inventory and I'm investing in various other things on the side.

Damn I'd hate to answer to somebody else......other than the wife.

David, I assume you are using Quickbooks, Paychex, or similar...?

[Coach]

I am really torn on this one.

I had my own business for 10 years, 6 of them it was my full time business. I hear what everyone is saying about the work it takes to run a business. I understand the risks, I lost ALL of my retirement savings when the market crashed. And I REALLY understand the frustration dealing with the government. I have been closed for 4 years now and am still battling them about the fact that I didn't file employee taxes last year! ! ! ! !

HOWEVER, I also was able to coach my daughters softball team for all those years, make every game and every major family event. If I didn't want to take on a project or work with a particular sub I didn't have to, MY CALL. I also was able to do business meetings while kayaking on Lake Michigan ( got to love cell phones ). I never really take vacations so that never bothered me.

I now have a serious stable income, I am still dealing with employees, difference is I have an HR department to hand then off to when it gets out of control. I am enjoying the perks of working in a corporate environment again, the travel, and the good dining are nice.

But at the end of the day the truth is I have to REPORT to the guy in the corner office instead of BEING the guy in the corner office. And that sucks no matter how much you like your job.

Final word, "Life is like a crap sandwich. The more bread you have the less crap you have to taste."

-Harry