Here are five signs you probably should be working for yourself:
Repetitive Motion Drives You Crazy
Some people are great at launching things but they go crazy when they have to maintain something they’ve built. They’re bored out of their mind by routine work. If you are that type of person, take a look at self-employment. Clients don’t hire consultants to maintain things for them very often. They hire consultants to create, design and implement things!
You Know a Better Way to Do It
If your current job and your past jobs have always left you feeling that there is a better way to solve whatever problems you solve, consider starting your own business. Many entrepreneurs have launched their businesses on the belief that there is a better way to do whatever they do professional than the way most vendors do it.
You Run into Brick Walls All the Time At Work
If you are constantly running into brick walls at work — policies that slow you down and keep you from helping your customers, for instance — you might be a terrific CEO of your own business. If you are continually frustrated by the red tape and bureaucracy that most companies suffer from, you can lose all of it by running your own business your own way.
You Could Help People More If You Had More Freedom
It is a tough assignment to serve customers only about three-quarters as well as you would like to. That’s what happened to Reggie, who worked in the IT department for a large employer. Reggie’s internal clients loved him, but he had to tell them ”This is the fix I’m allowed to put in place for your problem. It’s not the best answer, but it’s the best answer I’m permitted to implement for you.”
Reggie’s internal clients said “Reggie, you should start your own consulting business and get this company to hire you as a consultant. You’re wasting your talent as a full-time employee here.” Reggie talked to his boss and his boss’s boss. Between them they committed to giving Reggie at least ten hours of billable consulting work per week for three months. They had to do it, because if they had not Reggie would have quit anyway.
With one client in the bag, Reggie launched his business and now he hardly has time to service his old employer anymore (but he does it anyway). Reggie learned that there are people who will pay more to get a better solution — thank goodness!
You’re Only Using Half Your Brain and Talents in Your Job
If your head spins with great ideas but you can’t implement your ideas at your job (or even get higher-ups to listen to them), you’re a perfect candidate for self-employment!
Your ideas will go to waste if you don’t have a chance to make them real. If you try self-employment and it isn’t your cup of tea, the full-time world of salaried employment will still be there waiting when you decide to return to it. In the meantime, you can grow bigger professional muscles, learn more about what you love to do and what you’re good at and burnish your reputation as an independent consultant. Maybe this is the perfect time to begin!
Liz Ryan (article author) is the CEO and founder of Human Workplace.