Self-Employment

Remember the old days when anyone that called himself a consultant meant that he was unemployed? Today, more and more, people are wanting to be self-employed, some even as bono fide consultants, others in a broad spectrum of fields.

A report by the Rand Corporation states that According to U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 14.4 million U. S. workers, or 10.5 percent of the workforce, were self-employed in incorporated or unincorporated businesses in 2002. Overall, the self-employed tend to have higher rates of job satisfaction than their wage and salary counterparts and that the typical self-employed male has lower initial earnings and lower earnings growth, implying a 35 percent gap with his wage and salary counterpart after 10 years. The report concludes that the self-employed derive non-pecuniary benefits from self-employment, such as the opportunity to “be your own boss.”

My Case

What all that means is, as I said earlier, more people want to be self-employed nowadays. It also implies “money isn’t everything” or certainly not the only motivating factor to work. For my part, being self-employed means I can work at home. That means I don’t have to fight traffic, nor do I need to wear a suit or clock in on time anywhere. I also have an accessible bathroom here and all the amenities to make me comfortable. The downside is there are distractions here. More importantly, I HAVE TO FIND work to do. If I worked for an agency, work would be assigned to me. A full-time job also comes with benefits such as paid sick leave, paid vacation, and health insurance. In my case, my body could no longer handle the rigors of working full-time so I was forced to look for something else. It has been said that chance favors the prepared mind. As fate would have it, having an MBA, I recognized the changing economic forces in the mid-90’s, was prepared to take advantage of them, and road the wave of success for several years. As we all know though, success is never forever. A few bad business decisions later I failed. We also know failure is rarely final, so I started up all over again. Being an avid traveler, I now use videos and slides from my travels to make presentations. Now I am happily self-employed, doing public speaking, writing and video editing - making DVD’s. Almost all my work has been referred to me because, in part, I always tried to be the best possible employee to fill certain positions.

Work and Play

In the immortal words of Arnold J. Toynbee, "The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play."  That alludes to the non-pecuniary benefits we talked about earlier. If you find something you truly enjoy doing, find a way to get paid for it. If you hate your job but keep it because you make a lot of money, this article is especially for you. I’ve lived many years and can tell you that money is highly overrated. I’ve been rich and poor. Being rich has its perks but being happy – even if financially poor, is a much more fulfilling lifestyle. If you are passionate about your hobbies, or are unemployed, or underemployed, this article is also for you.

Self-employment Woes

Don’t think of self-employment as the answer to all your employment woes. As pointed out earlier, there are many drawbacks to being self-employed. Don’t expect to derive al your income from work initially. You may have to depend on social security benefits, or the like, while trying to build your self-employment business. The fact is, you may always have to depend on benefits because you simply don’t make enough money being self-employed to be considered gainful employment. That wouldn’t be so bad – you would have more money than when not working. You would have a greater sense of accomplishment and self-worth.

Government Benefits

If you think you can make some money being self-employed but are afraid of losing benefits, see PASSplan.org. There are other benefits related resources on that web page as well. You may be eligible for Social Security’s Ticket to Work program. If you go to the Social Security web page http://www.ssa.gov/ you’ll find even more options. These can be confusing so read them carefully and don’t be shy about asking for help with them from your local vocational rehabilitation office. When you do start work, be sure to write Social Security (if you are receiving SS benefits) to let them know. In my case, I only called my SS office. They later accused me of never informing them and I had to pay them thousands of dollars.

Which Business?

If you are contemplating being self-employed, you can find a plethora of helpful web pages, including entrepreneur.com and the “USA Home Based Business” site to name a few. You can spend hours on those two web sites, getting ideas and even free business forms. If you like selling you can start small by selling stuff on Ebay. You may also try selling stuff from your own web page but if so, read my article on Search Engine Optimization in my February Blog, “Hobby or Work”. Be careful of sites that require you pay for information. There is plenty of free information both on the web and at your local library. Be especially careful of sites that promise you outrageous sums of money.

Change the World

It has been said that "We are not responsible for changing the world, nor are we excused from trying." I would like to paraphrase that and say that we are not required to work, nor are we excused from trying. Work is good for the soul. If you can’t find work for pay, try volunteer work. You can list volunteer work on your resume and that volunteer job may even become a paid position. As a visible force (folks with disabilities) the public will acknowledge us and be less likely to refuse accessible amenities to us. Our vote also becomes more valuable to politicians and our money more important to vendors.

Now go change the world and make us all proud.

About the author

Gene Rodgers Photo Gene Rodgers has been a quadriplegic since age 17. Since then he has earned several college degrees, worked in several states, earned a Switzer Fellowship, and now works as a private contractor.

Do you have a question about employment and disability? Send your question to grodgers@austin.rr.com and put “DLRP JOBS” in the subject line.