Question / Discussion What are the worst things about earning from home / self employment?

Jon

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People always think earning from home is 'the dream' - being able to make money from your bedroom etc and while that's partly true there are some major downsides.

I would have to say chasing money is up there at the top for me. I swear I am endlessly chasing invoices for work I have done online and it drives me round the bend as if I was earning from a PAYE job I wouldn't have this problem!

Instability is another big one for me. You can lose an online earning opportunity at the drop of a hat and 9 times out of 10 these companies don't care (though I guess it's not their job to). Recently I've had a number of earning opportunity cut the pay they WERE offering which can make a huge dent in your online income.

Motivation can be another one as there is no one cracking the whip and to that extent knowing when to switch off can be a hard thing for people to muster once they really get into the 'earning money online' mindset!

Comparison can play a big part - why are others earning more than me or getting opportunities at companies that i'm not!!!

anymore for anymore?
 

Sherliarty

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yeah I agree with all your points, I miss the benefits other than pay ie pension and paid holidays. Plus I do miss having colleagues. And I miss those days where there was little going on so you were paid to chat and sit about!
 

Jon

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yeah I agree with all your points, I miss the benefits other than pay ie pension and paid holidays. Plus I do miss having colleagues. And I miss those days where there was little going on so you were paid to chat and sit about!
yeah the social side of things is a BIG negative imo. I did get around that in the days before Covid as I used to work a day or two out at a place for fellow self employed / freelancers in Leeds so that was pretty good for me. Now all that stuff has gone the way of the do-do!!

Pensions - yeah nothing!

Paid Holidays - Taking holidays when you are self employed is a MARE! Every day you are like ARRGHH I'M LOSING MONEY!

@Chammy mentioned on Twitter about there being endless distractions when it comes to earning online which is one I would agree with!
 
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Chammy

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Paid Holidays - Taking holidays when you are self employed is a MARE! Every day you are like ARRGHH I'M LOSING MONEY!
I always end up taking my laptop away so I don't miss work - I've been sat, in my hotel room, c&p-ing posts while away because I'd miss out on the money. Pretty sure I did that when I worked for AQA/63336 too so I didn't miss the weekly lottery and who went out of XFactor questions :ROFLMAO:

I know this is blogger specific but I hate writer's block - the lack of direction or someone to tell you what to do makes being SE so much harder.
 

Jon

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I always end up taking my laptop away so I don't miss work - I've been sat, in my hotel room, c&p-ing posts while away because I'd miss out on the money. Pretty sure I did that when I worked for AQA/63336 too so I didn't miss the weekly lottery and who went out of XFactor questions :ROFLMAO:

I know this is blogger specific but I hate writer's block - the lack of direction or someone to tell you what to do makes being SE so much harder.
I've done mystery shops while on holiday at airports

ughhh lol
 

rich110991

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Have you looked into if there are any self employed / freelancer spaces in your local city you could work from?

I haven’t no, it’s ok, I just miss seeing people. I used to work in a bingo so it was very sociable.
 
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Jon

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I haven’t no, it’s ok, I just miss seeing people. I used to work in a bingo so it was very sociable.
Yeah I understand that - another thing I find is that when I do talk to people about what I do to earn a living it's like i'm talking a foreign language and people just don't understand it which I think creates an even bigger divide!
 

rich110991

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Yeah I understand that - another thing I find is that when I do talk to people about what I do to earn a living it's like i'm talking a foreign language and people just don't understand it which I think creates an even bigger divide!

100%

I tell people I sell pictures online and straight away they think it’s something sexual :ROFLMAO:

I also think they assume that I don’t make much because it’s not a “proper job”.
 
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Jon

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Yeah I get the incorrect assumption in regards to how much money can be made from earning online a LOT - People think its still the early 2000s and people are getting paid peanuts for clicking banners or something!
 
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sianib

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I put on so much weight when I work from home full time. Since going back to school I have lost 5lbs just from moving about more. Because I am tutoring, it's hard to move around as I like.
 

Falanouc

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I've worked from home for the last 14 years and for me the biggest thing is people thinking that because you're at home, you're free for coffee and a chat... um no I'm working. I wouldn't even really say that's improved much during covid times when millions of people were working from home - most people then assumed I was on furlough... nope!

No holiday pay, no pension, no sick pay, the fact there is no legal entitlement of a fair wage - look at all these survey sites still paying 25p for an hours work - and yes it is work because you have to declare your earnings. Clients thinking you're at their disposal all hours of the day.
 

OCTOPUS

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For me, there are a few at the moment, but for various reasons, I still need the flexibility.

1) At the moment I miss the social side, feel as if I cannot get out of my own head Feel so much better mentally when I'm out and about working, but I'm trying to gain copywriting experience and get paid freelance work at the moment.

2) The lack of sick pay, pension, holidays. I have my own pension but will never be able to retire. Luckily I don't get ill often, but it's hard to build up an emergency fund. I am trying though. One of the companies I work for pays a very small amount of holiday pay which is something.

3) Boundaries. Cause you're at home people think you're around to do everything. I don't have anywhere proper to work in my house and my family can be quite noisy when they're around.

4) I think I've probably lost confidence socially cause of it. Tbh the idea of working in an office terrifies me, but I did it for years.

5) Motivation and the housework screaming at me. Very hard to boundary. At the moment, I'm finding it hard to motivate myself with my copywriting, cause it isn't paying much at all. I will have a day when I've worked really hard, but then remember that I've not earned very much.
 

Sherliarty

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I think that is why I always do volunteer work so I don't forget how to make small talk and meet new people!!!!
 

Jon

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I think that is why I always do volunteer work so I don't forget how to make small talk and meet new people!!!!
yeah I see a LOT of Self Employed / working from home people do volunteer work and I think you are right it's for the social side but without the huge commitment!
 
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