Can anyone, everyone, make it self-employed?

Someone emailed me a question this past week, that was asking whether anyone, everyone, has the capacity to make it as self-employed? She asked, can everyone learn the skills?

It’s a great question. Especially if you’ve been either struggling for awhile, or thinking about it and not launching.

The answer is a little complicated, but I’ll start with the short answer.

Yes.

However, that answer isn’t useful, because there is so much left out.

If you go back one hundred years, at least half the population was self-employed, mostly in agriculture, on family farms. If you go back further in history, even more people were self-employed, and the ones that were employed only had very small businesses that employed them.

I’m talking about the voluntary economy- not counting the many people who were taken as slaves, or put into indentured servitude. Ugh.

Fast-forward to today, and what we have is a MUCH more complex society, that demands a lot of us. At the same time, we are missing a lot of the community and cultural supports that made it easier to be “self”-employed.

Because that’s the myth. Our culture, and by “our” I mean western culture, and even more extremely US culture, has elevated the individual over community. This means that “self” employment really is conceived as doing everything all by yourself.

Which is impossible.

So, can everyone make it self-employed? I’ll go as far as to say that NO ONE can make it truly self-employed. We all need help in many ways.

I didn’t mean to dodge the question

I’m answering the question literally, and that’s not exactly what she was asking. I think the question was more along the lines of:
“Can anyone thrive and be happy running their own business?”

Here’s the thing: the skills aren’t that hard, although they do take practice, and you do have to sometimes face some challenging emotions.

But, here’s another thing: not everyone wants to run a business.

Getting to the real question

It takes hard work, education, self-growth, persistence, and a lot of love to be successful with your own business. It’s like many things in this world worth having: not easy, and not handed to you on a platter. And there are many gifts.

Here’s the question I would ask instead:
Do you want the gifts of running of your own business enough to make the effort worth it?

There’s no right answer. Many people really enjoy being part of a team, fitting into a group that cares about them, with a mission that is meaningful, and a regular paycheck. That’s an amazing gift, and I cheer anyone on who knows they want it.

And for many people, it’s really hard to find a job doing the work you love. Sometimes finding that team isn’t a compromise at all. And sometimes it’s a compromise, but totally worth it.

Honestly? For me?

There have been moments, many moments, when I missed my old paramedic job. I turned up on shift, I did work I loved, and I got paid. It was incredibly satisfying.

However, it’s when I’m facing the really hard parts of running my company that I remember the best times of a previous career. When things are going well here, I wouldn’t trade it for anything! Working from home, getting paid well, doing work that makes my heart sing, and being able to set my own hours, and working with a team of folks I love. Wow!

How to tell if you’re up for it?

There are three ways that I know of.

One: Actually do it.
Sometimes just jumping in the water is the best way to do it. However, one month, or even one year, may not give you the information you need. It may take swimming in the water awhile, as well as learning what to do and how to do it, before you gain enough competence and effectiveness to know whether you really enjoy it.

Two: Check your heart.
Back in 2008 I felt the call in the my heart to build a company. Whoa, it’s been a painful journey at times, and really humbling (I miss-typed “jumbling” at first, and it’s been that, too.) It’s also been ecstatic and joyful. Every time I check in with my heart, I’m on the road I’m supposed to be on, so I persist.

Three: Find out what’s involved.
This is one of the reasons we offer The Heart of Your Business. For folks that have been on the journey in business just a bit, or maybe haven’t started at all. Or, sometimes, have been at it for awhile, there’s a real lack of knowledge around the terrain of business and what’s truly needed.

It’s not the only reason to take The Heart of Your Business, but it’s a strong reason, and a good one. And it’s part of the reason we offer it at Pay From The Heart (meaning set your own price), because we want people to have the information, and the healing, to be in business consciously, with awareness.

So, to circle back around. If you accept the truth that being self-employed is a myth, and you’ll be getting help with things along the way, then yes, anyone can do it. At the same time, not everyone wants to do it. And yet, for some forms of work or service, there’s not necessarily another option, and so making it joyful and from the heart is an amazing way to forge ahead.

I’m curious how all of this is landing in your own heart, if you’re willing to share.

With love and appreciation,

Mark Silver
Heart of Business, Inc.

The invitation
The Heart of Your Business is a 9 session (over 8 weeks) program that we created in order to help people heal a troubled relationship with business, and to get the big picture of what’s really needed to make a business work. Those who took it last year loved it, and already close to 150 people have registered for this year’s journey.

It starts the week of August 21, (first live call is August 22) and we start sending out the prework in the next week or so.

Plus, it’s pay from the heart, meaning you set your own price. Why not join us? And invite any friends or colleagues who could use this kind of business heart-healing.
The Heart of Your Business