'The dilemma with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.' - Lilly Tomlin
Perhaps this is what many people feel, but sadly, almost every single soul on this earth is still a part of the rat race, be it out of choice or compulsion. Some work to provide food and shelter to their family, while for others, it’s a matter of pride or pure work addiction. Whatever the reason, not many notice the precious years flying by! Isn’t it a shame that every morning we have to wake up according to someone else’s will only because we are unwilling to give wings to our dreams? Hence, many people consider themselves nothing but modern slaves. And moreover, some of us even feel that our true potential and creativity are compressed by so called “rules” and “laws”. So are you waiting to break the shackles? And tired of being at the mercy of so called “CEOs” and bosses with all kinds of unnecessary reasons wielding their so-called powers over you? Doesn’t being employed often keep you worried about slipping up? Do you feel it is high time you did things your own way? Thank your stars, because ideas for self employment aren’t a fantasy anymore.
So many self employment opportunities have sprung up providing new and different avenues for eking out a living. Moreover, you can also opt for self employment to have multiple sources of income and you and your family do not have to depend only on other people’s decisions and only one source of income. Owning your own small business can well be your path to financial independence and professional as well as personal success. Self employment has its own pros and cons. But if you have passion and perseverance for it and no longer want to feel “enslaved”, then this is the right option for you.
Self Employment Ideas
- Affiliate Marketing: The internet is an ocean of various opportunities. One way is to make money online through affiliate marketing. What it means is you are selling the product or service of someone else. As a simple example for a clear idea, let’s assume you own a website and you sell affiliate products on that website. You will get commissions on all the products, so if someone were to buy something from your website, you just made some money for yourself without really having done any work. Another way to earn online is to get others to advertise on your site. You must have come across “Ads by Google” on almost all the websites. That is Google’s AdSense program. Signing up for this program is free. All you have to do after signing up is to generate some code within your account and put that on your site. The best part is, it’s not just limited to one website. How it works is: you make money every time someone comes to your website and clicks on one of those ads. You can also sell products on eBay.
- Open Your Own Online Store: Open your own online store and sell your paintings, jewelry or clothes line.
- Write And Earn Online: Become an online writer, teacher, etc. The main idea is, find where your heart lies and blindly follow it.
- Become A Micropreneur: Small business owners who enjoy the freedom of doing what they are passionate about are called micropreneurs. The perfect example of this is: if you are fond of dogs, then start working with them. Open a dog salon or start a small service where people hire you to walk their dogs or ask you to take care of them when they are out of town. Later on, once your business takes off, you can hire multiple employees to expand your business.
- Start A Personalized Gifting Service: Think of ideas that don’t exist in the market. That way you will have less competition. For example, many people don’t have time to buy gifts for their loved ones or are too lazy to buy one. So start a gift service where you deliver gifts to people’s doorsteps. Like delivering bottles of champagne, cards with special messages, personally recorded CD’s with love songs (so well done that the receiver never really realizes it wasn’t the sender but you who recorded the CD, obviously as per the brief received!). If you are a good artist, you could even paint a portrait and deliver it as part of an array of exceptionally exclusive gifts only your gifting service offers.
- Become An Event Organizer: The key here is to think of things that normal people tend to overlook. Keep it simple. Get into the fun as well as well-paying business of organizing events, surprises, parties, do’s, special occasions, birthdays, weddings, bashes and all sorts of get-togethers. You could get more exclusive and recognized for your services by getting into only a specialized niche of event organizing, if catering to all kinds of events is not up your street.
Think. The sky is the limit. After doing well in your new found status as a self employed entrepreneur and being your own boss, you will notice that your money problems will gradually but surely start disappearing. You will easily achieve financial independence if you do the right things to keep an independent business venture afloat. You will continue to have the freedom to do what you want and the most important thing is you will be able to utilize your time as you like. And you will also notice a deep sense of satisfaction from within since you are living on your own terms.
