Small Business Blog

Judging by the reactions I’ve gotten from telling people that I’m self-employed, there’s a common misconception that entrepreneurs have the freedom to work, or not work, whenever they feel like it. Here are a few of my favorites, and I didn’t make these up.

“Well, since you work at home, you can take a nap tomorrow.”
“Hey–you’ll be home tomorrow–can you run an errand for me?”
“Yeah, I work hard too. The other day I was ready to call it a day at 4:50, but I stuck it out ’til 5.”
“If I worked for myself, I’d go to the gym every morning.”
“You’re self-employed? Wow, that’s cool. I’d love to work at home–I’d sleep all day.”

More than once, I’ve found myself explaining that being self-employed is not the same thing as being unemployed (even though the pay is about the same). The truth is, having the ability to set your own hours means nothing when you have 23 hours of work to complete before tomorrow. (continue reading…)