What time is good to be self-employed?

Hello Ena!

Great question–yes, self-employment is growing. It depends a lot on your skills, your personality, your industry, and your willingness to take risks. Ideally you decide to start your own company (or consulting firm, or freelancing empire) after several years in your target industry.

For example, one of my old co-workers decided to become a freelance writer and editor after just over 2 years full-time writing, plus multiple internships that honed her writing skills. At the time, she already had multiple freelance clients, has a stellar writing portfolio (she was doing a lot of her own writing at the time), and had established some good contacts and references for finding new work. Of course, freelance work can mean a significant drop in income/benefits, so she took that risk after her husband had secured more steady employment and they'd saved up enough.

Personality is a factor too. One of my brothers is a recent college graduate with a huge bent towards entrepreneurship. He has a steady day job in accounting, and he uses his free time to launch new business ideas, with the hope that within the next 2-3 years he can be running his own business.

It varies by industry, too: if you are in a common business, engineering, administrative role, it may be more difficult to branch out. Finding a niche specialty that is something 1) you provide well, and can demonstrate and 2) there is a strong market for will make it easier to become self-employed. Some fields (like healthcare/medical) might make it very difficult to start your own business (that said, I have a PT friend who has launched his own clinic after physical therapy school). In general, the more verifiable experience you have, the easier it will be to have others trust you.

Lastly, most anyone can be self-employed if they want. One of my acquaintances built a successful lawn-mowing business while in high school, bringing in over 80k revenue a year! (Not a bad idea, huh?) It is always, of course, a risk. Many startups and small businesses fail. Once you determine your willingness to take risks and look at the financial risks and benefits, you can decide what feels right to you.

I hope this has been helpful! I'm happy to answer other questions—is there a specific field you are looking into? What type of self-employment are you seeking? Best of luck to you!