How to Work for Myself

by Taylor Bushey
How to Work for Myself

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Have you ever thought of leaving your day job and never looking back? In today’s job market, more working professionals are driven to the idea of self employed jobs than ever before.

Additionally, with the rise of social media and other various platforms, taking the plunge has become even more accessible. Whether you’re thinking of launching a startup or turning a hobby into a full-time business, your self-employed journey begins the moment you commit to that decision.

The best part? There’s no formal training or specialized skills required.

Let’s take a deep dive into learning how to make an income working for yourself. You can either read from start to finish or use any of the links below to jump to a particular section:

Can you make money working for yourself?

The short answer? Absolutely! There are various ways to work for yourself that are completely realistic and attainable. Take these next four small businesses as examples.

Case Study: Single Grain

Eric Siu is known for being a cohost of the Marketing School podcast where he and Neil Patel discuss daily marketing insights. He also happens to be the founder of Single Grain, a digital marketing agency that generates $1M per month in revenue.

It wasn’t the easiest journey in the beginning. Eric first purchased the agency in 2014 when it was struggling and brought it back to life. With the help of a motivated team and top-tier technology, he transformed an agency on the edge of failure into one of the most successful agencies in the industry.

If you want to learn how to be self employed in a more creative industry, Eric shares how to start a digital marketing agency with no experience and recover from setbacks.

One of Eric’s most shocking tips? Offering free work can actually help you build out a business.

Check out the interview with him below:

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Candle Business

With only about $100 in their pockets, sisters Jen and Jocelyn grew their side hustle making candles into a full-blown business that brings in $500K per year.

Watch how they navigated the challenges of growing and scaling their business, Rx Los Angeles, to be as successful as it is today:

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Coffee Business

Maxwell Mooney opened his first Narrative Coffee cart in 2015 after only spending $1,800. Fast forward to today and he’s opening a second brick-and-mortar store while generating over $80K per month.

The secret ingredient to his success? Strong foundational systems that allowed him to focus on his services and potential customers.

Discover his ongoing process of expanding his coffee empire here:

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eCommerce Business

If you’re looking to take your products online for an opportunity to increase your income, why not start an eCommerce business?

Portland Razor Company was originally formed to create an innovative shaving experience. Once it expanded to both brick-and-mortar and online markets, however, it quickly grew to generating an income of over $7K per month.

Take a look at how they targeted a specific market with their business model:

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Establishing Your Own Business

When you own a business, there are key indicators that separate you from being labeled as self-employed. For instance, a business owner has their own legal entity separate from themselves.

Business owners will need to complete the following tasks:

  • Register your business.
  • Get federal and state tax IDs.
  • Apply for licenses and permits (where applicable).
  • Open a business bank account.

People who are considered self-employed don’t necessarily need to meet these requirements.

Self Employed Individuals

Narrative Coffee owner posing in a coffee shop with bags of coffee beans

How is self employment different from owning a business? The definition of self employment varies by government agency. For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Internal Revenue Service each have their own definitions.

Self employment can be defined as earning a living through independent activity. This could include anyone who works as an independent contractor, has a sole proprietorship, or belongs to a partnership.

Here are some of the main benefits of self employed jobs:

  • The ability to work from anywhere
  • Flexible hours and time off
  • Gaining experience by trying new things
  • The potential to make more money
  • Being your own boss
  • Working on multiple work projects at a time

There are a few cons to consider as well:

  • Lack of job security
  • Responsibility for self employment taxes
  • Fewer retirement options
  • The effort required to get started

Now that you’ve taken a look at the pros and cons, learn how to work for yourself with these simple steps.

How to Work for Myself

While working for yourself can have its difficulties, it also gives you more control over your income. Read on to learn how you can work for yourself.

Select Your Niche

Business owner with laptop thinking about niches

It’s easy to think too big too quickly. Make sure you know exactly what type of career path you want to head down. Your plan should include the type of products and services you want to provide and which clients you’d love to work with in the future.

By getting specific in the beginning, you’ll be able to focus on a specific niche that can expand later as your business grows.

Create Your Goals

From your initial business plan to your marketing approach, think about the goals you want to achieve as you grow your own business or pursue self employment.

Take Care of Administrative Details

Business owner holding coffee and a top secret folder

It’s best to have some type of system in place to track the administrative side of running your business. This can help you visualize what areas need your personal attention.

No matter what management system you put in place though, make sure you’re able to monitor the following for organizational purposes:

  • Working hours
  • Startup costs
  • Revenue
  • Ongoing expenses
  • Number of clients

Network and Build Visibility

Networking and increasing the visibility of your business will help drive you out of your comfort zone. In fact, it’s one of the best personal marketing strategies you can use to establish yourself in a new industry.

You can even stay connected in these remote ways:

  • Facebook groups
  • Slack channels
  • Webinars
  • Virtual coworking spaces

Exercise Time Management

As you grow and begin to juggle more clients, time management will become even more important. Creating a task list and keeping your calendar up to date will help you stay focused and tackle one item at a time without getting overwhelmed.

What do I need to work for myself?

Narrative Coffee Company

While it’s completely possible to be your own boss and run a successful business, there are a few things to consider before leaving your full time job. Have a look to see what you’ll need to create a strong foundation for your self-employed journey.

Create a Website for Your Business

Every business needs a point of contact for their customers. Whether it’s a portfolio showcasing your work or an eCommerce store, having an online presence will generate more visibility for your brand.

Building a website will also help you reach potential clients who live outside of your immediate area.

Put Aside Money for Taxes

A hand putting a coin into a piggy bank

When it comes to self-employment, it also becomes your job to take care of both your business and personal finances. Putting a percentage of your income aside for tax purposes is vital.

In most cases, self-employed individuals don’t have taxes taken out of their paychecks automatically. This will lead to you owing money to the government in the future when quarterly and annual tax payments become due.

In addition to your ordinary state and federal income taxes, you’ll also need to set aside enough of your income for self employment taxes. The self-employment tax rate is currently 15.3% of net earnings.

Breaking this down further, that sum includes 12.4% for Social Security tax and 2.9% for Medicare on net earnings. In 2024, the first $168K of your income is subject to the Social Security tax.

Fund Your Own 401(k) Plan

Since you won’t be able to rely on an employer to assist with retirement planning, you’ll need to take your future retirement planning into your own hands. This could include setting up your own 401(k) or another type of personal investment account.

As a self-employed individual, you can contribute a maximum of $23K in 2024. Here’s a list of a few different providers:

Set a Budget

Hundred-dollar bills stuffed in a jar that says "budget"

Without a budget in place, you won’t be able to properly direct your business. You want to ensure revenue goals are being met while also staying within your spending limits.

Budgeting is one of the easiest ways to keep yourself accountable for staying on track and seeing where adjustments can be made from month to month.

Separate Business and Personal Expenses

If your business and personal expenses aren’t separate, it can become especially difficult to monitor how your funds are being spent. It will also be much tougher to identify business expenses for tax purposes and possible deductions.

Ensure everything is organized by creating specific checking and savings accounts for your business. You should only use these for any business-related expenses such as payroll, office space, and equipment.

Learn to Say No

Woman in a light orange suit crossing forearms while thinking the word "no"

When you’re first starting out, it can be tempting to say yes to every task, client, or proposed plan. However, this can quickly lead to burnout during the beginning stages of launching your business. You could even end up agreeing to work-related assignments that don’t necessarily align with your business planning.

By saying no, you can shape and control your business based on what you want to accomplish instead of what others are asking you to do.

Identify Your Target Market

Before you decide to work for yourself, you’ll need to choose which market you want to target. Identifying your ideal clients is important regardless of whether you’re targeting other businesses or selling a product directly to consumers.

By making this part of your business planning, you can narrow your focus to achieve success on a faster timeline. This will also help you create a realistic marketing budget.

Sell Your Strengths

If you’re not sure where to begin or what you can offer to the market, why not take a look into the skills and strengths you already possess? Not only is it more cost effective to build upon what you already know, but you can also use your strengths to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Best Self Employed Jobs

Laptop open to the website for Rx Los Angeles candles

With more professionals looking for self employment jobs every year, several different self employment ideas have emerged as profitable opportunities. After scouring a range of resources, we found these to be the best types of jobs when working for yourself:

Now, let’s look at a few frequently asked questions about finding success while being your own boss.

Being Your Own Boss FAQs

While reading this, you might be having some of these thoughts:

I want to work for myself, but I don’t know what to do. How can I go to work for myself? How can I create a self-employed business?

You ask, and we answer! These are the most frequently asked questions when it comes to being your own boss. Read on to see what information you need to know before making the final decision about working for yourself.

What self-employed job makes the most money?

Owner of Narrative Coffee holding hundred-dollar bills and a mug

From all of the different opportunities available, these are the best jobs where you can work for yourself and maximize your yearly salary potential. Let’s look at some of highest salaries in self-employed roles:

Financial advisors: $165K
Content creators: $98K
Graphic designers: $159K
Business consultants: $103K

How to earn $100k a year self-employed

While there are certain self employment jobs or small business ideas that generate more revenue than others, that doesn’t mean the venture you have in mind can’t exceed six figures. Here are a few tips to help you cross the $100K threshold:

  • Upgrade your skills through online courses and training.
  • Overcome your personal fears and misconceptions about money.
  • Pivot to clients or customers who serve you and your business goals.
  • Build a network of individuals you can learn from when needed.
  • Invest in new marketing strategies like email marketing or content marketing.

How to start working for yourself

Owner of Narrative Coffee holding two bags of coffee beans next to a cartoon rocket taking off

You can actually start whenever you want. One of the most effective strategies you can use to work for yourself is to start small and work your way up to full-time hours.

Working for yourself is a flexible job. You can use this to your advantage by creating an easier schedule in the beginning.

What does working for yourself look like?

Working for yourself could involve creating content for different clients, freelancing as a virtual assistant, or starting an event-planning business. Self employment starts the moment you take an employer out of the middle and work directly with the sources themselves.

Are you ready to work for yourself?

Starting the journey of self-employment is both tough and incredibly rewarding. Use your time wisely, and always be on the lookout for new opportunities.

By applying your skills and the above tips, you’ll be able to start running your own business and controlling your own income in no time.

How do you want to work for yourself?


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Author

Taylor Bushey

Taylor Bushey is a contributing writer with a background in finance, marketing, and editorial. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in business and entrepreneurship with the plan to establish her own brand and media/communications company. Taylor enjoys learning from and working with various brands with different backgrounds as she obtains the knowledge and experience needed for running her own business. When she’s not studying, Taylor is actively writing for various publications, including CNN, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, FinanceBuzz, BestProducts, Stylecaster, and more. Taylor is a big believer in going after your career dreams no matter the size of them. Taylor told us: “If you don’t know how, then you’ll find a way if it’s something you truly want to pursue. I say this to all of my friends and family each time they’re not sure about the ‘how’ in their next pursuit.” She provides the resources and tools as she informs people through her blog writing.

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