Self-Employment

The one thing that sucks when you work for a company is that, it’s your only source of income. Yeah, you may have health insurance, profit sharing and know that while employed your income is guaranteed. But when that one source dries up because the company folds or you are laid off, that’s it, no more money until the next job. With this economy, who knows when that will be?

Now let’s say, you have multiple sources of income. One of the sources can’t pay as scheduled, don’t worry. You have several more sources to pay the bills. Well unless that was your biggest account or they all decide not to pay, but let’s stay optimistic (that’s what real entrepreneurs do).
Hey, this is what being self-employed is all about – it’s risky, but it could lead to a big pay off.

If you think about it, the Wal-Marts, the Targets and the Sears don’t just rely on one source of income to support their business. Why should you? You’re a business, you have expenses (mortgage, car and education), you have employees that look for salaries (any dependent you care for) and you need to turn a profit (high wages) to take care of all the needs and reinvest it back into the company (you and your family).

Now nothing good is perfect. There are some drawbacks to being self-employed. You have to wear all the hats. You are the boss you can’t slack. You don’t accumulate paid time off. If you don’t work, no money will be made. You provide all of your benefits like health, dental and retirement plans. If it all falls apart, you have no one to blame, but you!

Even though there are drawbacks, if you are mentally ready for the challenge, the benefits could win you over. You can be as flexible with your time as you want. You can choose how often and when you want to work. You are the boss, which means you make the decisions. You’re in control of your financial future.

Depending on where you are in your career transition, the very beginning (meaning you are in need of obtaining the education for the career) or you are seasoned and ready for a new challenge, below are some career fields that will easily lend itself to self-employment:

Professional Careers - These usually require four plus year degrees. Normally, in self-employed professions people will start a practice alone or in partnership, contract service with a company, or consult. For self-employed professional, your area of specialty is key.
• Doctor (family practice, alternative medicine, mental health practice)
• Lawyer (entertainment, tax, personal injury)
• Accountant (tax, financial advisor, general)
• Veterinarian (dogs, horses, livestock)
• Information Technology (fix computers, programming, instruction)

Vocation or Trade Careers - These may only require a minimum of obtaining a license/certification or training at a community college or technical college, which may be two-years or less. However, apprenticeship programs tend to last longer. Since trades skills are very specific, determining how you want to employee yourself is key.
• Beautician/Barber (own a salon, work from home, independent contractor in a salon)
• Plumber (contract service through plumbing service companies, home builders or multi-unit building complexes)
• Automotive Technician (open a shop, work from your garage or contract your services)
• Real Estate Agent (always commission based regardless if you work for yourself or in conjunction with a real estate agency)
• Bookkeeper (contract with businesses and individuals working from home, your own office or on the clients site)

No matter your profession or trade, any career can transition to self-employment, if you have the interest. Some just have an easier transition than others do. Regardless, if you want multiple streams of income to lead you to financial freedom, then being self-employed is the way to go.

Your Calling Card

Judgment takes place day in and day out. People are judged by how they dress, how they look and how they behave. Judgment also takes place with your level of success, for adults it’s the type of job and material possessions, with teens it’s what their parent’s success can afford them and their school accomplishments.

Since a teen has absolutely no control over what their parent’s success can afford them, they can only concentrate on their school accomplishments. School accomplishments may include academics, sports, band or some club activity, like chess or debate. Which ever it is, how well you do in one or all areas become your calling card for success.

For those teens who think school is a waist of time, think again. The good grades you get, or don’t get, are reflected in your G.P.A, which is equivalent to your parents FICO score. If it’s good the more opportunities you have, if it’s bad, the less. The better one does in school often times show tell tale signs of how successful you will do in life.

While that isn’t always true, it is an indicator of your ability to succeed. Performing well in school demonstrates discipline, focus and drive. Normally if you do bad, people will perceive you to be lazy or stupid or both.

And the truth is you may not be either. You may be too smart or aren’t challenged. Luckily, there are other school accomplishments where teens can showcase their talents if academics isn’t one of them. These being music, arts, sports or any of the other after school activities.

Let’s face it, school is cool, but it can be quite boring as well. You spend a lot of time learning information you either won’t retain or ever use again. Most of us adults are still wondering how calculus was important to graduate, when we have never used it since. For teens that feel the same way, excelling in sports or creative school activities is how they thrive and demonstrate discipline, focus and drive – great!

But what about the student who doesn’t do well academically or creatively? What does your calling card say to the world? Quite frankly, it says that you have no interest or don’t have the capacity to be all you can be. It shows the world that you are taking up valuable space and you may never have the ability to be successful, which by the way isn’t true. Unfortunately, if you don’t have an interest in something, you also won’t be able to demonstrate the valuable tools of discipline, focus and drive.

Success is as success does. So regardless, if success derives from academics, creativity, sports or some other form of interest, as long as you have an interest and you put your heart and soul into it. It’s okay to be lack luster in some or even most areas, but it’s not okay for all areas. So strive to give the world your calling card that reads, “Successful at Something.”

Everyone is a Winner with Patience, Time and Sacrifice

People are bombarded daily with a lifestyle that seems desirable to live. We see a lifestyle of money, fame and bling. And while we all may be awed to live such a glamorous life, the youth are most affected.

There was a time when young people wanted to be doctors, lawyers and other such professionals because they were seen to have money, respect and power. Now, young people aspire to be entertainers and sports figures. They are the ones who now seem to have the money, respect and power.

MTV’s Cribs, music videos and rap songs help promote an over the top lifestyle that most of the youth will never achieve. Young people see the appearance of the fabulous life that Bow Wow, Soldier Boy, Keshia Cole and Rhiana may live, but they don’t realize the patients, time and sacrifice they give for that benefit. Thus, leaving young people to believe they can have something for nothing.

Schools and youth sports teams also promote the something for nothing belief with pushing this everyone is a winner, no one is a loser attitude. And while we must learn that everyone is a winner, no matter if you win or lose, young people need to also learn that losing at something doesn’t make them a failure. Failure to get back up and do better the next time does.

It is not fair to any young person to lead them to believe that without patience, time and sacrifice they can achieve any amount of success. This bad attitude will lead right into adulthood. When young people see the fabulous lifestyles of their favorite entertainer or sports figure, they should know the history of how they came to be in that position. Just as much as the glamour is promoted, the patients of the years it took to achieve the success should be promoted. The time it took them away from friends and family. The sacrifice they made from other activities to constantly practice their craft.

I guess if their was a reality show that went on for years and years covering aspiring entertainers and sports figures would be very boring. Really, who would want to see little Bobby playing baseball since he was in pee wee, with the wins and many losses, up to adulthood when he finally made it to the amateur baseball league before he possibly made it pro, if he makes it that far at all? No one. It would show too much of the reality that it takes to get where you want to go.

Nothing is impossible. So, if fame, fortune and bling are what young people want, then fame, fortune and bling they can have. But nothing in life worth having is free. One will have to pay a price for any amount of success they wish to achieve. And the price is usually comes with patience, time and sacrifice.

Unemployment & Downsizing Hits the Young

When we think about the economic crisis that our country faces, we normally only think about the effects it has on the adult population. We never think about the working teen population who is also affected. Their positions are being downsized or hours reduced so that companies can accommodate adult’s employment needs.

While, it’s understandable if a manager is reducing the hours of a teen worker to give more hours to an adult worker who has a family to support. To a teen, it just isn’t fair. The teen may be working to supplement for items their parent’s don’t have enough to contribute towards. Therefore, working to provide for their own clothes or activities fees. Even worse is it for those teens who are the breadwinner in their household and have to take care of their needs and wants as well as their families.

How does a teen survive during an economic crisis?

Unfortunately, the majority of teen workers are apart of the unskilled labor market. Having no skills leads them limited to the types of employment they can seek. Though lots of them go for retail positions since they require no real skills and they are open to hiring people with no to little experience. So, when adult workers are edging teens out of the part-time retail employment arena, they really have nowhere else to turn, except to education.

The saying goes, “no one can ever take away your education.”

The labor force is going to force teens to turn to education because there will be limited employment for them after high school graduation. For some teens, which are already tired of school or not interested in pursuing a four plus year degree, this can be a difficult pill to swallow. However, there are alternatives that teens should be aware of that may help them gain relevant skills and experience so they can enter the job market quicker.

Besides looking to pursue a two-year associates degree, teens ready to hit the job market, may want to look into various certificate programs. Certificate programs are designed primarily to prepare graduates for entry-level employment in positions which require both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. These certificates range in length from one-semester to four-semesters. They are offered through colleges, online education providers or technical institutions.

Not only are certifications useful to get you employable skills that can lead to the job market quicker, but it also allows you to find out if you really like the particular field you have entered at a lower cost than a four plus year degree. It’s important that teens understand the job market is competitive for all, skilled and unskilled, but especially for those without experience, skills and education. I hope teens learn a quick lesson from this economic crisis to prepare, prepare, prepare.

College and Majors

Life is funny! Kids want to be grown and grown ups want to be kids again. Young people think being an adult will bring them all this freedom. Adults look at being young as a time when they had the most freedom from responsibilities of family and finances.

Let’s face it, young people are always going to want to be grown, to get away from their parents rules, thinking this will bring them freedom. But how can we make sure adults continue to believe that being grown does allow them freedom in their life. One way is to make sure teens plan a better career choice for their future that they love, as opposed to a career they dread while making sure student loans don’t cause their career choice to be too costly to enjoy.

Your career choice is one of the biggest choices you will have to make. And it gets even better because according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average U.S. worker changes careers 3-5 times during their lifetime. So that means you will have many more times to face this big decision. Nevertheless, let’s start with career número uno (number one for my none Spanish readers).

Most teen students, and parents for that matter, are more interested in the college or university as opposed to the major one will take up at school. Yes, the college matters in terms of quality of education, family alma mater and of course – the fun! But more importantly, you need to look at the cost of the education versus the return of investment of that degree – the wage you will earn.

Below are some occupations and the annual entry wage for Chicago, Illinois. Also noted is the demand for the job and any additional degrees needed. To research your career interest, go to www.careeronestop.org, Salaries + Benefits tab.

Elementary School Teacher - $39,428, in-demand
Lawyers - $70,065, in-demand, requires post bachelor degree
Graphic Designers - $27,687, in-demand

Research the cost of attending the school of your choice. Will you have to get loans? If so, how much will it cost you? Then look at the cost of any additional degrees, like a master’s or Ph.D., you will need to obtain to start a career. Now, compare the job’s entry salary to your total cost of attending college(s). Decide if you can survive on that salary after you meet your educational student loans, housing expenses, food and transportation.

Side note: Oh and by the way, please don’t rack up any credit card debt while in school or ever if you can help it. Now back to our regular scheduled program.

If you can great! But if you can’t, you’re not going to experience the freedom, you’ve so longed to get by being grown. Rather, you have become a grown up who wants to be a kid again because financially you have no room to breath and that’s no fun.

A part of growing up is exploring your freedom, freedom to choose your clothes, the time to come in the house and make important decisions in your life. Being financially free and enjoying your job, not as work, but as play really brings adults the most sense of freedom. So begin planning (education) with the end in mind (career) and make sure it’s fun and financially beneficial.