Some good reasons why you should consider self employment if unemployed

The UK government is currently obsessed with unemployment. For good reason. For the last few years, since talking a good talk about the recession slowly dying and job opportunities increasing, well, its kind of just stayed pretty much the same. Flat-lined is the word…

David Cameron, the UK Prime Minister, recently talked a good talk saying there was a “business in all of us”. Reading between the lines this is is code for “create your own job – because you might be waiting a while otherwise!”. And many leading scholars would argue that it is only new startups and businesses that can truly help an economy grow….

With this in mind, self employment is definitely an option for the unemployed – I am a living example, and therefore I feel well qualified to outline below a few good reasons why you should consider self employment if unemployed…

You may have nothing to lose…
With the Government obsessed with getting the long term unemployed ‘back to work’, the reality is that after 6 months of unemployment, you are either faced with training, education or some badly run work placement scheme. However another option that may be on the cards, is a self employed’ test trading scheme*. You may be still entitled to benefits, but the scheme allows you to test trade / try at starting your own business. You may never get a better opportunity to try that something you love…*Depends on where you live…

You Gain so Much…
Apart from the obvious advantage of not having to tick boxes, smile and nod (if you are lucky) when you have to go to the jobcentre to sign on every two weeks, the advantages for both your purse and mindset are obvious. Self employment gives you immediate responsibility, self belief and self value. If the jobcentre is the hell of unemployment, self employment is the heaven of….well…self employment. You get to socialise, learn new things and get to create your own job. Even after all of these pluses, you might actually find you are well suited to self employment and not only create a job for yourself but others as well!

You can still enjoy some of the ‘freedoms’ that unemployment brings…
Without getting peoples’ backs up – for a short while unemployment can seem pretty good. No responsibility, no getting up early, no reporting in to a line manager you have little or no respect for. However, after reality kicks in, unemployment is a lonely ol’ place – and the money’s not great either! However if you consider self employment, consider this. Apart from the responsibility that you bring on yourself, you don’t have to work set hours, you don’t have to report in to a line manager, you don’t have to fill in pointless spreadsheets – some of the things that can make unemployment pretty enjoyable.

You are creating a Job!
There is nothing better than knowing that you are creating a job for yourself. To put it bluntly, why wait for someone to say you are good enough to work, when in your heart of hearts you know you are good enough anyway. You may get to the stage of having to employ other people and helping other people find employment. And that’s a pretty important thing to do. If you do actually end up being an employer yourself, it’s all about finding the right people and making the most of what their skills and talents can bring. It’s essential to consider the business case for talent management  , for example. This is becoming an increasingly important issue for all employers after all.

Self employment, and people doing their own thing is on the rise, and for good reason. And from experience, there is no better feeling, than when you sign off, and telling Mr Paper-Pusher down at the Job-Centre that you are becoming self employed, just watch their face…

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