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Being Your Own Boss – 2 Years Since Becoming Self-Employed

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 76 Comments

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Being Your Own Boss - Becoming Self-EmployedMy official last day at my day job was October 11, 2013.

I honestly cannot believe that it’s already been two years since I last sat at my old desk.

Becoming self-employed has honestly been one of the best things to ever happen to me. I highly recommend being your own boss as well!

I have what I believe to be a successful business, I’m having the time of my life, I’m in control of my future, I’m able to travel whenever and wherever I want to, and more.

If that’s not awesome, then I don’t know what is.

In case you are new here, I used to work as an analyst at an investment banking and valuation firm. I chugged along working the 8-5 Monday through Friday and didn’t see myself having a fun future there. I had a stressful job filled with lots of deadlines and responsibilities that just didn’t interest me.

Here are some related articles that will fill you in or help you out if you are new here:

I say this month after month in my monthly income reports, but it’s true – Life is GREAT now! I love everything about self-employment and blogging. I am still extremely happy that I decided to make the leap and I can’t imagine life being any other way.

Call me spoiled, call me happy, I don’t care. Life is good and I think many others can do the same. In fact, I know of many readers who have taken a similar path to mine and hopefully some of them will chime in below 🙂

Below is my update since becoming self-employed two years ago.

 

I enjoy being in control and being my own boss.

I love being in complete control of what I do and becoming self-employed may allow you to feel that way as well. I enjoy deciding what I will do each day, creating my own schedule, determining my business goals, handling everything behind the scenes, and more.

In fact, I have a rule in my life/business where I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. I’m still saying yes to many amazing opportunities, but I also am not doing anything that feels like a total drag or against my beliefs. This has really helped improve my work-life balance, which is great. Being able to choose how you earn a living is a great thing!

Related: If you are wanting to leave your current job to pursue something else, I have the book for you. I highly recommend the book How To Engineer Your Layoff: Make A Small Fortune By Saying Goodbye. It includes 150 pages of information on how to negotiate a severance from a job you no longer like, profiles of people from different demographics and income levels who’ve successfully engineered their layoffs, and how they did it, and more.

 

I love my business.

I love each and every service I provide. This is yet another reason for why I’m happy that I’m self-employed. There’s not a single thing I do not enjoy.

I enjoy writing online, promoting everything, networking, interacting with readers, and more.

Running an online business (and being your own boss) may not be for everyone and it may not be understood by everyone, but it’s something I enjoy.

If you are interested in starting your own blog, I created a tutorial that will help you start a blog of your own for cheap, starting at only $3.49 per month (this low price is only through my link) for blog hosting. In addition to the low pricing, you will receive a free blog domain (a $15 value) through my Bluehost link if you purchase at least 12 months of blog hosting. 

 

Being able to just wake up and work from home is great.

One great thing about working from home is that I don’t have a commute. I can just wake up in the morning and start working. This provides a lot more time for me to be able to enjoy my life and to work as well.

Also, since I enjoy what I do as well, waking up in the morning is no longer a problem like it was at my old day job. I enjoy waking up each morning to work and it’s often very hard to even break away from my laptop.

 

Having endless access to my fridge isn’t a problem.

I have gained a little bit of weight since switching to self-employment, but it’s something I am working on. However, it’s not as bad as I originally thought.

I originally thought that I would just sit at home and eat all day. Yes, that happens every now and then (haha, I am human!), but I control myself on most days.

 

Becoming self-employed to me means a flexible schedule.

One of the best things about working for yourself and being a blogger is that you can have a flexible schedule.

I can work ahead as far as I want to, I can create my own work schedule, and more.

I love being able to work for a few hours in the morning, then do something that I want to during the day (such as a hike or a lunch with friends), and then do more work later at night when I have nothing planned. I can also schedule appointments during the day and it’s really no big deal.

I can work at night, in the morning, on the weekends – I can work whenever.

 

Location independence allows me to work from wherever.

Being location independent over the past two years has been great. I love that my online business allows me to work from wherever. I am actually typing this while in my RV and enjoying the beautiful scenery around me.

It’s great to be able to work from wherever. All I need is an internet connection and my laptop. Can’t beat that!

The only problem with being location independent is that for many it can be hard to separate work from your life. You often find yourself working from everywhere and while that may seem great, being able to take a true vacation is something that I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to do.

However, I’m not going to complain because the work-life balance that I’m rocking right now is still great.

Related post: Are you interested in traveling the world and working at the same time?

 

I have a better social life.

When I first told everyone that I would be leaving my job and becoming self-employed, many would often ask what I would do so that I could still get some socialization in my life. It’s also one of the top questions I receive from others who are thinking about leaving their day job.

This area of my life has actually improved since I left my day job. At my old day job, I was one of the only females in the industry and everyone was at least 20 to 30 years older than me. That doesn’t make much room for friendships right there so I often spent most of my time in my office without speaking a word all day long, unless I was speaking to a client.

Now, I talk to multiple people throughout the day and my social life is much better. I have Wes working alongside me each and every day, I see and talk to people when I do activities outdoors each day, I talk to my friends and blogging buddies every day, and more.

Do you have any questions for me about self-employment? Are you interested in becoming self-employed and being your own boss? Why or why not?

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About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  1. Nicola @ The Frugal Cottage says

    I can’t believe it’s already been two years for you; that’s seriously flown by! I think you absolutely made the right decision as your income has only got better and better since you left and could focus entirely on your business. Looking forward to seeing where year three takes you!

    Reply

  3. Christina @ Embracing Simple says

    Hi Michelle!

    These are all things that I truly enjoy about self-employment too. I’ve been self-employed for almost 3 years now (hard to believe it’s been that long!!) and completely everything with everything you’ve mentioned. The freedom it provides to create my own schedule has been some wonderful too now that I have a child and can work in a way that provides balance for me and my family. I love it and wouldn’t change it for the world!

    Cheers to a great week!!

    Christina

    Reply

  4. Chantel says

    Hi Michelle!! Your story is truly inspiring! I’ve been wanting to start my own blog seems like forever and now I feel like this is the time to start! I already work a full time job that I love but I want to be my own boss and have a more flexible schedule. With a husband and two kids, I want to be able to create vacations whenever I want to. On top of that, I made a promise to be explore outside of my comfort zone and take risks I wouldn’t normally take. What was that like for you when you finally decided to make blogging your full time job and how long did it take you to get to that point? Thank you so much for your time! Keep doing the wonderful things you are doing!

    Reply

  5. Nihaad says

    You are such an inspiration. I have a little blog going and I enjoy it so much right now as a hobby. I am working full time and I am on the tipping point of truly hating it because I hate that someone else is in control of my time. I am trying to see what it is that I want to do with my life and what would be a viable solution to my situation but I have no clue where to begin… I am going with the flow for now but I do know that I need to think outside of the box so that I can create the future I want for myself!

    Nihaad – the little blog of STUFF

    Reply

  6. Kalie @ Pretend to Be Poor says

    That’s great that you get more time with friends, and more flexibility in your schedule. I’ve definitely enjoyed those perks while staying home with my kids, but it would be great to have that while being in the workforce, too.

    Reply

  7. Kate @ Cashville Skyline says

    Wow, congratulations on two successful years of self-employment. What an achievement! I’m in Santa Fe right now and it’s reminded me how important location independence is. I’m looking forward to the ability to work from anywhere, at any time. You’ve mentioned how much better your work-life balance is. What’s your secret? 🙂

    Reply

  9. Sara says

    Congratulations on two years of self employment. I run a small online scrapbook store and also work full time. I dream of the day I will be able to quit my full time job and focus solely on the store. I have been thinking about starting a personal blog about our journey to financial freedom and paying off debt and have been using Pinterest to absorb as much information as possible about blogging. I am so glad I found your site and plan to look around some more!

    Reply

  10. Jenifer says

    Two years of continuous increase in sells, I am also looking for such startup plans as well in houston, hope I will also get such positive response as well.

    Reply

  16. Christopher says

    Congratulations on your accomplishment! It is a great motivator and I am glad to view your progress during my own life transition. Officially I submitted my last assignment for my MBA. I did the military route to lower my college bills and glad to have paid off my college bill without a major loan. I look forward to your RV adventures! I think by next year my plan is to be self-employed but slowly move away from the full time work as more of the debts are being off. Blogging is an interesting practice, I signed up in blue host but waited till this day to free up time from the two degrees off my bucket list. Again congrats to two awesome years!

    Reply

  17. Cat@BudgetBlonde says

    Hey girl! Congrats on two years of self-employment! I love it most of the time too and for many of the reasons you mention here. I love that I can cuddle my kids whenever I want because my office is just down the hall from where they spend most of the day playing. It’s awesome!

    Reply

  18. Connie @ Savvy With Saving says

    Congrats Michelle! It’s so inspiring to follow you on your journey and see everything you’ve accomplished in such a short period of time!

    Reply

  19. Jesse Gernigin says

    You are amazing. Plan and clear. I’m so happy you are out there crushing it showing other people it is possible!

    Reply

  20. Denise says

    I’d love to be my own boss. I’ve just started a blog about a month ago. How long did it take from starting your blog to actually making money at it?

    Reply

  22. Vanessa says

    Thank you so much for writing this encouraging post. I am about to open my own Speech Pathology practice and all I hear (from other professionals and also online) is “working for yourself is SO HARD” and all the negatives. I think it has a lot more to do with personality type; some people hate the idea of being in charge of their own lives and not having the “security” (LOL) of having someone else pay their salary. In contrast, in my previous jobs I disliked having someone else set my agenda and timetable, and take credit for my ideas and hard work. As a motivated self-starter, I’m really looking forward to opening my practice! And reading your post reminds me of why I’m excited about it. Thanks for your positivity!

    Reply

  25. Sarah @ the frugal millionaire blog says

    Congratulations, Michelle!!! Your success is SO inspiring!! I haven’t commented in a while as I’ve sort of gone in reverse – I’m now working FT in addition to freelancing/blogging! I’m hoping to make a change though that will allow for more free time!! Your life seems awesome – you are truly living my dream in that RV of yours!!! (Only, taking my two toddlers along would change the dynamic quite dramatically LOL)

    Congrats again!!!

    Reply

  26. Alexa says

    It’s been just about two full years for me too! I think I’m now unemployable lol. I can do freelance jobs that allow me to go on my own terms but I don’t think I could do a desk job anymore. I also feel like my mindset has shifted and I see opportunities everywhere. The one con for me is socialization. I take my kids to school and pick them up just so I can leave the house every day!

    Reply

  29. Bryan says

    This is an inspiring post. I have always dreamed of being my own boss, and making a living the way I want. To me its about freedom and being able to travel and go places when I want. Your article speaks right to me. Over the past two months I have gotten back into building my side hustle (same subject as yours) that I hope will turn into a full time thing. I feel really good about the road ahead because of posts like this.

    Thanks

    Reply

  30. Holly@ClubThrifty says

    Self-employment has been wonderful for all the reasons you’ve mentioned. But, for me, there is also a downside. I have workaholic tendencies, and self-employment doesn’t help at all. Sometimes I can’t stop working!

    Reply

  31. giulia says

    Your posts are realy inspiring, for the moment I love my day job as realtor and love all the side projects I have (side hustle) but in my mind there is the GIANT project to be boss of myself in the next 10 years who knows? however Congrats, reading your post I think this is been right choiche for you!!!

    Reply

  32. Jessica says

    Haha if you change the job title from analyst to attorney in your description of your old job it sounds just like mine. At some point I realized that I just can’t sit in an office all day and work for someone else. Thanks for being a continuing inspiration for me to pursue self employment!

    Reply

  33. divorcedff says

    Your post is realy inspiring, for the moment I have my day job, but also few side hustles, that one of them – selling on eBay , I want to make one day my main source of income, but for the meen time while I build my eBay store I work in a day job.

    Reply

  34. Esteban says

    Hey,

    I completely agree with everything and more unjust written. I actually feel very very similar. Only difference being I haven’t made much money online yet!

    Hopefully I will reach your level soon. I’ve also worked for a stupid investment bank before and life was horrible then.

    I can’t go back to that and I love the freedom I currently have. I do a lot of research and read a let of blogs like yours in order to improve and never having to go back to corporate life 🙁

    Great post 🙂

    Esteban

    Reply

  36. The Roamer says

    Wow Michelle
    This is so inspiring. I have wanted to start my own business for a while but I always thought it had to be brick and mortar. I’m so happy I came across all these bloggers and that I found you.

    This sound so much better being location independent sound like the best.

    Congrats on reaching this milestone and thanks for sharing how you do it. It was great to meet you at FinCon.

    Reply

  37. Lila says

    Congratulations! I read your article on making money on blogs but I still feel lost.

    How are you able to do this when so many people quit blogging? You do it really successfully too. I’m a baby blogger & sophomore at a 4 year state uni. How may I replicate your success in an ocean of blogs?

    I already read the other blogging posts on your site and joined IZEA so I’m hoping that eventually I’ll get lucky there. I joined Swag Bucks and I also joined Bloglovin’ (don’t have subscribers yet but hoping they will come in time).

    I’m really hoping that by the time I graduate uni. that my blog will be going *somewhere* and I don’t mind working hard. I’m not afraid to work! =)

    How many hours do you spend working on your blog? Are you hoping to retire early or sell your blog eventually? If the last two questions are too personal then I understand.

    Reply

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