My Thoughts On Going Self Employed *

I've technically been self-employed through my blog since May last year because that's when I secured my first sponsored post. I began to earn money in dribs and drabs and then late last year my blog really picked up with both sponsored content and also insta #ads via Takumi and I decided at the end of last year that because I was making enough money each month that I should take the plunge and go properly self-employed via my blog. Whilst blogging isn't as easy as non-bloggers seem to think, it's something I really enjoy doing and yes it does have it's pros and cons like any job but I still love it. I may not be making thousands each month but I get along at an okay rate and can afford to pay my bills. I also live at home which is obviously helpful too. Anyway for today's post I thought I would kind of do an update/my honest thoughts on self-employment so far.

Why Do I Feel Guilty?

The first thing I want to to talk about is that I've found that when I'm at home but not working on my blog I feel guilty. I think because now my blog is basically "my business/job" that I need to think of it in that mindset which means my home is basically my office as well. I don't have a spare room I can turn into an office nor do I have an area which I can dedicate and make my "work area" so it's awkward. I usually work from either the living room or my soft office AKA my bed. But I need to learn that I can't work every second of the day and that I need have to take a break in the day like any 9-5 job. I also need to remember that If I don't take a break from my laptop in particular it could cause damage to my eyes from staring at the screen all day and that it's just nice in general to focus on something else just to break up my day a little whether it's a few hours of exercising, baking, reading, going for a walk etc.  

Being Judged On What I Do As My Job

When a family member or friend asks you "What are you doing now?" it's nice to be able to say "I'm self employed" but once they start digging into what you're self employed in, it just feels awkward to say "Oh I'm a blogger" because non-blogging people seem to think blogging is a walk in the park and that I just lounge around all day in my pyjamas, watching Netflix and get sent free things every other day. NOPE. Not true at all. I work bloody hard and it's actually tiring the amount of work involved, yes I may have days when I stay in my comfy clothes and snack on chocolate throughout the day but that doesn't mean I'm not working hard. 

No Sick Pay

Something else you have to take in account if you're thinking of going self employed is that when you're self employed you obviously don't get any sick pay. You have to try and work through any paid work opportunities to get any income for the month or get nothing at all, which I've got to admit, has been quite hard this month because of my on and off health problems from the flu, back problems, headaches/stress and so on. I've somehow still managed to carry on working throughout the past month but I have decided that I'm definitely going to save some money aside so that when I'm unwell in the future I have some money to keep me afloat. 

No Security Blanket

Obviously when you go self-employed with anything from Blogging, Ebay/Depop Seller or selling your art on Etsy, your income each month can be very hit and miss. So I feel like you have to be confident that you're earning enough per month. I do feeling pretty confident with how much on average I make per month and I'm hoping that my blog picks up even more over the next few months so I can put my car back on the road in Spring. But I am considering getting a little part time job in town between 8-12 hours so I can definitely say I have X amount of money coming in each month but I want to see how my blog goes for the next few months first.

My Brain Hurts...

The tax side of going self-employed from what I've experienced so far is a total pain in the butt. I feel like the process is so much more confusing than it has to be. I feel like they write and say things in complicated ways just to confuse you and make you mess up your answers. They also didn't send me one of the important letters when you first sign up as self employed and then the system somehow messed up and made me sign up twice to complete a self assessment for the 17/18 tax year, ugh. Thankfully it's all sorted now and I'm all set for April. Also getting all of my invoices together and writing all of my income/expenses so far on Excel was a complete nightmare and boring as hell but it's a legal requirement to have all of your records at hand. So if you're already earning from your blog or planning on doing soon, then definitely keep track on your invoices and income/expenses or else you'll have to write a whole day off sorting through everything like I did. I'm now going to update both my Excel spreadsheet and print off invoices at the end of every month.

I feel as if I've just moaned all the way through this blog post lol but I'm just keeping it real, going self-employed is hard but it's also very rewarding because you are your own boss and it's definitely worth the cons. I'm looking forward to see what 2018 brings!

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*this post is sponsored by Accident Advice Helpline, all opinions are my own