What it means to be self-employed

HERE ARE some insights on what to expect if you’re selfemployed.

If you’re a journalist, for instance, instead of one superior, you could end up with five or six. And that could ratchet up the pressure on you. Very often, instead of having an easy time, you’d be expected to perform up to par each time.

For example, as part of a news team, a colleague could well cover some functions for you — unofficially of course, while you feed your Fortnite or Gardenscape addiction.

When self- employed, there’s no such backup plans to fall back on. Once you (expletive) big time, it’s all over.

To some extent, you could choose your own projects. But being too choosy can leave you with no clients at all. Then you’d struggle to pay your loans, your data lines will be cut, your soon-to-be significant other could suddenly rate you as “insignificant”. You catch the drift.

Even as a freelancer, you often cannot call the shots. You can’t choose what you’d like to do. So go with the 20: 80 rule.

What may initially seem insignificant, could snowball into repeat business if you get it right.

As a freelancer, if you get to be known as a solid performer, you could eventually attract the attention of employers overseas who are more than willing to pay you in US dollars, euros or what-not for a job well done.

Don’t limit yourself to selling goods and services within the country. But before accepting that huge project from overseas, make sure the Ministry of Finance isn’t going to tax most of what you make.

Lim Guan Eng has his fingers in everybody’s pie, and it won’t be long before he eyes yours.— Contributed