Self-Employed Or Non-Traditionally-Employed People, Speak Up!

[loves to dive]

My honey is self employed, he is an IT consultant. I'm the bookkeeper for another IT company, he used to work for us. It was scary as all get out when he went out on his own but thankfully, at the time, our company still needed his services so he worked a sweet deal with my boss for a monthly retainer. He basically has two huge clients that take up most of his time then a few smaller clients that need him about once a year. He has a real office in our basement but the only time he has actually used it was to edit underwater video. He works from his laptop on our couch 90% of the time. A few times a year one of his clients upgrades their systems in their 4 offices so he has to travel to TN, FL and Alabama out of state and Atlanta, Macon and Augusta here in Georgia. Otherwise, he just does it all from out couch. Because of the nature of his business, a lot of his work has to be done at night and on weekends, which is a pain for me if I want to actually do something with him or if I want to be in the same room with him and watch TV, not possible (thus why he originally set up the non-used office in the basement). There are days he doesn't do any work at all, our yard is the best in the neighborhood and days he works 24 hours. It's all about budgeting. I do work outside the home and have my health insurance through the company I work for.

 

[DaisyJ]

I've always been good at writing* - even going back to elementary school, teachers always praised my writing skill. Other people are good with numbers or science or art or whatever, I'm good with words.

Anyway, after decades of slugging out behind a desk, I was at home one day, read an article on a celebrity trash website (it wasn't about celebrity trash), and saw the words "Write for Us" on the site. I figured, what the hell, I'll apply. Eight weeks later, I was knocking out 20 articles per week.

@kimblebee If you can write in coherent English (with good spelling and punctuation), and are interested in pursuing this, I'll give you an email address where you can get started.

*What you see here on the DIS isn't my best work. Sometimes here I'll choose my words poorly or mess up punctuation or whatever. Rest assured that my professional work is much better than what you see here. Here I can let my guard down a bit.

I read celebrity gossip. Coherent English, good spelling and punctuation, along with good grammar, are not prerequisites to writing trashy gossip.

 

[soccerdad72]

Technically, my wife is self-employed. She's a partner in a Big 4 firm, though, so she's one of 2,000 or so partners in the US practice.

 

[rastahomie]

I read celebrity gossip. Coherent English, good spelling and punctuation, along with good grammar, are not prerequisites to writing trashy gossip.

Maybe not, but it's important to me.

 

[ecclescake]

I have been been running a small business (in the U.K.) with my partner since 2008. We make short live action and animated films for community groups/arts organisations/charities etc. Its not a way of working that would work for everyone, but I really love being with my other half all the time

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Maybe not, but it's important to me.

Agreed. If I see bad grammar, I close out immediately.

 

[disney junky]

I retired after 32 years as an English teacher. I got my real estate license and have been doing that for the past two years.

 

[Magpie]

I tutor elementary grade children in reading and math, after school.

It's nice having a little extra cash, and I enjoy the work, but I wouldn't say it "makes ends meet". Fortunately, my husband makes enough for both of us.

 

[leebee]

I've always been good at writing* - even going back to elementary school, teachers always praised my writing skill. Other people are good with numbers or science or art or whatever, I'm good with words. Anyway, after decades of slugging out behind a desk, I was at home one day, read an article on a celebrity trash website (it wasn't about celebrity trash), and saw the words "Write for Us" on the site. I figured, what the hell, I'll apply. Eight weeks later, I was knocking out 20 articles per week. If you can write in coherent English (with good spelling and punctuation), and are interested in pursuing this, I'll give you an email address where you can get started.

*What you see here on the DIS isn't my best work. Sometimes here I'll choose my words poorly or mess up punctuation or whatever. Rest assured that my professional work is much better than what you see here. Here I can let my guard down a bit.

I'm self-employed as well, but both DH and I are retired federal government employees, so we each have an annuity and Social Security from when we worked in the private sector. We're also covered by our carried-over health insurance. Our share of the premiums is larger, but not onerous.

I'm a freelance book editor registered with a site that posts jobs in many different areas of publishing, from writing books, blogs, articles, reports, academic papers, and miscellaneous writings to web development and maintenance, graphic design, game design, audio transcription, translations, e-book formatting, and even virtual personal assistants. My personal niche is editing other people's writing. I've scored six jobs through this site over the past year, none of which would cover my mortgage payment. If anyone is interested in checking out this site, let me know, and I'll PM the info to you.

Queen Colleen

Yes, please, to both Rastahomie and Queen Colleen; if you want to share that email/webpage info, I'd love to have it! I work hourly as a special ed teacher, meaning I never earn enough! I've been looking for a new job or part-time position but haven't found anything yet (I think my age might have something to do with it). I have always had solid skills in English and have successfully written several grants (both scientific and for the arts) and patent applications, and have edited about a dozen dissertations, so I think I have some writing skills. Doing freelance writing/editing would be something I'd like to investigate.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I just summarize what other people have written - so, TMZ, InTouch Weekly, that sort of thing. It's not very sexy, but it pays the bills (sometimes).

So you don't write anything original? Just copy what others have researched?

 

[rastahomie]

So you don't write anything original? Just copy what others have researched?

99% of my work, yes. I don't copy, but I do summarize. I also bring in facts from several other sources, so my story will include more than what you'd read in any one source. In fact, the publication for which I write the most actually forbids original reporting. But I have also done some original reporting for other publications.

 

[Missypyxi]

I was a mural painter for a while, but I started writing and illustrating a fantasy series in November 2015 and never looked back. I published my first novel in the series independently on Amazon in March of 2016, and since then I have published three more books of the five book series. The first year, I didn't even make enough for Amazon to pay me. This year, I'm bringing in a semi-steady income every month from my published books. Disney's storytelling style is a huge influence for me, as are the fantasy movies from my 1980s childhood.

DH is a network engineer for Verizon and I'm very grateful for that, because it means I can spend most of the time DS is in school writing.

Of course, lately, most of that time has been spent daydreaming about our upcoming Disney trip instead of focusing on finishing that lasts novel in the series, which means mostly lurking here in the DISboards!

 

[cobright]

What do you other self-employed people around here do to make ends meet?

I'm an artist and metalworker. I create large pieces of architectural decorative metalwork and sculpture. When it pays, it pays really well and it's work I love. I get a paid job once or twice a year. In my downtime:

• I usually have a house I'm renovating to sell or rent.
• I have a two rental properties.
• My formal education is in International Relations and I sometimes get paid (or at least a free trip to NYC) to attend and write on some UN Commission or another for a student delegation I volunteer with.
• And.. I'm a stay at home dad.

Thankfully, my wife is one of those very employable and pretty well paid people. I joke that she pays the bills and I'll buy the vacations.

 

[scrapquitler]

My husband is in the self employed/non traditionally employed category. Computer geek, database genius, business consultant, something like that, I don't get it so I can't really explain it. He has one client, a software company, but he works closely with their clients to customize the software, which are numerous and varied. He works 60-70 hours a week, almost exclusively at home (or in a room at Pop Century). I'm a stay at home, homeschooling Mom. Nobody in either one of our families understands our out of the mainstream sort of lifestyle, but we love it.