Last time we talked about Balancing three important factors of being Bi-vocational. You can re-read that section HERE.
That leads to the next set of factors to consider. Bi-vocational work can take many different forms based on the type of employment the planter chooses. This will greatly affect the degree of freedom the planter will have to adjust the work/life balance. The three different types of employment are:
- Employment
- Self-employment
- Entrepreneurship
Being employed by others often provides a feeling of stability and security. The employee turns up and gets paid regardless of customers or sales. The employee is not responsible for building a business, administrating at a corporate level, or dealing with IRS compliancy issues. This provides a measure of freedom, but other freedoms are sacrificed. The planter is not able to dictate when they will be free, or when they can take time off. They must operate within a limited set of parameters, and sacrifice a degree of their freedom. For planters who require security over freedom, this is a good option.
Self-employment is an option for those who value freedom in their schedule, and are willing to shoulder all of the responsibility of providing their own income. This involves starting a business, dealing with the IRS on a regular basis, and entering the world of workman’s comp, and complying with other federal and state regulations. There is a lot of freedom, but that freedom comes at a price. If the self-employed worker doesn’t hustle, they can’t make a living.
Self-employment can be skill based, such as being a marketer, business consultant, or social media manager. A company can also be formed around a product, as is often seen on shark tank, or it can be formed around a service, such as a landscaping business. Each of them have their advantages and drawbacks that must be considered.
The Entrepreneur is a type of self-employed worker. What differentiates the Entrepreneur from the business owner is that the business owner sticks with one business and attempts to make that business thrive. A good business owner will do something because it is “in their blood” or it is something that they are good at, or has been handed down through the family. It may be something that they trained for, such as real estate. The Entrepreneur however, is attempting to make money. When one business venture slows, they quickly shift to another opportunity, attempting to maximize the amount of ROI regardless of the type of company or business they need to start. An Entrepreneur may jump from developing apps to developing a daily planner on Kickstarter, or teaching online courses. The goal is to increase the bottom line quickly, and to know when to pull out without leaving any money on the table. This may mean one area of focus at a time, or possibly having multiple investments in the air at once.
Buy Peyton’s newest book “Reaching The Unreached: Becoming Raiders of the Lost Art” over on Amazon.com. You can also download a free chapter and watch a cool trailer for the book HERE or click the image below.
