1.  You’re the boss.
You knew this one was coming, didn’t you? It’s the one we all dreamed about when we realized self-employment was a viable option: being our own boss. Escaping the rat race and living life as we pleased. Remember that?

When you’re self-employed, you no longer have “higher powers” governing your every move. You control how your work is done. Your client has a say in the final product, but that’s it — their power ends there. How you get from point A to point B is completely up to you and that is awesome.

2. You earn more money.
On average, research shows that freelancers earn 45% more than those who are traditionally employed. Freelancers also tend to hide certain business expenses that employees cannot, allowing them to actually keep more of what they earn.

3. You spend less.
Those who work from home really get this one. Most people who are employed travel to and from work on a daily basis. They buy lunch and other snacks every day.

Think of a self-employed home-worker. They eat food that is already in their monthly budget and only travel when necessary. No traffic jams or long queues at Kencom, Ambassador, Railways or whichever bus station you normally get your bus from every evening from 5pm, or getting rained on early in the morning just cause you have to get to work. And when they do get to travel, they can choose to travel off-peak.

Just imagine how much time and effort you save.

4. You are free to get off the daily routine.
When you are an employee your job description never changes. You know how boring it gets. You’ve basically crammed your routine and are on auto-pilot for most of the day, save for the odd office-drama here and there.

As a freelancer, there’s no more routine to your life. Your job and skills are constantly redefined. You need more talent, more creativity and more knowledge. Every client presents a new challenge or opportunity.

As your business grows, so does your skillset, and the satisfaction that comes with it is nothing compared to life in employment.

5. No co-worker drama.
Most freelancers work alone. As challenging and /or limiting as this may be at times you rarely miss the drama from co-workers who can be a pain in the butt. You only put up with what you want to put up with. You choose your employees and are free to show them the door if you feel that you can’t work with them.

6. Lazy Day? No worries!
Everyone has those days when you just don’t feel like doing anything. Freelancers have the power to do whatever they wish on such days.

Employed? Well, forget the notion of getting on the phone and telling your boss that you just don’t feel like going to work and will make up for it tomorrow.

7. The end of bureaucracy.
Want a new laptop? Done. New desk and whiteboard? Done. No consultations with your boss or the procurement guy. No waiting for departmental budgets to be submitted to the CFO, it’s just you and the bank account separating you from the next acquisition. Work should be fun and you get to have all the gadgetry you need, assuming of course that you have the funds to boot your desires.

Holidays can be taken whenever you want, especially when business is low and it can be as sporadic as you wish. No submission of leave forms is required. So you don’t need to justify your leave to anyone.

Employed? Well, let’s just say you’ll have to run your request through your head of department, who will have to ask…. get the drift?

8. No uniforms.
Being self-employed is a bit like being on a never-ending holiday, no ties required!

Well, not unless you’re meeting with a really formal client, in person – you can wear (or not wear) whatever you please.

Tell that to your human resources officer over in the corporate sector.

9. You set your own schedule.
Whether you crave the steady familiarity of a fixed schedule, or you long to mix it up with hours that are more flexible; as your own boss, you’re the one who creates your schedule.

If you’re not a morning person, you can rest easy knowing that you no longer have to set your alarms in duplicate in order to just barely make your morning meeting. Or, if early’s your style, you can set your hours for the dawn and have a full day’s work done before your kids get up for school.

10. You choose your own customers.
When you work as an employee, you’re more-or-less forced to serve whoever decides to show up at your employer’s place of business. Whether it’s the guy who married the girl of your dreams or the old geezer who screams at you because he still hasn’t quite figured out how to update the website or the confused woman who’s called three times in the past hour with the exact same customer service question: you had to help them. Because that was your job.

You’re the one in control now, not them. You choose who you provide services to.

The Final Word
When the stress of everyday life starts to wear thin on you, it can be hard to remember how amazing your life — your business — really is. You may even consider giving it all up from time to time when you think about your worst customers, marketing and getting little business in return for your long hours and more…

But the truth is: self-employment is a fantastic lifestyle choice. Be thankful.