My purpose with this post was to point out that, despite the difficulties, the baseline control I have over my time is ultimately far more rewarding for me than the financial trappings of corporate employment. And my choice to focus on this daily benefit of time makes the various pitfalls much simpler to navigate.

I've written and podcasted a great deal about the ways self-employment can be challenging – so maybe, taken in the context of my other work, this post would present a more balanced picture to you. And certainly, just because the corporate life hasn't proven to agree with me doesn't mean it won't agree with everyone.

Perhaps we can just agree to disagree, and respect each other's takes on this idea.

I was a self employed artist for almost 16 years. And although it is true that your time is more flexible and a great deal of the time you spend is doing something you truly enjoy, the reality is that you most likely will not make as much money as you do at a salaried position, you will need to pay for your own healthcare costs at easily 3 and 4 times the price of what it costs to be insured through an employer, you will have to pay 15% self employment tax to cover your social security, a cost that is shared when employed with a company, and you will need to pay estimated quarterly taxes to not be hit with a large tax bill at year end.

Yes, you will most likely spend more hours of the day doing something you love (creating art), but to be able to survive, you will have to spend just as many, if not more hours, marketing, promoting, and selling your art, not to mention being your own accountant ( or pay someone else to be your marketing , PR, sales and financial help).

If you ever want to buy a house, or a car, or any other large purchase that requires credit, the hoops you have to jump through to qualify in terms of showing income or going the route of “stated income” never results in as smooth or beneficial financial transaction as it would with a regular paycheck.

There are no perks like the “401K matching” fund, so if you want to save for retirement you have to do this entirely on your own, a luxury that I never felt I could afford when I was self employed.

And this illusion that you will have more time and money is purely an illusion. To make it work, you will most likely spend many many more hours a day at work, and dont kid yourself that the lack of stress will make it possible to forego those extra lattes and things you spend money on at a “regular” job.

Dont get me wrong. In many ways I loved being a self employed creative person. I ran my own small business througn my twenties and thirties and loved the creativity and freedom of it in many ways. But eventually, the economy made it impossible for me to continue, and when I looked at how I had spent the last 15 years I realized that although I had loved many things about my life, I had also spent more time working than anything else, including time with family and friends or really taking care of myself. plus, I had very little to show for it in terns of savings as I entered my forties.

I am not trying to talk anyone out of following their dreams, I just think it is important to approach your dreams with a good sense of what the reality is. I was very naive when I began, and although i am glad I did it, I wished I had known more from the beginning about what it really would take.

I also dont think that you should ever assume that if you get a regular 9-5 job, or corporate job that you will hate it! When I gave up my business a few years ago, due to financial constraints, I went into the corporate world and found there was much I liked about it. It still has its share of good and bad situations and people, but no more than I encountered selling my own work out in the world.

My suggestion to any creative person would be to follow your dreams, but with a healthy dose of reality thrown in…think about ways you can incorporate your creativity into everything that you do whether it is your corporate job or your time spent with your children. Your true creativity and the ability to make your art comes from inside you and you can always tap int that no matter what you are doing.

I've learned that struggling over work you love is vastly superior to struggling over work that drains you. I mean, although we all love the idea of Easy Street, we'd probably bored if we weren't being challenged, right?

This article has me seriously thinking about my priorities and why I'm so worried. I'm realizing that you just have to step back and decide what is the most important aspects of your life and do what you love, no matter how hard you have to struggle to get there. I don't know what my future will hold but I really hope that I can follow my dreams while still keeping my feet on the ground.

Anyway, thanks for posting this article again, it was really inspiring to read.

Also, how the heck did I not know about Spoonful yet?! Just ordered an issue! Woo!