Quiz: Do you have what it takes to be self-employed?

22 Aug 2018

Every year, fresh graduates hatch from the security of university, destined to flap across the job search beach on a quest to the deep sea of employment.

It can be hard to know what career path to take when you’re fresh out of student life, especially if you know exactly what you want to do and it doesn’t look like the corporate 9-5 grind.

Maybe you pursued business studies and have an idea for your own start-up, or perhaps you want to become a freelance designer, writer or musician. If you do, you’re not alone.

In fact, 56 percent of graduates in the UK are trading in the corporate career ladder in favour of being their own boss, according to a study released by Solopress earlier this year.

No matter what you studied, self-employment can give you the autonomy and flexibility to fulfil the career goals you’re passionate about – but make no mistake, it’s no easy ride.

From hustling for your next client to dealing with conflicting deadlines and late payments after completing the work, self-employment comes with stresses you simply don’t have to think about in salaried jobs.

If you’re thinking of taking on self-employment, take our quiz to find out if it will work for you:

Do you respond well to authority?

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Yes, I work best when I'm being told what to do

No - I hate being told what to do and work best on my own

I need some authoritive guidance, but enjoy working independantly

Are you good at managing your own deadlines?

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Yep - I find it easy to plan ahead and manage my workload

If it's in the foreseeable future, I can get it done

I'm more of a 'leave it until the night before' kind of person

How do you react when things go wrong?

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I pick myself up, dust myself off, and find a solution

Crawl under my duvet and hope it will all go away...

I spend a little time feeling upset before working out how to fix it

Do you work well on your own?

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No, I need a team around me to motivate and inspire me

I like to bounce off people, but when it's crunch time I work best on my own

Yes - other people distract me, I work best on my own

Quiz: Do you have what it takes to be self-employed?

Absolutely!

You are organised and motivated, and have no problem working to your own deadlines. You are good at balancing multiple projects and managing different tasks, so juggling clients, finances, administrative tasks and your time shouldn't be too hard. Maintaining a work-life balance may be difficult for you, as you might have a tendency to overwork, especially since you won't have definitive working hours like you would in a normal 9-5 job. But thanks to your strong personality, any challenges are just hurdles you can overcome, so these problems you face will not stop you achieving your dreams.

You can make it work if you're determined

You're determined enough to get the things you want in life, but sometimes you lose sight of upcoming deadlines or forget to set money aside for unexpected costs. You can be successfully self-employed, but you need to be strict with yourself and set reasonable expectations. Drawing up a 'work timetable' can be useful to ensure you always meet your deadlines, and regularly spend time fulfilling administrative and financial tasks. You work best under your own guidance and you have an entrepreneurial flair to guide you through self-employment, but having a part-time job to support you until you're established can reduce stress.

You still have some work to do...

You have the motivation for self-employment, but you've not quite grasped the reality of having no set working structure, having to manage your own deadlines and living with fluctuating incomes every month. Take some time to speak with the careers support workers at your university to consolidate a plan for self-employment if you're committed to it. You need to identify why you want to be self employed, what skills you have, how much you intend to earn and the amount of work you are willing to do to achieve this goal. If you think it's do-able, try getting a part-time job until you're ready to ensure you'll have money to pay the bills while you adapt to the self-employed lifestyle.