Self Employed V's Employed By Someone Else?

Hi there

I am just comparing being self-employed verses being employed by company. In my case I am on my own as a consultant & not employing any staff. As far as I can see there are much greater financial benefits to being employed by someone else.
I filed my return last year & yes I had to pay an accountant & as my earnings were low enough I wasn't hit too hard but this year as I look ahead & my forecasted earnings I am going to pay a big price. I am trying to look at a regular salary with a company and how that may be a better option.

Has anyone any thoughts on this or can anyone recall any similar discussion threads (I did look myself!)? I am trying to plan ahead & when I think of the hard work trying to generate business for myself, the uncertainty of regular business & then to take a huge chunk of it all away while paying someone else to officially calculate this chunk on your behalf seems harsh. To me it just seems there aren't many incentives in place to keep you working for yourself - maybe there are & I just can't see them!

Thanks in advance

EQ

Being self employed I always wonder the same thing!

What keeps me staying self-employed is the other benefits - more flexible time, control over workflow, as a designer i was frustrated by bosses having creative control over my work. Having the freedom to work from home. Also the enjoyment of seeing a company grow, and getting to choose what way you want to move the company forward.

For us its been absolute blood, sweat and tears, but very rewarding. I found working for a company very stifling and frustrating. I hated not having control of my time, and even though I work weekends, nights and most holidays, i still love the freedom of being able to swing an hour free to meet a friend whenever i like. I like having the freedom to put work on hold to do that night, so i can do my hobby during the day for a few hours.

I love having nice clients and developing a relationship with them. I like the freedom to price jobs myself. I like being proud of the work we do 100%.

I found i just coasted along in my last job, even though i worked hard. I find the challenges of running a business fascinating, learning admin, pricing, promotion etc. It constantly challenges you and I learnt more and matured more in one month of being self employed than i did in 10 years in a job.

I'd agree with Paddi22... I'm into my 7th year of being self employed. I had my worst year last year and it was very stressful at times, but for me, going back to being employed would be evry difficult.

Yes, it can be stressful, but it's a different kind of stress because you have more control. If you work late or at weekends, you know it's for your own benefit.

I've always had an accountant do my returns for me but he costs the equivalent of a months mortgage, so reluctantly I'm going to do my tax returns myself this year. Have you thought about doing this?

Paddi - enjoyed reading your post and well I see now why my hubbie might want to stay building his new company rather than going back to PAYE.........

update here.. my hubbie tookt he PAYE job and OMG he is sucha happy guy since this.. the pressure taking away of sole trader fort he moment (didnt realise how hard you have to work at this) the new company treating him fantastic, on good money, great conditions and overall in better form. he is bit worried about his health at moment but nothing a good medical wont sort out.
his mental health is a great. what more could I want?