Is employment the only suitable money making option for twenty something year olds, or should 20 year olds also consider the option of self-employment?

Over the next couple of weeks we will look at some of the myths surrounding self-employment. We have so far covered the fear that one will have to work for long hours once they are self-employed. This post will analyse the perception that self-employment is riskier than traditional employment.

Modern society has conditioned us to believe that having a job is the safer option. More youth are returning to the university in pursuit of degrees and masters certification so that they can gain reputable employment or perhaps get a promotion at work. One question lingers, is self-employment more rewarding than playing cog in someone else’s machine.

Most professionals agree that self-employment is more rewarding and less risky than depending on traditional employment.

Steve Pavlina, a self-help author, motivational speaker and entrepreneur, equates traditional employment to keeping all your eggs in one basket. It’s after you lose your job and have no alternative source of income that you’ll realize that traditional employment is a much riskier avenue. Joel D Canfield, a writer, in his column for the Lateral Action has identified four compelling reasons that the self-employed are safer than those under traditional employment.

Let’s demystify this perception that self-employment is more risky than traditional employment.

As Pavlina puts it, security is a result of control, and self-employment gives you far more control over your income than traditional employment. Which of the two is more secure, having another individual determining if you will get your income at the end of the month or be the one with the determining power of whether or not you will have an income at the end of the month? Baring the fact that anyone can lose their job within the blink of an eye, having the power to determine if you will get some income is the most ideal option.

If you depend on employment as your only source of income, if you want to get some extra cash the only option you have is asking for a pay rise. This means someone else has the power to determine if you will get the extra cash or not. With self-employment you have the power to control all the business assets and rechannel resources so that you can increase your income at the end of the month. It’s you who determines if you will have extra cash or not. As Pavlina puts it, having control makes the huge difference.

Traditional employment comes with the risk of losing your job at any time. You will only learn how risky it is when you unexpectedly hear the words, “we’re letting you go.” Businesses do go under but a smart entrepreneur would know how to prevent this from happening and if worse comes to worse they would not go under having not lost everything.

I am not saying self-employment isn’t risky; it does have its own risks, but then again security is all about control. Self-employment gives you far more control over your income than you have with a regular job.