What would it take for an unemployed person to create their own business? [closed]

Question

I am in my final semester in college taking a class about finding work. As I have learned more about the world of work, I have wanted less to do with it. From what I've been taught, work is always a brutal, merciless environment where everyone is constantly trying to manipulate others. Even my own professor isn't that kind, or understanding. I informed her of a glitch I found on our class website. She interpreted that as me trying to get out of doing my assignments (which had NOTHING to do with that, I was telling her that the page wasn't keeping track of which assignments I had done right, even though I had done all of them and she had even given grades for them). She even threatened me because of what I said! I'm afraid I'll just make her even madder if I try to explain to her that she completely misinterpreted what I was saying.

Beyond that, the local businesses are infamous for mistreating their own employees. Obviously, I need to work, but I don't see anyway I could stand working for anyone for any length of time (even my own relatives are constantly switching occupations due to abuse from their superiors). Funny enough, half the business around here have had 'looking for work' signs up for months, and that's because nobody in town wants to work for any of them! Most businesses around here don't even obey laws regarding working rights!

A plan I came up with to fix my dilemma was to just make money on my own somehow. I don't know anything about actually doing that (I'm an IT major), but given the local work climate I really can't see myself doing anything else. As for what I was thinking, there's quite a few farms around here (including one of my neighbors), so I figured I could make money growing crops on my property. I don't know how much money that would make me though, or how I could sell them. I do know the local grocery stores get their food from the local farmers, but I have no idea how that actually works or what they require of their farmers (I think my neighbor grows food for himself).

What would I have to do to seriously create my own self-owned business, and I would prefer a business where I didn't have to hire any employees. I want a source of income that is just me and me alone. I don't have a degree that teaches me how to actually create a business though, so I don't know how I could accomplish this goal.

Answer 1

First of, I feel obliged to challenge your frame of reference a little bit since you’re inexperienced (by your own account) and there are certain conceptions that are really wrong.

First of all, not all employment is bad. Most of the population of the world are employees and they do get by just fine. Just because some of the references around are bad, don’t assume it’s going to be bad for you and, more importantly, do not condition yourself to perceive it as bad. Work (both self employment and working for someone else is something you need to TRY and decide whether it is for you or not and it’s better not to be too biased).

Second, self employment also has drawbacks:

• Your financial health is constantly at risk, there’s no guaranteed pay at the end of the month.
• The above implies you have loads of stress and you usually never have holidays or time off, even when you do part of your head is still thinking about the business
• If it goes well you may have a load of money but if it doesn’t you may end up in a very, very, very bad spot. Which adds up to the above stress every day.
• You don’t answer to anyone, which also means all responsibility for everything is on your shoulders, more stress.

Now, to your point. There’s no difference between being employed or unemployed for starting a business. You’ll need, at the very least:

• A business plan. What are you going to sell? To whom? What’s your market? Who’s your competition? How are you going to compete with them? How are you going to get benefits?
• A place to conduct business. Can you work from home or do you need a customer facing office?
• An initial expenses plan. How much money do you need to start business? Think licenses, set up , equipment, etc
• A projected monthly expenses plan. How much does it cost to run your business?

You’ll need, in my recommendation, enough money to cover at least the initial investment plus money to cover between 6 to 12 months of expenses except when your self employment is expected to produce immediate income (not the usual but maybe in cases like being a consultant).

I can’t stress this enough, self employment is way harder and more pressing than working for someone else. So are the rewards but your conception that self employment is, somewhat, easier, it’s in my opinion, completely wrong and I’ve done both.

My recommendation would be for you to TRY being employed and use the experience to:

1. Evaluate first hand whether it is that bad or not.
2. Earn and save a good investment money in case you end up wanting to start your business nonetheless.

Answer 2

From what you posted, it looks like your "professor" has some significant problems (paranoia), and that may very much influence what she teaches. So the reality is likely not "the world is horrible, and even my teacher is horrible", but "your teacher is horrible, and that's why she tells you the world is horrible".

Your teacher's view of the world is totally contrary to my experience. Of course things are not perfect everywhere. A good teacher would tell you how to handle this (and this site will likely help you if you need it).

You are planning to start farming food and selling it to stores and make money that way. Consider the competition: Dozens of farmers in your area, who have invested in land and tools for years, who have learned the business for years, possibly studied agriculture with great success, and are still struggling. As a rank amateur, your chances are slim. If you really wanted to go that route, I'd recommend finding a job on a farm first, learn what you can, and find out whether it is for you. Then when you know what farming is about, you can make an educated decision whether to go it on your own or not.

On the other hand, you can try to get a job. Every job gives you work experience and something to put on your CV. Every bad job gives you an opportunity to learn how to cope with bad situations at least. As long as there are openings, you know you don't have to stay anywhere. But once you find a good place, that's where you can start to grow.

Answer 3

I work as a software dev, but my real passion is music. I've started my own music business that (luckily) tends to fall on weekends, when I'm not at my "proper" job.

Working my software job isn't as bad as you seem to have been taught - yes it can be bad at times, but I work as part of a supportive environment that trust me and help me fix mistakes whenever they occur instead of assigning blame and being 'cutthroat'. Everything is sorted by the employer (health insurance, pension contributions, regular monthly salary).

In contrast, working my music business it's just me. It's awesome as I can do whatever I want, but there are a few drawbacks. When I get an irate customer, there's no help or shielding - everything comes on to me. I have to do a lot more paperwork (taxes, wages etc) which eats into my time (the alternative being paying for an accountant, which is cutting into your money flow). All income has to be generated by me, meaning if I'm ill or on holiday then I don't get paid. Additionally, payment doesn't come regularly, so it can be quite hard to budget my personal expenses.

All in all, it can be done and it can be enjoyable but there are a lot of things to consider. In my opinion it is worth sucking it up and working a "real" job for the first few months/years for a bit of financial stability, then when you're getting a decent regular income then you can quit your job and focus solely on your own business.

Answer 4

Even my own professor isn't that kind, or understanding. I informed her of a glitch I found on our class website. She interpreted that as me trying to get out of doing my assignments (which had NOTHING to do with that, I was telling her that the page wasn't keeping track of which assignments I had done right, even though I had done all of them and she had even given grades for them).

A single incident does not define the World.

Take a deep breath.

Yes, things are unfair. Some people can be idiots. Do not try to change her mind. It doesn't matter what she thinks of you. Let it go.

But do not assume that because you become self-employed that you won't have any boss. Your customers/clients will be your bosses. And some of those customers will have bad days, some will be idiots, and some will try to take advantage of you.

This goes whether you operate a stand at a farmer's market, or sell your products directly to wholesalers from your farm. And this goes whether you're talking to the loan officer at a bank, or your family members that loaned you money, or the health inspector who wants to inspect your livestock. Unless you're already independently wealthy, there is always going to be somebody with some kind of power over you.

Answer 5

What would it take for an unemployed person to create their own business?

A product and a market. The rest is just details.