My wife isn’t working, I lost/quit my job a while back, and the only way I make money now is through this blog and a few others. I’m really scared of having to go out and find a real job sometime in the future. The thought of having to do that terrifies me as I have been self employed since 1997. I not only don’t know what kind of a job I could get but more importantly, I don’t think I could work for someone again. I am too used to doing my own thing and making my own decisions.

I have another problem / decision:

I live in Seattle but would REALLY like to move to Phoenix to get out of the rain and into the sunshine. I’ve lived in the rain almost 30 years and enough is enough. Problem is, there aren’t as many good jobs in Phoenix as they mostly seem to be in the service industry. Seattle is a much better place to find work but I really can’t stand the rain anymore. I’m stuck. It would be a big risk to move to Phoenix and expensive too as we have a houseful of stuff.

In times like these, caution would probably be the best choice. Taking risks now when the future of our economy is so uncertain might not be the smart thing to do. The problem is though, who knows when things will get better? This 9%+ unemployment might be around for the next 5 to 10 years or even longer. Who knows what we have in store for all of us with the 14 trillion dollars of debt this country has racked up.

But then I read this morning that Steve Jobs was in the process of having a super yacht designed and built for himself.

Now he is dead.

I don’t want that to happen to me so maybe I should move now, while I’m alive. You can’t guarantee there will be a tomorrow so maybe I should get busy doing what I want to do today.

Hourly And Salary Jobs

Most people have hourly or salary jobs and they know in advance what they will make for the day, week, month, and year. They get paid that amount no matter what and while their income can vary a little based on bonuses, it is always within a certain amount. Unless they have a high paying job, their ability to earn and save money is limited. That is the way most people feel comfortable because they have something steady that they can count on. (of course with unemployment so high, no one can count on having any job anymore)

Commission And Self Employment

People who work on commission or get a high percentage of their pay from commissions are in a little bit different boat. They could really be considered self employed in many circumstances as they can influence how much they make by putting in longer hours, getting better at the service they provide, and being creative in getting more business.

Being self employed and/or being your own boss is often where the “real” money is. When you own your own company you are no longer receiving a set salary and your earnings potential can increase or decrease depending on many factors. The risks to you are much greater than having that “steady job” but so are the possible rewards. The problem is, most people are too risk averse to ever take that kind of gamble and go out on their own.

Starting A Business Online

The Internet really is a wonderful thing for creative and hard working people who are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and figure it all out. It’s not easy but you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get started. All you really need is time. And the good thing about the hours you put into your Internet business is that it can be time better spent than the time you put in at your job. That’s because you might be able to actually create something online that will pay dividends for months or years after you are finished working on it.

Building a website of your own isn’t easy to envision for a beginner but it is most certainly a necessity if you want to succeed with any online business. When you start researching how to make money online, building your own website should be your ultimate goal if you want to ever get to the point where you are making money 24 hours a day. A website is your store, and a store can make money whenever it is open, which on the Internet is all the time.

If you ever want to get out of the rat race where you give up most of your day working long hours for a set wage, starting an online business is the cheapest and easiest way to do it. There are lots of different ways to make money with a website and much of it will depend on where your interests and talents lay. A good place to get started is the Keyword Academy and you can read my review of it and watch a video I made here – The Keyword Academy.

My Situation

I have been a self employed sub contractor for more than 10 years until I called it quits last month. I didn’t get fired or laid off. My business just dried up and many of those clients weren’t paying regularly so I just stopped. Unfortunately for me and for many other people in the same situation, there are no unemployment benefits to fall back on. In most instances, you cannot collect unemployment if you work for yourself.

This is also one of the risks of trying to start a home business. The hot thing for a while now has been to try to learn how to make money from home as thousands of people jump online everyday looking for opportunities. It’s all the rage in this terrible economy as people need money and are hoping to find it online.

Most people get bored quickly and never make anything, but those that are successful and transition themselves into a work from home business will then be left without the safety net of unemployment if things go bad and dry up. That is something to seriously consider: working from home sounds great but it doesn’t have some of the safety nets that a job with an employer will have.

If You Are Collecting Unemployment Now

Likewise, people who ARE collecting unemployment right now should be careful about what they do online to make money. There was the much publicized case in New York where someone got their benefits terminated because they were making a couple dollars a day online with their blog through Adsense.

In order to qualify for unemployment in most states, you have to fill out many forms and one of the questions will ask about whether you are employed part time or whether you have any income from a business. If the answer to either of those is “yes” then you probably don’t qualify. The important part here is that any money you make online can be considered income and part of a sole proprietor business. So, if you just goof around online making a couple of bucks here and there, it might technically disqualify you from unemployment. Even though you may not tell anyone, they could find out which might result in you losing your insurance benefits.