Is working alone considered inferior?

Everywhere i go i hear people asking me how many employees you have?
i hate people always telling me to hire people. i own a one man company and infact i never hired anyone to this day and i love doing all online work myself and ofcourse i am keeping all profits myself.

Is this something to be ashamed of ? i have often noticed people their facial expressions change giving me a weird look, suggesting me its kind of inferior, the moment you tell them you work alone? cant people working alone make millions?

Please share your views..its just that i hate these people who hardly know anything on the web and talking to them lowers my confidence.

 

this is not inferior at all , a good example is the owner of this Forum , Digitalpoint , he started alone and look how successful this forum is now .. there are lots of example like this

 

Working alone and working with others, to me, is the difference between being self-employed and being a business owner. Working alone is fine for a time, but as your client base grows you'll probably want to hire at least one person to help so you can use your free time on hobbies you enjoy.

Good luck!

Stephanie

 

People are stupid and can't think outside of box
I'm also sick and tired of people wondering for me as they consider my freelaning has no future or what will i do for retairement (i've been doing this since 2004) and i earn more then any person i know in any job they have + the freedom
That's how people are .... ignore them ...

 

It isn't inferior but represents a risk to the client..... if they commission you to program a website and you agree to do it by X date, what happens if you are suddenly taken ill or are hit by a bus? Who is going to continue with the work to make sure the date is still achieved? Who's going to phone the client to even advise them you are in hospital?

Likewise, their site is up and running, you go away on holiday and suddenly it starts giving nothing but 500 errors. Who is going to be around to investigate the problem and fix it?

In both the cases, with a business with multiple employees there will be someone else it can fall back on. It may still not hit the date but at least someone can talk to the client to say the issue rather than the silence they get whilst your in hospital.

Because of the risk and a number of other factors, freelancers are normally considerably cheaper than employing companies (because they don't have to have people sitting around in case they need to deal with an emergency etc).

As with any sales pitch, you need to sell your benefits and have responses to handle any objections. Ok, so your a freelancer, at least they know exactly who they'll be dealing with, your rates are Y% less than that of a small firm etc etc etc. You have to accept some will never accept the risk of a freelancer and others will not want to cover the costs of a business.

 

Look at the guy who owns plentlyoffish.com he was a one man band company running a multi-million dollar company. So whoever says that working alone is infearior is talking out their arse.

 

People working alone can and have made millions. There are disadvantages to both approaches. I have done both and had some success each way. I prefer working alone but, because of the services that I offer, and my goals I need to employees. There no need inferior because you operate solo. If you have been able to be successful you should very good about what you are able to do.

 

You need to run your business in a way that satisfies you.
If a potential client has a problem with you being a one man show then wish them well and move on.
There are many more clients out there who will be a better fit for you.

 

What you want to think of is how much you are earning per hour of work you do? Can some of what you do be done by someone else much cheaper? If that's the case, then your average hourly earnings are lower than they could be. What you should be doing is hiring other people to take care of what they can, and focus on filling up your time with work that makes use of your most valuable skills.

Believe me, I've been guilty of this in the past and I kick myself for it all the time. Live and learn, though.

 

I work for myself and have done for the last 5 years,in my eyes it was the best move ever and i would never consider that i am inferior.

 

thanks! Be careful that when you are hiring you cant trust nobody. Your employees could easily steal your secrets and they go somewhere else and start a new company.

 

Far less stress to not have employees. I much prefer not having employees and subbing out work when needed. I have a list of article writers, programmers (in 3 programming languages) and graphic designers that I use. I can take on most size jobs without having to be worried about providing anyone but my self a constant paycheck.

I do occasionally have a problem of the guy I want not being available because he has other jobs going, but if you have backups usually someone is always available.

 

Bottom line:
1. Who cares what other people think?
2. The more you have (employees--or anything else, for that matter), the more you're imprisoned with responsibility.
3. More employees = more risk
Now, what was the question?

 

It's not inferior, it's called being self-employed. Whether or not you work online or you're a plumber or electrician then being self-employed is nothing to look down on someone for. It shows initiative that you can earn money yourself without being a slave to a big corporation.

 

very well said! Steve. Infact i heard this

"You can NEVER get rich working for somebody".

Thanks!

 

Some people need to get that tattooed on their forehead .

 

And unfortunately it isnt true. First of all we all work for someone, for the employed its their bosses, for directors its their shareholders or investors, for many its their customers.

Would also imagine many would think the bankers with their multi million dollar bonuses every year are fairly rich despite generally not only working for someone but technically being fairly low down in an organisational structure.

 

I agree. It's also shocking how many people want to get rich and they have no idea how value, currency or wealth is really created. Most people don't even know where money comes from, pretty funny how people try and chase something their whole life they don't understand and still can't work out why they have nothing and some have it all.

Knowledge is power, and power is wealth. Value is an illusion and the more people want something the more real that illusion becomes.