The downside of our way of life

• Being 100% responsible for what happens

When you are an entrepreneur, you are liable for whatever happens to you, you have to take action, solve the problems that pop up and constantly take initiative. If something goes wrong, you cannot blame your boss and complain about how poorly your company is being run: you are the boss and you run the company. It’s not so much of a disadvantage than simply more responsibility.

The bright side is that you have complete control over your activities and you don’t have to put up with (sometimes stupid) things your superiors decided. When things go well, you are the one taking credit for them. Even employees have big responsibilities but they work hard for somebody else’s success, which I find less rewarding.

• Having no obvious security net

When an employee is made redundant by his/her company, he/she receives unemployment benefits while looking for another job (I am obviously referring to the so-called developed countries). As a freelancer or a small company owner, if you go bankrupt, you usually cannot expect any benefits of that kind. My income still depends on my clients hiring my services and in Fred’s case it depends on people’s capacity to advertise (which can drastically go down in times of economic crisis). We have no safety net to provide us with some income if we lose our clients. That’s why many people think we are very vulnerable. It’s true but, being entrepreneurs, we also have the capacity to find new clients or new ways of making money. We have the mindset to bounce back because we are used to taking initiative and solving problems. I am not saying I like solving problems –I think everybody prefers when things go smoothly, but when it’s necessary I am able to do it.

Also, nowadays, companies tend to cut jobs more and more often. Your employer can demand that you change department or move to another region if you want to keep your job. All this puts pressure on you and your family too: should you move, should you commute every week, should your wife leave her job to go with you, should you sell your house, what should you do with the kids…? So it seems to me that job security is a bit of myth. Whatever the work status, we all face difficulties and risks, they are just not the same and some are just easier to put up with than others.

• Going against the flow

Although I am convinced that we are lucky, we have a great life and we are doing the right thing, I don’t have many friends or relative who chose the same lifestyle (or a similar one). This means I know a lot of people who think the normal behavior is to find a well-paid job, get married, buy a house and a car on credit and have children right away. Most of my friends and close relatives are following that path actually. Everybody has to find the lifestyle that suits them and do what they believe is correct, and I have a lot of respect for other people’s choices. It’s just that it’s not easy to explain why we are acting differently, especially since we don’t want to hurt anybody’s feeling.

Also, everybody dreams of having their own nice house and car. So sometimes you have to deal with your own frustrations. It’s like people who keep smoking although they know it’s lethal. Well, sometimes, though I know it wouldn’t be reasonable to buy a house right now nor would it be to buy a car on credit or to spend more money on entertainment (instead of being very disciplined with our saving, investing, home saving and charity giving), I lose patience and wish I already had all those things. Fortunately, I have a couple of friends and relatives who share the same principles and we pep up each other from time to time! This is when I notice the environment is very important. If I was only surrounded by people who go with the flow, I would probably end up wondering why the heck I am doing what I am doing. It’s textbook human behavior that you mirror the people around you.

So, in my opinion, the disadvantages of our way of life are pretty much subjective and they are totally outweighed by how exciting it is to develop your own projects and how nice your life can be when you have so much freedom.