Most of those men achieved great things by accident. </p>
<p>A person who’s not educated will not have a good understanding of the world and be narrow minded. Average people don’t go through much in life for them to learn about the world on their own. A person might be really good at one thing because he/she learned it through experience but that person will know nothing beyond that. Just look at any country where people aren’t well educated. Those illiterate people know nothing about the world and will be terrible at solving problems properly and doing anything that involves critical thinking.</p>
<p>I like how many of the people who look down on college degrees as overrated are the ones who choose the most unmarketable and unremarkable majors.</p>
Obviously. That doesn’t say anything about the value of self-employment vs. a job.
That’s a valid response to the legitimate issues I raised ;)</p>
<p>I have no problem with self-employment. It can probably be an awesome idea in some cases. However, I disagree with the message presented on that blog in the following ways:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Non-scalable careers inherently offer more security, stability, and a greater probability of happiness beyond work compared to scalable careers. Note that you can still be self-employed in a non-scalable occupation - many people are.</p></li>
<li><p>Pavlina’s shill for scalable online blogging careers is little more than endorsement of a pyramid scheme. It only works as long as enough suckers keep playing. Does he forsee all of society generating real value by visiting websites to boost ad revenue while others do the same for them? All you have to do is mail $1 to everyone on this list…</p></li>
<li><p>A job can in fact provide legitimate training for future self-employment. After working as an electrician for years, you may have what it takes to start your own company and provide electrical services directly. Apply that reasoning to any career imaginable.</p></li>
<li><p>Freedom from obligations to an employer comes coupled with obligations to all the people the boss would otherwise be obligated to - suppliers, lenders, legal counsel, etc.
</p></li>
<li><p>Increased freedom does not necessarily convey a net benefit. This will come down to an individual value judgment, but just as we give up rights to the government in exchange for police protection and a criminal justice system it may also sometimes be worthwhile to give up the freedoms of self-employment. Not always, maybe for some not even in most cases. But this is not an absolute and Pavlina just uses it to tug at his readers emotions.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>noimagination - all good points. The reality is in most cases you don’t own the business, it owns you. Working for yourself is great when business is good and awful when the business is struggling. There’s tradeoffs to everything.</p>
<p>My dad has been running a one man software development company for probably six or seven years now, maybe more, I can’t remember when he started anymore. He worked as a software developer at a company for a long time before that, did both at the same time for a while, and when his business was ready to support us by itself he quit his “real” job. His business would have failed miserably had he not gotten the experience from his job first, and he would never have had the money for start up costs without his real job, either.</p>
<p>I can see why self-employment could be really rewarding, but watching my dad I’d never want to do what he does. The advantage to a 9-5 job is that at 5 you go home and you’re done, your time is yours. My dad literally NEVER stops working. Clients still call the house at 10pm, and he literally never spends time anywhere but his home office. Not to mention the struggles of not having a job that provides health insurance, when you have pre-existing conditions insurance is really, really expensive. We pay more than what our mortgage was before it was paid off just for catastrophic coverage. I’d rather have a regular day job and have benefits and be finished at dinner time than do that. What good is “freedom” if you never get to stop working long enough to use it?</p>
<p>Entrepreneurship is for people who want more from life than comfort and a regular paycheck. I’d agree that running any old company probably isn’t worth the extra effort, but most entrepreneurs will tell you they’re passionate about the work. Running a software business probably isn’t the most inspiring and passion-driven field, unless its for a specific product.</p>
<p>Who said that running a company and having a family are mutually exclusive? Stop thinking in such black-and-white terms. It’s not a choice between </p>
<p>Boring, monotonous, 9-5 job that allows you time with the family</p>
<p>vs.</p>
<p>Awesome, amazing, time-consuming business that consumes all your time</p>
<p>How do I know everything? Never claimed to.</p>
<p>If you think entrepreneurship and family are mutually exclusive, you’re flat out wrong. Sure, it takes more than a normal, 9-5 job would. But passionate entrepreneurs figure out a way to make it work – that’s why they are the ones changing things in the world. Not those looking for a comfortable life.</p>
<ol>
<li>More stability? Maybe, but I disagree to some extent. If you’re dependent on an employer, you’re dependent on someone else to pay the bills. Being self-employed means you’re only counting on one person to pay the bills - you. In this economy, I’d much rather work for myself than try to get a job (when 100 people are applying.)</li>
</ol>
<p>Also, you’re assuming that happiness = stability, or that being happy is the ultimate goal of a person. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that “being happy” doesn’t drive innovation and invention. </p>
<ol>
<li>That’s a specific example, and you’re taking it too much at face value. His blogging business doesn’t directly relate to entrepreneurship at all. It’s just his brand of it. That said, blogging is just one facet of the internet world - which is rife with startups and self-employed people.</li>
</ol>
<p>I also don’t know why you think the population of the internet is somehow stupid or base. Almost everyone uses the internet, and while Steve Pavalina’s site isn’t the most innocent example, it’s certainly not appealing to porn-addicts or something similar. Even if it did, there are plenty of other sites that aren’t – hint: the rest of the internet is based on traffic.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>True, but it depends on the job. Office politics and organizational structure are pretty useless to a 3 person startup.</p></li>
<li><p>Again, you’re equating 1 employer to the multiple resources an entrepreneur can choose from. Bank turn you down? Try another one. Lawyer too expensive? Find another one.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>On the other hand, it’s not so easy to just find a new job. </p>
<ol>
<li>No thanks, but I’d rather not give up my right to work for myself. That’s tantamount to corporatism.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>This point is solely related to scalable vs. non-scalable careers, not self-employment.</p></li>
<li><p>I didn’t see any further advocacy presented on that blog. Maybe I missed it.</p></li>
<li><p>I guess we agree here…?</p></li>
<li><p>I’m not sure why you conclude that it’s easier to find credit for a potentially risky venture than a job. In any case, my point is that self-employment does not necessarily equal greater freedom from responsibility or obligation. If anything, there is more that you become obligated to do. Not to mention that you are still beholden to your customers, albeit without a middleman.</p></li>
<li><p>Okay. That’s your choice. I just don’t think that the “freedom” is an inherent good that doesn’t need to be justified.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>The blog was an afterthought to my point.</p></li>
<li><p>Not necessarily. working for someone else is only worth it if you learn how to run the business or skills that can transfer. Shuffling papers around (the vast majority of entry-level jobs in big companies) doesn’t apply to much. Youd be better off working for a smaller company first – and then branching out.</p></li>
<li><p>The internet is the easiest place to start a business. It costs about $10 a month to run a website.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>True, most companies aren’t web-based. And it can be tough to get credit. But who said credit is the only form of funding? It’s pretty easy to ask your friends and family for funds to start a company: try asking them for money to live.</p>
<p>The best solution to avoid this is to work for yourself – as a consultant or professional. Provides freedom and still doesn’t involve a monolithic corporate structure. </p>
<p>That said, it’s still foolish to assume the job search is more profitable / reliable than self-employment. Go ask the unemployed millions in this crisis.</p>
<ol>
<li>Luckily people like you aren’t running the country (or are they?) Scary, scary stuff. You can keep your slavery, thanks.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>Cool. I don’t have a problem with people online (I’m here, aren’t I?). I just find it ironic that he maturely mocks “evil bovine masters” who are very possibly more qualified and valuable to society than the readers on whom he depends.</p></li>
<li><p>Working as a chef prepares you to start a restaurant. Working as an accountant prepares you to start an accounting firm. The preparation may not be very good from some entry-level positions, but I wouldn’t dismiss it automatically. I’m not sure what jobs you would be complaining about…?</p></li>
<li><p>There’s a lot to be said for independent consulting. I’m not quite sure what your uber-cheap hypothetical online business would be selling.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t like absolutes very much. Do you dislike the idea of a legal code?</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>A lot of people don’t like Pavalina. That’s his problem, but you can’t put him down for starting a successful website. </p></li>
<li><p>Ever worked in an office? Most of it is busy/paper work. Where do you think most liberal arts majors go? They don’t become chefs or accountants…</p></li>
<li><p>Content, whether through e-books, or just ad sales. What are the vast majority of online sites selling? What do newspapers sell? Obviously the big boys pay more for bandwith and hosting, but for the average site, it’s not much more than a couple hundred bucks a month.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Yo, there’s light at the end of the tunnel I haven’t seen it
Not all of us become rockstars and ballerinas
Even in California, the sun ain’t always beaming
Can’t predict the forecast for all four seasons
We have dark days, can’t make your card payments
Working no whack-ass job, living in Mom’s basement
Some lands never get rain, so there’s starvation
Some only see snow through neighborhood Scarfaces
Not everything is set in stone, the weather changes
It’s like God, and the devil’s trying to entertain us.
Walked through the treacherous storm and overcame it
It’s never been an easy path on the road to greatness
So don’t you give me that boo hoo hoo sh1t
We movin on to that new new new sh1t
Look up into the clouds and watch them blow away
Until my problems just go away</p>
<p>not really gonna read the whole convo here but…</p>
<p>Some people go to college because they want to, not for the pressure. Personally, my single drive for going to college was because no one in my family ever did… so I wanted to, and here I am.
Sometimes the drive to go to school isnt just for the potential money or the jobs ‘working under a boss’. Sometimes it’s just a personal fulfillment… like myself. So… yeah, dont be jealous</p>
<p>^ and you’re the type of person who should be in college. But a large portion of students are only there because it’s socially required for a middle class student to go to college.</p>