The Independent Consultancy Contractor Self Employed Freelancer work


The NIS Inspector said "Sorry sir, we cannot reduce your assessed earnings without you having the tax assessment, etc". He saw my kind of stunned face and said "You know, why are you reducing it? You should have faith , and reduce the negatives"

There were a set of Congrats on the 6th Anniversary of the 'Independent Consultancy/Contractor' job which I had put on my LinkedIn profile. 

I had made a choice to leave a job with guaranteed salary for another contractor type position which the expired suddenly.  The shift to being 'self employed' which is sometimes a euphemism for 'unemployed and looking for wuk' was brutal .

I have not made the adjustment as yet - as personal circumstances have taken up some of the planning time. While the initial intention was to hold on the 'self employed independent thing' , that has changed since flexible hours are needed to respond to adhoc personal demands.

The 'Congrats' messages had me smiling though. The last couple of years have seen diminished income and the money is not necessarily big.


What do you do?
The answers to this vary depending on whom I am talking to. I do some work for money, and some work for which I will not be paid.  Work in the last few years has included content management/website development, research, training around human rights, writing and some teaching.  There is no name really. Consultant implies big money, while self-employed means a kind of always employed like some carpenters, plumbers , electricians, IT people I know.  I hope to find a new kind of 'title' soon for when people ask.
I have referred people to my CV



You is yuh own boss?

 No, I am not my own boss. Each person who offers me a payment is a boss and sometimes I have had three bosses at the same time, while at the others none. I could negotiate some conditions of work , such as time and so, but most times, the hustle requires complete customer satisfaction and being responsive.

What are you working on?
A lot of times, nothing. One of the things with being employed is that good employers tend to have structured work programmes which would include time for training and learning. When you 'deh pun yuh own' you have to plan work, learning and find ways of juggling the voids when you waiting on a payment and the next contract to set up.

Mental health considerations have also meant that some work takes more energy than it should and these have to be factored in.

So I am working on :-
  • Austerity measures as organise personal finance and budget
  • Looking for discrete work opportunities rather than long term employment which give me flexible hours and working conditions
  • Sorting out my 'research and development' so that I could deliver different services
  • Thinking of diversification and wondering about cooking, planting  and all the other things which I have not been good at but which might pay.




Comments

  1. Marie WoodknotApril 8, 2015 at 9:55 PM

    Do seeds. Guyana has great biodiversity. You can sell them up the islands (this is probably technically illegal), and also it is seasonal, as most plants seed in the dry season.. ie now.

    ReplyDelete

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