Is it better to be a founder, freelancer or employee? (Personally for you)
I'll be honest – I've never liked the feeling that someone "owns" me.
So being employed was very distant to me. [As if I had no power over my income.]
And being a founder gave me a greater sense of "ownership", but also responsibility. And, when things are not going well, and business is going poorly, you don't really want to be a founder in bad times. :D
Freelancing probably worked out best for me – delivering a service, while also protecting your income and time... although the time part is probably the most exhausting (sometimes the tasks are beyond my strength, and I have to make things up, no social & health insurance, chasing people with paying invoices, etc.). But despite that, it's still my choice.
What suits you the most, and what advantages/disadvantages have you noticed for your preferred choice?
Replies
i think each one teaches a different type of freedom honestly.
employment teaches structure, freelancing teaches self-reliance, but building a startup teaches emotional resilience, because some days you genuinely have no idea if what you’re building will work and you still have to wake up and continue anyway
I've had mutliple business ventures that didn't work out and working a 9-5 job has personally never been ideal for me. A remote job or freelancing with different companies is probably I would say are also the only things that seem to be working out well for me!
The "someone owns me" feeling really stuck with me. Freelancing gave me that ownership back, even if the holidays come unpaid.
Founder, no question. Freelancing still means someone else sets the ceilin, you just negotiate where it is. Building something you own is a different game entirely. The risk is real but so is the upside.