SELF-EMPLOYMENT is working for one's self rather than for another person or company. It is earning one's livelihood directly from one's own trade or business rather than as an employee of another. To be self-employed, an individual is normally highly skilled in a trade or has a niche product or service for his or her local community. With the creation of the Internet, the ability for an individual to become self-employed has increased dramatically.
Self-employed people can also be referred to as a person who works for himself/herself instead of an employer, but drawing income from a trade or business that they operate personally.
To be self-employed is not the same as being a business owner. A business owner is not required to be hands-on with the day-to-day operations of his or her company, while a self-employed person has to utilize a very hands-on approach in order to survive. According the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 44% of businesses survive the first 4 years in business.
Policymakers increasingly view self-employment in the form of youth entrepreneurship as a possible solution to the youth unemployment crisis. However, many experts believe only 20% of all people are fit to run their own businesses, so it shouldn't be relied on as an "easy fix".
In some countries, (the US and UK, for example) governments are cracking down on disguised employment, often described as the pretense of a contractual intra-business relationship to hide what is otherwise a simple employer-employee relationship.
1.1 CHARACTERISTICS
Following are the characteristics of self-employment:
Self-employment involves doing something on one’s own to earn one’s livelihood.
It involves ownership and management of activities by a person although he/she may take the help of one or two persons to assist him/her. Thus, self-employment may provide employment to other persons as well.
The earning from self-employment is not fixed. It depends on the income one