View Poll Results: Were You Primarily Self-Employed or Not Self-Employed In Becoming FIRE'd?
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I was primarily self-employed; I owned the business that allowed me to retire early.
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15 |
13.64% |
I was primarily an employee; I did not own the business(es) that I worked at while saving for retirement.
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82 |
74.55% |
A mixture of the two; I worked for someone else but also owned a side business that provided income.
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10 |
9.09% |
Impossible to answer because my situation was just too complex.
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3 |
2.73% |
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POLL: How Many On Here Were Self-Employed?
02-18-2013, 03:20 PM
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#1
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Sonoma County, CA
Posts: 67
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POLL: How Many On Here Were Self-Employed?
I'm trying to figure out how many of us were the owners of the business and how many of us managed to save and FIRE through employment. I'm one of the ones who owned his own business (5 of them, although it was one in particular that lead to FIRE).
Honestly, I'd be somewhat interested in talking to some of the other former business owners who FIRE'd about their lives after retiring.
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02-18-2013, 03:24 PM
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#2
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Sacramento area
Posts: 478
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Interesting. My first response was Nope. W*rked for the accounting / treasury department of the local Electrical Utility for the last couple of decades. But wait - I also keps a modestly small tax practice on the side. In terms of value added it was pretty small. But still, I **was** also self employed. Hmmmmmmmmm......
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02-18-2013, 03:27 PM
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#3
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 444
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I'm a self employed dentist who owns my own practice. I've been in practice 24 years. While I continue to work, I've been FI for several years now.
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02-18-2013, 03:29 PM
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#4
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Sonoma County, CA
Posts: 67
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AWeinel
Interesting. My first response was Nope. W*rked for the accounting / treasury department of the local Electrical Utility for the last couple of decades. But wait - I also keps a modestly small tax practice on the side. In terms of value added it was pretty small. But still, I **was** also self employed. Hmmmmmmmmm......
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Well, that's why I left the third option in there. For people that have a mixture of the two.
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02-18-2013, 03:36 PM
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#5
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gone traveling
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 329
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Quote:
Originally Posted by z-d-g
Well, that's why I left the third option in there. For people that have a mixture of the two.
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Presume third option includes those who supplement their employment income with investment income such as share trading, dividends and rental income?
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02-18-2013, 03:42 PM
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#6
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Sonoma County, CA
Posts: 67
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jags
Presume third option includes those who supplement their employment income with investment income such as share trading, dividends and rental income?
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If we're talking about investments that aren't changing your job status (for example, inherited money that means you no longer HAVE to work) then I don't think the investments should change your status for the purpose of this question.
For example, if you're an employed engineer who owns a rental property and some mutual funds, even though you're getting income off those things you are primarily "employed" for the purpose of this question. It's more about...were you primarily self-employed or not and not "what is the source of your retirement funds in general?"
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02-18-2013, 03:53 PM
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#7
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,145
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I was employed, but since I started when the company was very small, I owned stock options in the company that I worked for, and these stock options became valuable after the company had grown considerably and allowed me to retire early. So in that sense I owned a part of the business even though I was an employee and not one of the founders.
I don't see how my case fits in your poll.
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
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02-18-2013, 03:58 PM
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#8
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 996
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Self employed in sales as an independent rep since 1989 and will ER this summer.
__________________
Wherever you go, there you are.
(In other words, no whining!)
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02-18-2013, 04:19 PM
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#9
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Chicago
Posts: 1,008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by audreyh1
I was employed, but since I started when the company was very small, I owned stock options in the company
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You should select option 2. You're missing the word in front of Stock Options - Employee. If still in doubt, did you get a W-2? Who signed your paychecks? In my experience, Self Employed people get a 1099 statement.
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02-18-2013, 04:47 PM
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#10
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Sonoma County, CA
Posts: 67
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I can see I made this a lot more difficult than I meant to.
Here's what I was getting at: were you the decision-making creator of the job you had or did you work for someone else?
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02-18-2013, 04:56 PM
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#11
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: midwestern city
Posts: 4,061
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Primarily an employee in my case.
__________________
Very conservative with investments. Not ER'd yet, 48 years old. Please do not take anything I write or imply as legal, financial or medical advice directed to you. Contact your own financial advisor, healthcare provider, or attorney for financial, medical and legal advice.
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02-18-2013, 05:15 PM
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#12
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Bay
Posts: 1,251
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Was an independent consultant for a few years, but primarily an employee over my career.
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02-18-2013, 05:20 PM
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#13
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Peru
Posts: 6,335
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Employee for 28 years, Self employed for next 3.
__________________
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
--Dalai Lama XIV
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02-18-2013, 05:30 PM
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#14
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,145
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dimsumkid
You should select option 2. You're missing the word in front of Stock Options - Employee. If still in doubt, did you get a W-2? Who signed your paychecks? In my experience, Self Employed people get a 1099 statement.
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Interesting - the president who was founder and major shareholder in the company also got a W2, and I would certainly consider him an owner, along with his main cofounders. So I don't think your qualifier applies. And I had also purchased some initial shares that weren't "employee stock options".
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
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02-18-2013, 05:37 PM
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#15
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Independence
Posts: 7,298
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4 in the Navy + employee for several years + partner in a two man VW shop for a few means I accidentally qualify for social security. Thirty-five years or so of increasing rental real estate holdings means financial independence. Of course the government says that rental income is all unearned income - but I'm claiming self employed, 'cause sometimes it sorta felt like work... and I feel fairly independent.
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02-18-2013, 06:45 PM
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#16
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Chicago
Posts: 1,008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by audreyh1
Interesting - the president who was founder and major shareholder in the company also got a W2, and I would certainly consider him an owner, along with his main cofounders. So I don't think your qualifier applies. And I had also purchased some initial shares that weren't "employee stock options".
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I'm not sure why you said the choices didn't really fit your situation. You could've just picked option 4.
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02-18-2013, 06:58 PM
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#17
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 4,366
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Primarily an employee, though exercised stock options meant I was technically a very minority owner. And that did help with ER.
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02-18-2013, 07:15 PM
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#18
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,145
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Animorph
Primarily an employee, though exercised stock options meant I was technically a very minority owner. And that did help with ER.
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+1
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
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02-18-2013, 07:54 PM
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#19
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 1,688
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As a partner in a law firm, I am technically a business owner but the reality is that in large firms you do not really feel all that different from an employee.
__________________
Budgeting is a skill practised by people who are bad at politics.
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02-18-2013, 08:18 PM
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#20
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,145
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dimsumkid
I'm not sure why you said the choices didn't really fit your situation. You could've just picked option 4.
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I didn't consider my situation complex at all.
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
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