In Australia, many licensed tradies are juggling between the responsibilities of working for themselves and working for external employers. These duties are part-and-parcel of working in each respective industry. Organisations are constantly sub-contracting the services of professional tradies. In Australia, over 30% of the entire labour force falls under the “tradies” category, with 1.1 million registered as independent contractors! Talk about being your own boss!

Employee Vs Independent Contractor

Formally, an independent contractor is a “self-employed person or entity contracted to perform work for—or provide services to—another entity as a nonemployee”. In this case, being a tradie falls under this umbrella definition. The burdens on their shoulders differ significantly from a standard employee. Meeting the expectations of their clients is one responsibility, self-managing another. However, being a business owner does come with its novel perks. Here are some of the key pros and cons to take note of:

Being a Business Owner: Sub-Contracting Your Services

Pros	Cons
You are allowed to pick-and-choose paid projects that interest you on a case-by-case basis.	At the same time, you’ll have to discern between different projects and determine the cost/profitability of each undertaking by yourself, a time consuming, and confounding exercise.
You don’t have to report to a superior! You are your own boss.	Well, you don’t have someone to fall back on for guidance! You are your own boss, after all. The direction of your trade as an independent is solely determined by you.
Your job-security is contingent on the profitability of your trade, not satisfying a boss in a typical organization.	At the same time, the burden of your business (which is your trade) falls on you, and only you! As an independent contractor, you assume almost all of the financial risk.   The stress is bound to be detrimental to the quality of your work.
Reducing operational costs by managing back-end logistics by your own.	It is incredibly taxing to juggle the responsibilities of managing administrative duties while trying to practice your trade: Being your own boss and someone else’s temporary employee is bound to wear you down!  Moreover, mundane, repetitive tasks are likely to reduce your overall productivity, leading to business inefficiencies emerging.
The flexibility of choosing your workhours.	More likely than not, you’ll find yourself working FAR beyond the regular 9-5 workday.   In some cases, it’s often hard to say no to profit-producing opportunities. Not knowing when to say no may result in the undertaking of FAR too many projects!

The bolded cons represent the worst hurdles that the self-employed face; petty, administrative tasks that are necessary for your trade to sail smoothly. In a standard business setting, these tasks are delegated to departments such as Human Resources. Unfortunately, the self-employed do not enjoy such luxuries.

The biggest challenge, however, lies in your contractual obligations to the employing organization. The onus is on you to meet their standards. Fail to do so, and you are financially liable for the losses incurred. Use the wrong type of bricks for a bricklaying job, and you’ll have to absorb the cost of failing to meet the employer’s expectations. You are temporarily operating in the capacity of an employee, without the protections that come with it.

It’s an occupation defined by high-risk, and high reward, where you accept twice the responsibilities. Dealing with one problem is bad enough, let alone two! It’s a storm of nagging anxieties that business owners are expected to weather.

But there is a simple, practicable solution to mitigate many of the cons above, and maximize the pros!

The Solution

The answer lies in practising what organisations do when they seek your service offerings:  outsourcing! Who said the outsourcers can’t outsource their work?

As alluded to earlier, you are your own boss and your own employee at the same time. Instead of managing just yourself, why not manage trained virtual assistants?

Consider this simple thought experiment: say you have a leaky faucet in the bathroom at home. Who do you call to remedy the issue? Most readers would confidently respond with “a plumber”, and naturally so! That is our spontaneous answer because he or she is best trained in pipework and bathroom-related fittings. As a tradie or healthcare worker, you are seen as an expert in your field; administrative tasks do not fall under the purview of either category.

So, Why not outsource such mundane tasks to our diligent team at Hippo?

We understand that each and every client comes to us with distinct predicaments that require original solutions.  At Hippo, we screen, and select the best virtual assistants to alleviate your administrative woes! Having trouble invoicing each client, and lodging your tax returns as a sole proprietor? Let a virtual assistant handle that for you! Having trouble designing your own original marketing materials? We have highly trained copywriters and graphic designers ready at the helm to spruce your business up! Any of the typical, logistical difficulties that weigh tradies down, we are committed to solving!

By employing our services at Hippo, any nagging anxieties centred on repetitive, legislative, and administrative tasks are eliminated. The responsibilities of being a subcontractor are still present, but you’ll start behaving more like a business owner, less so a temporary employee! Just because you are your own boss does not mean to shoulder every responsibility on your own. Contact us today, and we can work together to kick your trading business up a notch!