Should I or should I not (go solo)?

The bug has bitten me yet again! I am toying with the idea of going solo full time yet again. I get this urge time to time and I tend to fend it off, considering the situation that I am in and the risks of not getting a paycheck at the end of the month. There are a lot of variables to consider before making the leap, but the inner temptation of going solo, hits me from time to time and makes me re-evaluate my position.

Becoming a freelancer in Sri Lanka is no easy task. It is made difficult by our system that puts a lot of value on the job that you hold and has built everything around it. When parents consider marriage partners for their children, the company the potential partner works for carries a lot of weight; yes Sri Lanka still has arranged marriages going strong and thank god I am past this stage! And try applying for a loan, a long term loan like a housing mortgage, unless you are having a permanent job in a registered company, it is a distant dream! I understand that banks have to take precaution's against the risk of their lending portfolio, but such restrictive risk mitigation methods are just killing the potential entrepreneurs in this country.

Then there is the risk of a steady stream of work. Given the fact that a freelancing contract may only last a few weeks to the most a few months, and the relative ease of terminating a freelancing contract, it puts the contractor at a pretty vulnerable position. And with the recent experiences my employer had with two freelancing projects from UK, where the client chose to play out without paying for the work we did, taking into account the prohibiting costs of getting into litigation in UK, adds another dimension to the whole scenario.

Lastly, my current employer plays a huge role in me staying on the job. It is a cool place to work in, I am working with some absolutely brilliant people and the company is poised to grow exponentially. They have a killer business plan and it is up to us to execute it. We have landed some cool projects that will give me a great exposure. I am involved in developing the next generation of products for the market segment that we are involved in. All in all, it is a great time to be working there! All that is great, but an inner voice is telling me, "dude, all that is great. But you're doing all that for another company. It is true they are not riping you out, but is it worth putting in all of that effort for the company, of which you are just and employee! Imagine putting all that energy and effort put to work for yourself! Yeah, you are gaining a great experience, but at some point you have to just quit doing things for the sake of gaining the experience and the sake of the exposure. Put all the experience you gained into working for You, Inc!"

Another thing is we used a enjoy a lot of freedom at work. There were no rigid structures and there was plenty of freedom to do things creatively. But in a bid to grow manageably, a lot of structure is being out in place and a lot of policies and procedures are getting introduced. Though I was open to change and went along with these changes, I somehow feel that these controls and procedures are limiting the creativity and the freedom.

The pro-freelance self within me tells me that I am in a unique position. My wife is loving her job and is enjoying steady success in her job. Financially, we should be able to survive from her earnings alone. I have saved up expenses for 6 months. That should help us get through a lean period. And pressure from family to stay in a job is pretty minimal. At least they wont freak out if I tell them that I am considering leaving my job and going solo.

And the other is as under the current arrangement of living with our parents, there is very little fixed expenses that I have to bear each month. This gives me the added flexibility of accepting the option of having a variable expense each month, not needing to exceed any threshold limit.

Sometime back, I set out a few goals for myself. I came up with a list of things that I want to achieve and posses. None of them can be achieved by staying in a job. Simply put, the job will not give me the kind of freedom to do the things that I want to do and to do the kind of projects that I want to work on. And simply a job won't earn me the kind of money that I would need to support the lifestyle that I want to live! But yet, I am clinging onto the job, with my sight set on the next paycheck, and for the seeming sense of security that it provides.

Personally for me, the bug bit me again, as my zest for getting up and going to work every morning was drying up. An internal resistance was building up within me to do something more meaningful and productive with my time. I find myself going to work and marking my hours, as the corporate structure expects us to put in a certain number of hours during a certain time frame each day, whether we feel productive or not! And as the realization that the job is not going to give me the freedom or the quality of time or the things I want to get, sinks in, the natural tendency is to go out there and to try to do it on your own, on your own rules and on your won terms, and eventually take the responsibility of making it on your own!

What do you think? Is there anyone who has made this plunge before? If so, can you share your experiences? Also, if there is a corporate kind of guy out there who thinks I am totally insane, please post your thoughts too. I'd love to hear what others have to say, for and against!