Almost everyone wants to be his own boss. You want to earn more money, set your own hours, and not have to deal with moody managers or uptight owners. The benefits of self employment online seem great, but there are a few problems you need to be aware of.

1. Time Management

For someone who is self-employed online, time can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. From the comfort of your own home, it’s easy to find yourself procrastinating. You’ve checked your email a dozen times, chatted with your friends on Twitter, and spent hours playing Mafia Wars on Facebook. So, how is that project going that you’ve been working on?

Too often, because you don’t have a boss micro-managing you, you lose all track of time and find yourself rushing to get your work done. Missing your client’s deadline may mean losing a portion of the money, or all of it. Be certain you make the best use of your time.

2. Over Promotion – Under Development

You’ve just finished working on your latest product. You’re ready to release it to the masses, and have been doing everything you can to let people know about it. You’ve sent out press releases, you sent an email blast to all of your clients, and you’ve posted about it on every social networking site known to man. You think your job is done. Problem is with the type of responses you’ve been getting.

Someone on Twitter says: “It looks just like Product B, but without all the features.” Someone else replies to your email stating that they already use a similar product that cost them a fraction of the price. Two of your first three orders are asking for a refund. Where did you go wrong?

Money can often be a sticky issue, as it relates to online self-employment. Every day you spend in development is a day you potentially lose in sales. While you may be strapped for cash, don’t rush the development process, as it will only hurt the end-product in the long-run. Be sure your product is the best it can be and is ready for launch before you release it.

3. Choosing Your Clients

One of the reasons a lot of people choose online self-employment is because they want to be their own boss and work at home. They don’t want to have to deal with a cranky supervisor, or have to take orders from a loud-mouthed foreman. What most first-time business owners don’t realize is that their new business clients may share some of the same annoying qualities that their previous employers did.

You could spend ten extra hours on the phone with a client who only paid for two hours of actual work. Another potential client might come off cocky, arrogant and self-centered. Another client might tell you that they want you to work on a task “their way,” instead of the way you’re accustomed to. All of these scenarios will aggravate you in some fashion.

This can lead to some difficult decisions. Do you drop the arrogant client who pays on time, or do you drop the quiet client who ignores your invoices for weeks on end? While you might not like it, some of the more annoying clients will help keep a roof over your head, while keeping some of the more likeable clients may leave you homeless.

Working for your self offers a tremendous amount of freedom and the benefits are innumerable. Just be aware that there are some challenges and be prepared to deal with them if you encounter them and your self-employment online will prove a much more positive experience.