Why you should become self-employed now before AI and robotics replace your job

Category: AI & the Future of Work | Author: Daniel Schäfer | Reading time: 9 min.

A robot that works 200 hours non-stop and sorts 150,000 parcels. Banks operating fewer and fewer branches. Self-driving taxis. AI completing tenders in a single day that used to take weeks. This is not science fiction – it is happening right now. The question is not whether your job will disappear. The question is: What will you do now?

Contents

1. Which jobs AI and robotics will replace next
2. Why even “secure” sectors like IT are affected
3. What self-employment has to do with this transformation
4. From specialist to generalist: the new core competence
5. How to get started – even alongside your current job
6. What funding is available and how to access it
7. Conclusion: Now is the best time

Which jobs AI and robotics will replace next

Change is not new – but it is happening at a new speed. What used to take decades now happens in years. And what seems “secure” today may be under pressure tomorrow.

Logistics & warehousing: sorting robots are replacing shift after shift. Bank branches: ever fewer locations, ever fewer staff. Taxi & transport: autonomous driving is coming – including to Germany. Assistance & secretarial: AI agents are taking over research, planning, and documentation. Dental reception: digital registration is replacing front desk staff. Retail & checkouts: self-checkout is displacing human cashiers.

Practical example: A friend of Daniel Schäfer is in top management at a car manufacturer. Tenders for construction projects that used to take his team weeks are now completed by AI in a single day. His department has become redundant – and he knows it.

Why even “secure” sectors like IT are affected

Many believe IT is the industry of the future. That is true – but not in the way they imagine. Daniel Schäfer has worked for years with a development partner. At first, this partner had a team of 4–5 programmers. Today, he does the same work – alone, with AI agents.

“Even in the IT sector, which is considered secure or a future-oriented industry, it is becoming increasingly uncertain whether jobs will be available there in the future.”

This does not mean that technical knowledge is becoming worthless. It means that individual specialists – those who can only do one thing – are coming under pressure. The proofreader who only corrects. The graphic designer who only illustrates. The programmer who only writes code. AI can replicate these services in a fraction of a second.

The crucial shift: It is not knowledge itself that is disappearing – but the demand for people who possess only this one area of expertise.

What self-employment has to do with this transformation

Daniel Schäfer’s message is clear: Start your own business now – not because you want to become a millionaire overnight, but because you need to learn how it works. And you should do so before the pressure mounts.

Self-employment is the only structure in which you fully learn what work will mean in the future:

You learn how to acquire customers – not through regulars’ tables and physical shops, but digitally: through communities, e-commerce, social ads, inbound marketing.

You learn how to run a business – registering a trade, applying for a tax number, preparing profit and loss statements, submitting monthly reports, understanding your obligations.

You learn how to raise capital – business plan, financial plan, funding programmes, investors, KfW – and how not to become dependent on a single source.

You learn how to master tools – the cleaner with a cleaning robot covers five times more area than with a broom. This principle applies everywhere.

From specialist to generalist: the new core competence

The marketer of the future does not just know how social media works. They know how to create graphics, produce texts, edit videos, optimise for SEO, manage campaigns – and they know how to issue invoices and keep accounts.

Four skills make you crisis-proof: mastering AI tools, leading and retaining customers, understanding numbers, and thinking like an entrepreneur.

The formula: Professional expertise + digital tools + entrepreneurial thinking = crisis-proof. Professional expertise alone is no longer enough.

How to get started – even alongside your current job

You do not have to resign to get started. In fact, this is expressly encouraged politically. You can set up a side business today while still employed – and immediately start learning how a business works.

Important to know: Side business start-ups are eligible for funding. Through programmes such as BAFA, you can receive a partial subsidy for start-up consulting even while still employed.

Those starting from unemployment have even more options: The AVGS (activation and placement voucher) covers professional pre-start-up coaching 100%. The logic is simple – a successful self-employed person costs the job centre nothing. An unsuccessful founder does.

What funding is available and how to access it

X-Group is certified and authorised nationwide to support founders through subsidised consulting programmes – from the initial idea to a bank-ready concept and market entry.

50–100% funding of our consulting costs is possible. The AVGS covers pre-start-up coaching for ALG I (German unemployment benefit) recipients at 100%. BAFA also provides support for those still in employment. The KfW StartGeld (KfW start-up loan) enables up to €200,000 in start-up capital.

The consulting offer includes pre-start-up coaching, business plan and financial plan, support with market entry, as well as research into all suitable funding programmes – nationwide.

Conclusion: Now is the best time – not because it is easy, but because it is necessary

AI and robotics will not make jobs obsolete overnight. However, they are changing the nature of work – faster than ever before. Those who wait until their own job is directly under threat will have less time and fewer options.

Anyone who starts building a business now – even on a small scale, even as a side venture – will acquire exactly the knowledge that will make the difference in the future: finding customers, raising capital, mastering tools, and thinking as a generalist.

“Become a generalist. Build your own business. Not to become a millionaire, but so that you become independent of what is happening around you.” – Daniel Schäfer