Every year more and more people are leaving the safety of the Nine to Five to follow their dreams. I did it myself and so, I know what an adventure it can be. There have been plenty of ups and downs and many a lesson learnt the hard way. But I can safely say I have never looked back!
My advice? Hang on for dear life and go for it!
Motivation
Whilst working for yourself may be a huge novelty at first, it is important to remember that you are now totally in charge of your own financial destiny. Be your own boss, and be a tough one! Give yourself a set working day and work throughout it without giving in to those little distractions. At the end of the day if you don’t put in the hours you are not going to reap the rewards.
The Balancing Act
Whilst it’s important to be motivated, it is equally important to get your work/life balance right! This can be particularly difficult if like so many self-employed people -you work from home. As I said above set yourself a working day and stick to it. Of course, there will be times that you need to work all hours just to get the job done, but never forget your reasons for taking the plunge in the first place!
A little bit of everything
A big part of being self-employed is juggling all of the different roles that you’ll inevitably take on.
Sales Person – that’ll be you. Receptionist – you again. Credit controller – Yes, you guessed it!
You’ll find out pretty early on which tasks you are good at and enjoy and the ones that you simply can’t or don’t want to do. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice. We believe in the philosophy ‘Do what you do best and outsource the rest’ and this is never more true than when you are first starting out.
Keep at it
For many people, their first day of going it alone is a bit of an anti-climax! You’ve spent months if not years dreaming of this day, only to be sitting at your empty desk wondering what you should be doing. Put plans in place and stick to them. If something isn’t working, try something else but don’t let yourself fall at the first hurdle. Building a successful business takes time and patience, neither of which can be bought online nor pulled out of a box. Use quiet times to research the market, check out competitors, and attend networking meetings, as once things take off it’s going to be a non-stop rollercoaster ride.
