One of my lovely wedding blogging friends recently spoke about the challenges and rewards of being self-employed (although it seems that the challenges often appear to outway the rewards at times!) You can sometimes feel like you’re the only one out there working from sunrise til sunset, but in reality there’s a world of brave entrepreneurs also alone and also facing the same challenges as you! It’s nice to hear from others and I love sharing in their experiences, and feeling less like I’m the only one. Even though self-employment is a tough choice to make, one thing’s for sure; we’re all enjoying every minute of it!!
Here’s what Annabel from LoveMyDress blog said:
Becoming self-employed changes everything. Fundamentally. It’s like having a baby – nothing is ever the same again and so much more effort is required.
Forget the lie-ins. Forget the luxury hour-long baths every evening and definitely forget the chance to sit down and zone out in front of the TV every once in a while!
Working for someone else is has it’s benefits. Once you’ve returned home at the end of a long working day, you can, to a large degree, forget about your job. NOT SO if you are self-employed. Every waking hour is invariably spent planning, worrying, working out what you need to do for your business. Even if you do agree to balance your work/family time, you never really let go of thinking about your business during the times you agree you won’t. It’s always there. Mostly because the pressure to ensure your business stays healthy and viable and that it brings in enough money to pay the bills is like a constant voice.
Becoming self-employed also means you have to rapidly build up a skill set in areas you may not excel in naturally. Like Finance. And book keeping. groooooooaaan.
The other biggest lesson I have learned since becoming self-employed and working from home is, it is so important to get up, and ready, before beginning to tackle your working day. What I mean is, if I ever do venture into the study whilst still in my PJ’s, you can bet Bob’s your Uncle that by 4pm, I’ll still be in my PJs… Once you get sucked in by your inbox, there is usually no getting away from it until the day has physically beaten you and you are too tired to hit the reply button anymore. ALWAYS get up and showered and if possible get your coffee/tea/cup of water and breakfast BEFORE you start your day working from home. That sense of ‘getting ready to go to work’ makes ALL the difference. Trust me.
