Do you dream of building a business, working for yourself, being your own boss, & having the freedom to only take on clients and projects you love?
Do you want to build a business that will not only bring in the income that you need but provide you with a creative outlet for your passions?
[clickToTweet tweet=”There is a huge difference between building a business & being self-employed. ” quote=”One thing you may not realize is that there is a huge difference between building a business & being self-employed.” theme=”style1″]
Business owners scale their income. Self-employed people trade dollars for hours.
Business owners leverage the skills and talents of others. Self-employed people rely only on their own skills.
Discouraged yet?
Don’t be.
Every business owner starts out self-employed. But you don’t have to stay there.
These tips will help you build a business instead of just another job.
Don’t Try to Do It All Yourself
Building a sustainable business requires that you leverage the talents & time of others. While it might seem cost-effective to simply do everything yourself—except in the start-up phase when you likely have more time than money—it’s a path to burnout and stress.
As you grow, separate your tasks into those that you love & are especially suited for (such as marketing) & those you dislike or aren’t good at. Then make a solid plan to get those tasks off your list of things to do. Fiverr anyone? If you feel like you can’t afford to outsource it all at once, start with what you tend to procrastinate the most on, even if it’s just a few hours each month.
Don’t Allow Yourself to Work All the Time
The trouble with working at home is that you live at work. That means that there’s no clear line in the sand between your work day & your home life – especially once you throw kids into the mix!
Since there’s always work to do, it’s easy to find yourself working every available moment—often to the detriment of your family.
You can help avoid this by:
- Setting—& maintaining—clear work hours or time blocks
- Having an office with a door you can close when you’re done (if you’re lucky enough to have an office!)
- Scheduling time into your calendar for family & other activities
- Taking time for yourself each day
I am in LOVE with my Carpe Diem Planner – this is the one I have,
& I also added the “home” insert set… & stickers because 🙂
Vacations and Downtime Are Important
Don’t create a business that requires you to be “in the office” every day. At the start, you may need to be available more, even if it’s just to respond to comments & emails, but you should definitely be planning for the day when you can be “off the grid” for extended periods of time. Isn’t that the whole point of starting your own business anyway?
- Have trusted contractors who can handle things when you’re not available
- Leverage automation tools such as autoresponders and autowebinar systems
- Create repeatable & scalable systems so you’re not always re-inventing the wheel
While you might not be able to hit the road with no internet access for weeks at a time, at the very least you should be able to reduce your workload to a daily check-in.
Sound impossible? It’s not.
With some forethought and planning, you can create the systems you need to successfully run & grow your business without becoming overwhelmed & overworked.