'Should I be self-employed?'
Many of my clients are self-employed, either as a full-time business owner or as 1099 workers who a company contracts with for services. Like many of my clients, I have been in a position where I had to decide if I wanted to try and get another traditional job or if I wanted to try self-employment.
Making that decision is not as easy as it might sound, and it should never be made quickly or lightly. Today, let’s talk about three aspects of self-employment that you must be willing to not only accept but embrace if you choose that path.
The hustle
Anyone who is self-employed must be highly self-motivated and willing to do extra work.
Being self-employed means you’re the boss and you are in charge of making sure every aspect of the business, from the finances to customer service, is functioning as it should be. This includes working with any fellow business owners that you contract with for services, such as bookkeeping.
A part of the hustle and self-motivation is being willing to work late to meet a client deadline or, like me when I was writing this, forcing yourself to work on a cold dreary Monday morning after a time change.
A third part of embracing the hustle is being willing and able to evaluate your own performance accurately and making appropriate adjustments. You have to learn to do your own performance review and be honest with yourself about what is working and what is not working.
Keeping track of all the things
As I mentioned above, when you’re self-employed, you’re the boss. Even if you outsource certain business functions, it’s up to you to coordinate with the person or company doing the work for you. Just some of the things you must stay on top of and decide include:
What products or services does your company offer? No one else can make this decision for you.
Who do you sell to? In last month’s blog, I talked about knowing your target market and knowing your customers.
What help will be needed after the sale and what support can you provide?
All the general business operations including your legal representative, accounting, marketing, and all the million other little details.
View yourself as a business
I think this final one is the most important but also the hardest for newly self-employed people to grasp, especially if they’ve worked as an employee for most of their life. When you own the business, you determine the mission, vision, and general direction for the company now and five and 10 years into the future. You must start viewing your client relationships from the viewpoint of a business owner, not an employee. This is especially true in business to business relationships. As a business owner, you don't need permission to take a vacation or leave early on a Friday, but you have to know when to say no to yourself in order to get the work done. You also have to learn to think strategically and long-term.
Need help?
As a self-employed person myself, I understand how challenging it can be to manage all aspects of the business. I would love to help you make sure that your bookkeeping and payroll are managed well, giving you one less thing to worry about. Contact me today!