Ever considered a possibility of self-employment? While the idea of autonomously balancing your career and personal life appeals to everyone, there's hard work behind it. So if you wish to be your own boss, here are the 5 rules I would suggest taking into account:
1. Acquire good time-management habits
When working solo, you have to wear all the hats – administrator, marketer, the actual service provider, just to name a few. To avoid being lured into spending 12 hours a day at a computer, get the most of your time.
Make yourself a list of the 3-5 things you must accomplish today. Once you've prioritized, block out your time and work on these things distraction-free. Know that you cannot interrupt yourself until the most important of those things is done.
2. If you want a job done perfectly, hire a professional!
The typical solopreneur is easily tempted to become workaholic, never feeling that their work is done. But it's rather misleading to think that you don't need (or want) anyone. Even if you believe that you can simply do everything better by yourself, it's always good to have others who can challenge your ideas a bit.
Once you start to establish the processes to make yourself successful, hiring freelancers helps you get things done that you wouldn't normally be able to do on your own – without the overhead of full-time employees. Here are a couple websites I usually use: elance.com, odesk.com ...
3. Effective communication is king
Communication is paramount for any business. When dealing with remote clients and freelancers, it's crucial to have a powerful system in place to turn your online discussions into something very close to the face-to-face meetings. I use Wrike project management software for this purpose.
So, for example, when I have a task assigned to a client, they know the project doesn't go forward until their portion is done – and they clearly see that within Wrike. I also can sift through tons of e-mails in a snap. I turn e-mails into tasks and receive notifications when tasks are completed, having seamless collaboration automatized.
4. Celebrate your achievements
Outside of the office cubes and corporate ladders, it's easy to lose sight of how much you've moved forward in your work. That's why it's very important to regularly track the progress of your accomplishments.
I like to see what I need to accomplish in a day, week or month. I have a lot of different projects to juggle, and it's crucial that I do not drop the ball on any of them. I like to use Wrike's "Table View" to view my task lists across all projects. If I'm feeling bogged down, I filter by "Overdue" or "Due Today" to allow me to focus on what needs to get done first. I make sure that I write comments in every task and log my time so that I know I'm not spending too much time on one thing.
5. Access work when needed - anytime, anywhere
Solopreneurship takes devotion and diligence, and these things do not at all involve being tied up to a certain workplace or work hours.
As a person who is constantly multitasking, I like being able to add or view something crucial from my phone. It's also really nice to easily access documents on the go. And it's all available in Wrike project management software, whether I'm working from my home office, Starbucks or the beach.
Are you doing any of the above as a solopreneur or in the hustle of full-time work? You are very welcome to share your experience here with us!
