sjsmith.com.au - blog

Making It Last

In It For The Long Haul

I've talked before about how long I've been self -employed (nearly twenty years) and after a recent conversation someone said 'You'd probably never want to work for anyone else now!' That's probably true. After twenty years you get used to the ups and downs of being your own boss. The joy (and sometimes stress) of taking the big decisions and setting up your work life to suit yourself.

That then got me to thinking what it really takes to be working for yourself for that length of time. What have I learned since I began that has kept me on this path and allowed me to still be inspired to show up each day?

The first big lesson I had to learn (and it took a while to learn) is that you really need to take holidays. They don't have to be long but you do need to be able to step away from your business even if it's only for a week at a time.  You need this opportunity to recharge and to give you something else besides work to look forward to.  When you begin, it's easy to be caught up in all there is to do, you work long hours, weekends and late nights.  That's fine for a while but it's not sustainable over time.  Booking a holiday not only gives you something to look forward to but allows you to reinvigorate yourself.

Lesson two is if you have great staff don't take them for granted.  Let them know when they do a good job.  If they go above and beyond send them a thank you or maybe a little gift card.  Look after them and they'll look after you and your business.

Lesson three is that working for yourself is about designing a work life that fits your life style. If working for yourself is making you continually miserable and you have no life outside maybe you want to think about whether it's going to give you what you want.  There's no shame in deciding that being self employed is not your path.

Lesson four is that you have to look after the money.  Don't assume people will pay you when they say.  You have to keep your finger on your cashflow or life will be continually hard and stressful.

And finally, karma is king. Treat people how you want to be treated, always be truthful, take responsibility if you make a mistake and, your attitude will dictate how your day goes!

Till next time,

Sarah-Jane X