Build a Business, Not Another Job
Many people dream of working for themselves, being their own boss, and having the freedom to only take on clients and projects they love.
What they donāt realize, though, is that there is a huge difference between building a business and being self-employed.
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? Donāt be. Every business owner started out self-employed. Just donāt stay there. These tips will help you build a sustainable business instead of just another job.
Donāt Try to Do It All Yourself
Building a sustainable business requires that you leverage the talents and time of others. While it might seem cost-effective to simply do everything yourselfāespecially in the start-up phase when you likely have more time than moneyāitās a path to burnout and stress.
Instead, separate your tasks into those that you love and are especially suited for (such as marketing) and those you dislike and arenāt good at. Then make a solid plan to get those that you arenāt good at off your list of things to do. If you feel like you canāt afford to outsource it all right now, start with what you tend to procrastinate the most on, even if itās just a few hours each month.
Donāt Allow Yourself to Work All the Time
The trouble with working at home is that you live at work. And that means that thereās no clear line in the sand between your work day and your home life.
Since thereās always work to do, itās easy to find yourself working every available momentāoften to the detriment of your family relationships.
You can help avoid this by:
Settingāand maintainingāclear work hours
Having an office with a door you can close when youāre done
Scheduling time for family and other activities
Taking time for yourself
Vacations and Downtime Are Important
Donāt create a business that requires you to be āin the officeā every day. At the start, you may need to be available more, but you should definitely be planning for the day when you can be āoff the gridā for extended periods of time.
Have trusted contractors who can handle things when youāre not available
Leverage automation tools such as autoresponders and autowebinar systems
Create repeatable systems so youāre 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? Itās not. With some forethought and planning, you can create a teamāand the systems they needāto successfully run your business without becoming overwhelmed and overworked.