How To Be Your Own Boss
People always ask me, "How do you find the motivation?" Well, just like any other job, you have to show up every day to pay the bills. The only difference is: you can't make excuses when you're the boss of yourself.
All the responsibilities fall to you. There's no coworker to blame and no manager to secretly despise. There's no clocking in or out. Or getting scolded by a supervisor. Everything you do, as your own boss, directly impacts your business; your income. But one thing that's true for me is that I'd rather work 24/7 for myself than 40 hours a week for someone else. -I think every self-employed person would tell you the same thing.
Being your own boss is basically just being a responsible adult, to put it simply. I'm no perfect example of this, but my dad and mom are, which is where I got the gene of self-employment from I think (if you believe it's a genetic thing). ;)
But, how do you get to the place of working for yourself? Well...
Being your own boss usually coincides with a job-crisis of some kind + you finally give in to the idea of starting something on your own. Which, is exactly how I became self-employed. I quit a job, was at the end of my tolerance for awful bosses/work environments, and honestly had nothing left to lose. I had next-to-nothing in my bank account, didn't have a business plan, and didn't even know that the little writing jobs I'd landed would morph into something bigger. All I knew was that I was going to have to work really hard to learn how to do this 'boss thing.'
1. Have a learning spirit.
You will never get to a place where you know everything and suddenly it's all easy. -Hard pill to swallow. There are so many people around you right now that have already learned the tough lessons and would be happy to answer your questions. At any point in time, you can gain knowledge. -Whether that's in your business, or in your personal life. One thing I submit to, is that I'll always be learning. BUT, don't confuse a learning-life with an ignorant life. The two aren't the same. Just because you're in a growing process, does not mean you're stupid, or an idiot, or 'ignorant' if you want to say it nicer.
2. YOU are the authority.
You meet every client, every challenge, every dispute, head-on. There's no one else to take the heat, because YOU are the head of the business and know your craft. YOU run your business how YOU intend to, not how others think you should. (But it doesn't hurt to ask for counsel, like I've said above).
One thing I quickly learned, even in the tiny writing jobs (I got paid .02 cents per word for my first ever position as a writer), was that no matter what, you had to stand up for yourself. Taking charge is something I can do, but often times feel uncomfortable doing. Being a boss is being the authority, which is very challenging when you feel a little unsure at times!
3. Have grace.
This is the area I've grown the most. Have grace for yourself, for others. You're going to mess up and have to clean up your mistakes (this keeps you in the learning spirit) -we have come full circle. :) But seriously, it's easy to form the habit of negative self-talk when you're working by yourself all the time. I can't stress enough how hard I was/am on myself about every single thing. I only say this because God's grace is rescuing me, everyday, from myself.
God has grace, and has shown us how to have grace for ourselves (and others) as well. So when you're working on your dream and stumble along the way, don't chastise yourself. That's like kicking yourself when you're down or stabbing yourself in the back. You are ONE person running a business, doing all the things...there's no perfection here on Earth so we can go ahead and assume that's it's gunna be one crazy, worth-while adventure!
What are your thoughts on being a boss? What would be your 3 points if you wrote an article like this to share? I'm interested! Let's sharpen each other!