What I’ve learned about Self-Employment

I have been self-employed now since last October when I walked into my previous job and gave my notice. There have been challenges as well as a lot of celebrations. But I think the biggest thing I am surprised by is just how much I’ve learned about myself. There are days when all I can see is what I’m not doing enough of, or correctly or consistently. I decided to be self-employed. Make no mistakes; being the primary breadwinner in our family was a scary decision. I am far more ambitious and driven to achieve my individual goals, the primary one being time and freedom. I’ve yet to find a company that would or could ever satisfy my ambitions. I also know that it is highly unlikely that I would ever create the kind of income working for someone else, even if I’m in a well-paying job. So I thought it was time to reassess where I’m at, putting it all together and then sharing with everyone because I know other people are on a similar journey and will be able to relate.

It’s fair to say I love all things computers, from the hardware and the gadgets to the software. The only thing I love as much as computers and technology are cooking and food.

The food memories, however, are by far the earliest memories I have (from around when I was 4 or 5) about being passionate about something. There are still one or two family members that will remember me taking all of the boxes and cans of food out of my grandmother’s cabinets and setting up my grocery store on the main large sweeping staircase, forcing anyone one that wanted to pass to “buy” something from me. So here are a few of the harder lessons I’ve learned in the last nine months

• Working for yourself is that it requires far more of YOU than working for someone else.
• If you don’t have a plan and a set of goals, you will achieve exactly that.
• Tools are there to help you achieve your goals, but they won’t do it for you. no matter how good they look in the advertising.
• Being consistent is critical to achieving reliable results.
• Having some an accountability system in place is essential because no matter how “hard” on yourself you think you are, you aren’t
• Time can be a black hole.
• While you may want to take on the…