Over the past 18-months, I’ve met lots of entrepreneurs or wannabe entrepreneurs. Living in Austin, I guess that’s not very surprising.
Because of this, I’ve had many conversations about the pros and cons of starting your own business. When I speak with people, I try to paint an accurate picture of being a solopreneur/consultant/entrepreneur because you know what, sometimes this is difficult. And it’s definitely not for everyone. And while there are certainly upsides such as having the illusion of setting my own schedule (in reality it’s dictated by my clients and freelancers) or being able to work from anywhere with an internet connection, there are some downsides such as not having 401k matching.
I can – and maybe someday will – write an entire post on the pros and cons of working for yourself, but today is not that day. Instead, I want to share the three things I’ve been telling people when they ask me about my experiences:
1. If you choose to go down this path, pay yourself.
There are lots of articles out there that talk about needing to pad your savings account before you venture out on your own. What I recommend doing is setting up two accounts. The first can be your savings. The second should be your salary.
Your savings is for emergencies: The refrigerator broke and you need to replace it. Your dog gets sick and needs an MRI. These are unforeseen expenses that, even if you were still in a salaried job, you wouldn’t just casually spend money on.
The salary account is exactly as it sounds: a salary. Going out on your own is stressful enough. It’s even more stressful when you’re trying to land your first client but see your bank account going down, down, down. Also, if you’re like me when I started, you have no idea when you’re going to make your first sale and therefore don’t want to spend a penny more than absolutely necessary. And yeah, I’ve heard the stories of entrepreneurs living on $2 a day to get their business off the ground. But if you’re coming from a stable salary that afforded you disposable income transitioning from casually spending $5 on coffee to living on $2/day is a pretty drastic swing.
If possible – before going out on your own – decide what you need to live on. This should include things like rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurance, etc. But you also need to include some cushion so that if you want to meet your friend for dinner to celebrate her birthday you can without losing sleep.
Then, try to live off that salary for as long as possible while protecting your savings.
2. Find a community.
Working for yourself can be very lonely. I fully admit that while I love not having to rush out of the house in the mornings I really do miss going to an office. And yes, I’ve tried co-working spaces but in my experience, it’s pretty much an anonymous place to work. I think you have better odds of the baristas recognizing you at your local coffee shop.
Loneliness sucks. And it’s the little things that I miss most: seeing a ridiculous headline and sharing it with my colleagues which allowed for some impromptu bonding. Or venting about the commute. Or just having someone (besides my husband) notice if I’m alive. Seriously, it’s super easy to kind of spiral when you’re not regularly connected to people. So definitely find a stable community. Not something transient, where you attend a meetup every once in a while. But something with a schedule and structure, and people who will notice if you’re not there.
Join a gym. Visit the dog park at the same time every day. Join a book club. Commit to working at the same coffee shop every Tuesday. Whatever. Just find a group you can be accountable to.
3. Define success.
Studies show that using Facebook and Instagram can make you feel bad about yourself. For me, it’s Linkedin. Seeing announcements about my connections’ promotions and fancy new job titles stings a bit. But using that as a metric for success for what I’m doing is entirely unfair and inaccurate. How can I be more than a Founder? Or President? Or CEO? Or whatever else I want to call myself.
It’s also easy to read lots of wild success stories about people making six-plus-figures soon after going out on their own. If you’re not one of them, or not feeling confident you’re at least on your way, it’s really easy to get in your head and feel like you’re failing – or at the very least flailing.
That’s why, very early on, you need to define how you are going to measure success. I cannot state that emphatically enough. One of my metrics for success in my first year on the road less travelled was to make $45,000. Why that number? It’s what I needed to cover all of those expenses I listed in number one without tapping into my savings. It’s the amount of money I needed to not feel like I had taken a massive step backwards and become a mooch on my husband and society.
It’s easy to go into business for yourself and think, “I have a great idea and I’m going to make a lot of money and everyone will know my name.” Well, maybe that’s true. But maybe it’s not. And if you don’t make a lot of money or become famous, are you still successful? That’s up to you to decide.