{"id":179,"date":"2024-09-16T14:02:08","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T14:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eetium.com\/ja\/2024\/09\/16\/lessons-i-learned-from-ditching-my-9-to-5\/"},"modified":"2024-09-16T14:02:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T14:02:08","slug":"lessons-i-learned-from-ditching-my-9-to-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eetium.com\/ja\/2024\/09\/16\/lessons-i-learned-from-ditching-my-9-to-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons I Learned From Ditching My 9-to-5"},"content":{"rendered":"

A year ago, after months of late nights and weekends spent working my side hustle, I made the leap into freelancing full time. Since then, I\u2019ve been consulting for various small businesses, helping them launch their online presence.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Time has flown since I packed up my little corporate office and called it quits, but at the same time, I feel like I\u2019ve packed in about 10 years\u2019 worth of learning. Here are my biggest lessons from my first year flying solo.<\/p>\n

There are no vacations<\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong — I travel pretty frequently. I\u2019ve think I\u2019ve taken more trips in the year since I quit my nine-to-five than the five years before that.<\/p>\n

That said, I\u2019m never truly disconnected. I\u2019m always watching my email — nights, weekends, holidays, you name it — because there\u2019s no one else to man the ship. I can alert clients that I\u2019ll be traveling, or that I\u2019ll have limited availability, but if something comes up, it\u2019s all on me to make sure things are taken care of.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s okay to turn down clients<\/h2>\n

I learned this the hard way, as I\u2019m sure anyone who works with clients does. In the beginning, you never want to turn down work. It feels so wrong when your next meal depends on it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But there are some projects that you can tell aren\u2019t for you right from the start — whether it\u2019s the work or the client themselves. Sometimes, a client with an awesome personality can make a boring project worthwhile and vice versa, but if both the client and the project seem lackluster, it\u2019s okay to pass.<\/p>\n

Say no to meetings<\/h2>\n

For whatever reason, the rest of the working world seems to love them, even for things that could easily be addressed via email (or even text!).<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t keep a handle on meetings, they\u2019ll quickly eat up your entire workday. I\u2019m learning to block off hours of uninterrupted work time where I don\u2019t take any calls or meetings — no exceptions.<\/p>\n

It’s not personal. It’s business.<\/h2>\n

Being in business for yourself calls for some tough decisions, and not all of them will be pleasant for the person on the receiving end.<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s a woman thing. Maybe it\u2019s just a nice person thing. I still struggle with making decisions I know someone else isn\u2019t going to like. You have to make them, though, and you have to remember that it\u2019s not personal. It\u2019s business — and it\u2019s up to you to stay in business.<\/p>\n

Plan for time spent on minor tasks<\/h2>\n

If I had a nickel for every time I \u201clooked over something real quick…\u201d<\/p>\n

In reality, you should have more than a nickel — you should have the proper hourly pay for all the client work you do, even the small stuff. I\u2019ve learned that those quick tasks like proofreading emails and hopping on conference calls really add up. Find a system that works for you to keep track of them, and charge accordingly.<\/p>\n

Pay attention to red flags<\/h2>\n

One year in, and I\u2019ve already got some client horror stories. In retrospect, the red flags were there — and I should have cut bait when I saw them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the client who calls you at 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. at night for things that could easily wait until business hours.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s the client who hires you for your specialized skills — search engine optimization, content marketing, whatever — then argues with you over how to do it best.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the client who belittles you, threatens you or curses at you.<\/p>\n

Pay attention to red flags and the gut feeling in your stomach. Walk away sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s incredible what you do yourself<\/h2>\n

Being on my own has forced me to learn so many skills I never thought I\u2019d have (or need), like how to build a website or how to calculate estimated taxes or how to funnel a Red Bull. Wait, what?<\/p>\n

Most of this learning was done out of sheer necessity, because I didn\u2019t have the money to pay someone else to do it. I\u2019m now convinced there\u2019s no task I can\u2019t handle, which is both a blessing and a curse.<\/p>\n

Outsourcing is key<\/h2>\n

At the end of this first year, my biggest takeaway is that if I want to grow into a full-fledged business, I\u2019ve got to outsource — whether that means taking on an intern, using some freelancers of my own or hiring a part-time employee. It\u2019s one of the main pain points I plan to tackle during year number two.<\/p>\n

Are you a new freelancer or about to take the leap? What have you learned in the process?<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

Post from Entrepreneur<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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