I've now been working from home in private practice for over a year and it was interesting this morning reflecting on the good and the bad.
After many years of shift work and working for someone else it was appealing to run my own business from home and set my hours. No more shifts or driving to work!
One of the advantages is being able to walk the dogs in the morning and when I feel I need a break. However, the farm, garden and animals are a distraction, and it can be easy to procrastinate, particularly when there is IT and admin stuff to do.
Generally, one of the advantages of being employed is that once your shift's over that's it, you're done. Running my own business, I often work 14-hour days. It is a real battle to work on my boundaries around time, particularly on not working all evening doing study or advertising!
One of the things to consider in business is our strengths and weaknesses. It's a tendency of mine to try and do everything. It can be beneficial to get people who are experts to takeover tasks such as website design. This is an area I struggle with, as is advertising. I am sure I'm not the only small businessperson who just persisted with managing the work. For the first couple of months, I considered the time I spent on the administration, website development and social media was OK as I wasn't fully booked. I did consider if website design and advertising were the reason I wasn't full! One year on, I'm full and I think I have the IT under control 🤔😆.
Having a good support network is really important, particularly for someone within your niche or your area. Working from home and starting your own business can be quite isolating and daunting. I've been quite lucky in both my support network and my customer base. My support network has been brilliant, and my customer base has grown quickly and I'm exactly where I wanted to be within a year.
The following are some things I have learnt or wish I had known or just believe:
Your niche may not be your niche
Be firm about the hours you work
Do the maths!
Be prepared to pivot
Don't be afraid to F.A.I.L.
Get a good support network
Sell yourself, be passionate
Collaboration, not competition, we all offer something unique
Boundaries are important
It's OK to say no
Find a mentor
I am sure there is more to say but I continuously remind myself that I want work-life balance and to enjoy what I do. To achieve these goals, I reflect on what I have achieved in a year as I walk my dogs and spend time with my horses. 🐴
Brilliant read. All your dedication has paid off👌🙌🙏