THOSE WHO ARE (ASPIRING TO BE) SELF-EMPLOYED
I have been self-employed (partially, not entirely) for the past 11 years as the “owner / founder” of my private practice in psychology–and I’m loving every minute of it! Who wouldn’t want to be your own boss, doing what you truly enjoy or are good at, setting your own working hours, and keeping all of the revenues to yourself? Of course, if you are also self-employed and reading this, you and I probably agree that starting / maintaining your own business is more complicated (and challenging) than that. For instance…have you ever felt any of the following?
Feeling lost, not knowing exactly where to start to launch your own business (beyond logistical stuff like creating your business card and website, dealing with acronyms like DBA and LLC, setting up a business bank account, etc.)
Feeling frustrated by how slow your business is picking up customers and clients
Feeling exhausted (physically and emotionally) from the number of hours you spend just to get the business running while you’re still trying to “break even”
Feeling guilty for sacrificing your time with family and friends as you put in so many hours into launching and maintaining your business
Feeling anxious about the idea of marketing and networking to bring more clients/customers to your business
These are only a few of the examples of psychological struggles that I have experienced as a business owner myself, and based on my conversations with other business owners, that many of you may have struggled with as well. While I can’t say I’m adequately trained in the field of business administration/management in general (as much as I wish I did) or about the specific field of your business, I can help you cope effectively with the psychological aspects of being self-employed, as a psychologist who has worked with many business professionals, and as a fellow business owner myself–so that you can at least survive and, with any luck, even thrive (at least psychologically) in your endeavor as your own boss.