How To Avoid The Mistake I Made Working For Myself

Before you do, I encourage you to watch the video below to learn how to avoid the mistake I made working for myself.

Being an entrepreneur isn’t all butterflies and rainbows.

Owning your own business is hard work. It takes a lot of patience and persistence.

However, entrepreneurship is the hot topic today.

It seems like every time I speak at a university, the students tell me that they want to own their own business.

While that is all well and good, it’s important to be realistic about what that entails.

The biggest mistake I made working for myself was not creating boundaries.

When I owned my own business, I didn’t set strict boundaries for when and where I did my work.

As a result, I ended up feeling like I was working 24/7. I felt like I was “on” all of the time.

I answered emails from the time that I woke up until I went to sleep, with little regard to my mental health.

It was very hard for me to turn off.

In hindsight, I see how that created some crazy expectations.

Because I answered client emails at all hours of the day, my clients expected to be able to reach me at any time they needed or wanted.

That wasn’t smart because it put a ton of pressure on me to be available every day of the week.

I should’ve had specific days and times that I checked email, did content creation, crafted proposals, etc.

Being more organized and structured would have saved me a ton of time and a lot of frustration.

My lack of schedule led me to feel like I didn’t have balance in my life.

I felt like my business was my life; it was completely draining.

If I had set specific hours for specific tasks, it would’ve allowed me to work more efficiently and effectively.

The year that I spent working for myself taught me so much about how I work best and what I need to do in order to set myself up for success.

I learned that being organized and structured is critical for me and my fellow Type A’s that want to work for themselves.

I learned how to set expectations early on to avoid confusion.

If you’re thinking of going into business for yourself, I encourage you to create a schedule and structure that you can shape your days around.

Decide early on when you’re going to craft content, answer emails and prospect new business.

I learned that structure, planning ahead and organization is critical for success if I’m working for myself.

What do you think? What are your top entrepreneurship tips?

Share them in the comments below!