13 Important Tips for the Self-Employed

Making the jump from working for someone else to working for yourself is a big step.  There is a lot to learn and much of it you wind up learning the hard way (through trial and error).  The freedom and flexibility that comes from being self-employed and running your own business however makes it all worth it!

I came across a recent blog post today from Glen Allsopp (@viperchill) “Living Self-Employed Online: The Manual They Forgot to Give You”.  Glen shares 13 lessons from his first 18 months of being self-employed:

As some people here don’t care about making their living from the internet, I understand that this post will not be for everybody. However, if you’ve just made the leap to working for yourself, currently run your own business, or you’re looking to make your money online in the future, this article may be just what you need.

Over the last 18 months of working for myself, I’ve learned a ton of things on my journey. Not every piece of advice I took on board has helped, with many ideas quickly being discarded. From reading dozens of books, speaking with hundreds of entrepreneurs, and living this life myself for a year and a half, there are a few lessons I would like to share.

I found this post to be full of wisdom and something I wish I had read when I first made the leap.  One tip that I really liked was about choosing the most important tasks to focus on:

Identify the Most Important Tasks That Will Grow Your Business

When you have all day to work on whatever you want, it’s very easy to get caught up in things which a) aren’t helping you grow and b) not as effective as other tasks. As early in your own business life as possible, define the most important things you can accomplish each day and give them utmost priority.

He then gives examples for what those tasks are for his business.  This was really powerful for me as I often find myself jumping around trying to do a lot of things rather than focusing on a core list as he suggests. I am making a list like that now and will keep it on the corkboard that sits above my desk. From now on whenever I begin to stray or get side tracked I can look at the list and refocus.

Whether you are a freelancer, entrepreneur, small business owner, or solo-professional I think you will find his article valuable as well as his website http://www.viperchill.com where he shares lots of information about marketing online and what has worked for him.

Let’s share some tribal knowledge here – please post a comment below with some of the biggest tips or lessons you’ve learned being self-employed!