Tips for Working as Your Own Boss as a Creative Entrepreneur
Being your own boss has its perks and it’s something that in an ideal world, everyone dreams of doing. However, the reality isn’t as perfect as one would hope. Being your own boss (especially in the creative industry!) takes a certain type of person and it also means that you have a lot of responsibility for yourself. As a creative business owner who has been in the field for over a decade, here are some tips for working as your own boss.
Keep A Schedule or Routine In Place
Firstly, keeping a schedule or routine in place is going to help ensure that you get all the work done that needs to be done. And as a creative person, having dedicated time to sew, paint, write, or practice your specific medium may be helpful. When you’re working from home, remotely or in a shared working space, there’s no one around you to tell you what your working hours should be. Some jobs are going to be more flexible when it comes to work or creative hours than others and so it’s all about finding what works best for you and the work that needs doing. When you work for yourself, setting a schedule or routine for the day is crucial, otherwise, you risk things not getting done and that can be impactful on your reputation with customers and can dictate how much money you’re going to earn throughout the month.
Give Yourself Regular Breaks
It’s really important that you give yourself regular breaks when you’re working on your own. Without regular breaks, it can lead to exhaustion and it can also stop the motivation that you need to get the work done. No one can work with the same drive and pace for several hours per day and so just getting up and making a cup of coffee or going for a walk outside can make all the difference when you’re trying to stay motivated. The same is true for self-employed creative business owners! Take a break from looking at your creative work, get out in nature or shift gears to something else.
When it comes to regular breaks, some productivity specialists say you should try to have them at the same point every day, rather than mixing it up as this might disrupt your workflow and ability to get back into the groove of working.
Set Up A Proper Office Space
A proper office space is critical if you’re working as your own boss and from home. The home environment is a lot more distracting than a typical office environment with other people working too. You want to make sure that you’ve set up properly and that you have everything you need to work or create efficiently. Otherwise, if you’re working from your sofa or bed, it blurs the lines between what is your home space and what your work space is. For some creatives, this may not seem to make much of a difference (you could draw while sitting on the floor or your bed), but try it out and see if it does affect your work and productivity.
Save Your Money
Saving money is definitely important and something you want to be active in doing this when you’re self-employed and working for yourself. If you don’t, then you’re likely to cause yourself a lot of added stress if you have some weeks or months that aren’t big money earners. You want to ensure you have a savings fund for those rainy days when you need it most.
The challenge of working as your own boss is something that not everyone succeeds in but it’s definitely something you can thrive at. Creative business owners, you’ve got this! So, you can use these tips to make sure you get the most out of working as your own boss.
