chloedickensonLast Updated on 16th May 2024
Today (kind of) marks my first full year of self employment. I quit my job as a digital marketing assistant back in December 2018 and as of the beginning of January 2019, I became my own boss and started working for myself full time!
It’s been an absolutely crazy year; both personally and professionally as Matt and I started our world trip back in April 2019 and I started working on my blog and as a freelance travel writer full time to help fund our travels.
There’s been so many good and bad things about working for myself but I honestly wouldn’t change this lifestyle for the world. I know how incredibly fortunate I am to be able to do this for a living, but it certainly doesn’t come easy or without a sh*t load of hard work!
In celebration of my first full year as a self employed freelancer, writer and travel blogger, I wanted to share all the lessons I’ve learned along the way!
Whether you’re looking to start your own business and you’re wondering what it’s actually like to work for yourself, or you just want a bit of a nosey into how everything works, here’s 9 lessons I’ve learned in my first year of self employment!
You need to learn about taxes ASAP – self employment lessons
I’ll be completely honest; I still don’t really have any clue about taxes at all.
While we were in Kuala Lumpur , Matt and I spent a good few hours trying to get our heads around taxes but bloody hell, is it stressful.
I wholeheartedly believe that once I finally understand them, it’ll be an absolute breeze but for now, they still fill me with dread whenever I think about them.
One of my big professional goals for 2020 is to finally try and make sense of taxes and either learn how to do them properly myself or to hire someone to help me out.
Don’t undersell yourself – know your worth
This is also still something I’m “struggling” with at the moment; I still don’t quite know what to charge all the time and I feel that I often undersell myself massively.
More often than not, I get stuck into a job that I think is going to take me X amount of time, when in actual fact, it likely takes me two or three times longer than I first thought.
This is fine in your first few months of self employment and freelance life when you’re still finding your feet, but a year in and I really feel that I need to recognise my “worth” more this year.
It’s more than OK to take time off and have a break
One thing that’s incredibly hard to learn to do as a full time freelancer is to take some proper time off.
Over the last year, there’s barely been a day where I haven’t done at least one small thing for my blog or business.
Whether that’s simply just checking my stats and updating my progress, or actually writing full articles and posts for myself or clients, I’ve spent at least 5 minutes pretty much every single day over the last year doing something for my business.
However, when you’re self employed, it’s important to realise that it’s more than OK to take a break every so often.
You’re a one-(wo)man show when it comes to working for yourself, but you still need to realise that you can’t be on top form absolutely every minute of everyday.
Make sure you know the importance of taking a break and making sure you’re still looking after your mental and physical wellbeing alongside building your empire!
Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself
Another valuable lesson that I’ve learned since becoming self employed back in January 2019 is that you should never be afraid to invest in yourself.
Whether that’s kitting yourself with a brand new fancy website, a shiny new laptop or simply just investing in a course or ebook that will help you expand your knowledge, investing in yourself is incredibly important when it comes to the freelance life.
In 2019, I made a fair few investments for both my blog and my freelance writing business, and I thoroughly believe that it’s imperative to do so in order to grow as a business owner.
There’s a saying that goes: “you have to speculate to accumulate” which is basically saying that you have to commit to putting money back into the business once you’ve started making it.
If you continue on the same path that you’ve been coasting along with your business indefinitely, then you’re never going to give yourself the opportunity to grow and expand even further.
People will never fully understand what you do
One thing that you’ll soon get used to when it comes to working for yourself online is that almost everyone will fail to fully understand exactly what you do.
While it might seem obvious to some people when I say that “I’m a freelance writer who works online for various brands”, many people will just stare back at you as if you’ve started talking Spanish!
It’s perfectly OK that not everyone will “get” what you do and if anything, it just makes you seem even cooler as your job will seem incredibly elusive and mysterious!
It’s OK to ask for help – self employment lessons
Another thing that might take some getting used to as a self employed business owner, but a lesson that’s imperative to learn anyway, is that it’s more than OK to ask for help.
There’s been countless times over the last year where I haven’t had a clue how to do something; whether that’s taxes, how to add HTML code into my website or even how to invoice a client properly.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with asking for help if you’re unsure about something and it absolutely doesn’t mean that you’ve failed!
With today’s technology and the power of the internet, it’s really never been easier to work for yourself and if you’re just getting started in the world of freelancing and self employment, there are hundreds of thousands of articles online to help you out.
If you do have any questions about working for yourself, building a website or freelancing at all, please send me an email or message me on Instagram or Twitter – I’d love to help in any way I can!
You need to have a lot of self discipline – self employment lessons
Being self employed means that you need have an awful lot of self discipline.
This is because you’re effectively solely in charge of running an entire business; you need to be committed and dedicated to the project as no one else will be able to step in for you.
While of course there’s nothing wrong with asking for help at all, at the end of the day, you are the only one sole person who can make your operation run smoothly.
I mentioned above about the importance of acknowledging when it’s time to take a break, but when it comes to the self employed life, you also need to know when it’s time to be disciplined and strict on your working habits.
If you don’t “show up” for work everyday, no one else is going to take over for you, so before you commit to working for yourself full time, make sure you’re comfortable with holding yourself accountable to working hard when you need to.
It’s actually a lot harder than it looks…
The world of self employment and working for yourself might seem all glamorous and sophisticated but there’s an awful lot of non-glamour that goes into running a business full time, especially when it’s just you on your own.
You really are in charge of absolutely everything, and while of course it depends on the area of work you’re in when it comes to self employment, there are many tasks that you’ll have to take on yourself.
For example, while I’m “just” a freelance writer and travel blogger, I’m also a bookkeeper, an accountant, a director, an employee, a social media manager, a networker, a graphic designer, a website designer and so much more!
What you see on the surface is just the summation of all the hard work that goes into running a business full time; it’s the perfectly curated masterpiece that’s actually had thousands of hours of hard work committed to it!
…But it allows me to travel full time and I couldn’t be more grateful!
Despite all the difficult (albeit incredibly important) lessons I’ve learned in my first year of self employment, I really wouldn’t change anything for the world.
Working for myself as a freelance writer really couldn’t be more ideal for the kind of life I want to lead. It allows me to be my own boss, it allows me to express my creativity through my ultimate passion of writing and arguably most importantly; it allows me to travel full time and work on my own projects.
I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’ve received in my first year of self employment and I can’t wait to see what year two brings!
Related posts:
- My Career Journey So Far: From Barista To Blogger & Businesswoman
- The Best Investments I’ve Made For My Blog & Business
- A Week In The Life Of A Freelance Writer
- How To Effectively Work From Home
- 6 Ways I’ve Increased My Blog Traffic By 200% In 3 Months
Buy the Project 2020 Vision Ebook here!
Pin for later – lessons I’ve learned in my first year of self employment
Would you ever consider the self employment life? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @imjustagirl_16.
Thank you for this post. I love how transparent you are about self employment. The fact that you include every aspect of what It’s like is great. I honestly was thinking of becoming a freelance writer and did not know how to go about it. I’m looking to invest in myself and learn what I need to learn to start my self employment journey as well. I’ve been working on getting organized and disciplined before I start. However I feel like I also need to just do it and learn along the way. Instead of telling myself I’m not ready and prolonging it . I appreciate these tips. It inspired me to get on board and do the things I want to do.
Thank you ever so much for your comment! My advice would be to go for it, even if you’re not sure! I know it seems impossible, but start it alongside your day to day job and then progressively make your way into full time. Please email me at Chloe.dickenson@btinternet.com if you want me to tell you more about my journey as I’d be more than happy to help! Xx