Practical Advice For The Self-Employed Professional

Practical Advice For The Self-Employed Professional

7 Must-Know Things To Become An Unstoppable Force

Must Know 1: The first steps are the hardest

Getting work and developing the money flow may be hard in the beginning. You may come by little or no work. And the money flow may be trickling to non-existent. But you will be  unstoppable if you take the necessary step of building your savings before you take the plunge.  You will need to tap into liquid checking or savings account money to cover your household expenses and financial obligations, until you ramp up. Some people are willing to take the risk of getting by with credit, cash advances on their credit cards, personal loans, and home equity loans. Some people are lucky to have a spouse or parent who can take care of the bills till they ramp up. Since I did not have that advantage, and I did not like the idea of going into debt to pursue self-employment, I went the savings route. I met my expenses through savings. I supported myself using savings for 1.5 years before being self-employed became viable.

Takeaway: The first steps are the hardest.  If you have savings, it will be less hard. Savings will open up choices for you. Savings will make it possible for you to take the plunge into self-employment without first developing it as a side hustle.  The savings game is the best financial game you can play in life.  It leads to peace of mind, it leads to freedom, and it leads to choices. Believe me, you will be able to step into self-employment with so much more confidence if you have savings.

Must Know 2: Self-employment will test your faith in yourself

 Listen up.  Self-doubt is a mental space grabber.  It will quickly occupy your spirit if you let it. If your gig is slow to take off and you don't make progress, it can easily sink your spirits and make you wonder if your past achievements were just dumb luck. So it is important for you to develop a Casey Jr. mindset - of optimism coupled with hard work. You may have to constantly remind yourself of your past achievements.  When I am plagued by self-doubt, I have a 1 person game I play called the Judge and Jury Game which helps me remember and celebrate my past achievements.  I advise you to play the Judge and Jury Game too.

Takeaway:  Keep your spirits up until things take off.  Tell yourself, "I have succeeded before, I can do it again".  Like Casey Jr, you should say "I Think I Can, I Think I Can",until you are able to say "I Thought I Could, I Thought I Could."  Play the Judge and Jury Game to remind yourself of your past accomplishments.

Must Know 3: Keep a ear out (and an open mind) for ideas that will lead to opportunities

 Answer this question truthfully.  Do you mostly think about things you are used to thinking about?  Now answer this question truthfully.  Do you mostly do things you are used to doing? Was your answer "Yes" to both questions?  No surprise. And you may be thinking... what's wrong with that? I'll tell you what's wrong with that. If you think only in ways you are used to, and you do only what you are used to, it may cause you to miss some incredible opportunities which are hiding in plain sight.  To become an unstoppable force, you need all the inputs, advice, and insights you can get.  And this can come only if you keep your eyes and ears open. Even being the introvert and reclusive person I am, I was on high alert for ideas after I walked out of my job in 2010 and had to decide what to do with myself.  An idea presented itself to me in a telephone conversation with my sister Rosie. I was able to find "future freelance gold" in this conversation.  It was because of this conversation, I signed up and paid $3000 to do the 3 day Administrators Course offered by Xactly (only the most popular cloud commission software today). This decision paid off in spades. Shortly after I did the course, the Xactly trainer called me and asked me if I would be interested in working for an Xactly implementation team.  I couldn't believe my ears.  Being on an Xactly implementation team would be a huge step up for me.  The admin course had taught me to drive Xactly, my time with the implementation team would teach me what was under the hood. The combined effect was that when I decided to position myself as an emergency commissions administration resource a year later, I was truly unstoppable.

Takeaway:  Expand your thinking.  Keep an eye and a ear out for new ideas.  If a new idea seems worthwhile, pursue it. If you are a talker, not a listener, learn to listen by developing a Socrates mindset.

Must Know 4: You have to turn an unknown into a known

It is important to establish your ability, your experience, your credibility, your authority and your dependability. When you were part of company X, you didn't have to worry about branding.  X was your branding.  The fact that you were from X company stamped you as someone who could be counted on to deliver the goods.  When you are on your own, you have to prove you can do that without the weight and resources of an established and known name behind you.  You have to turn an unknown into a known. You do that by delivering the goods and doing what you say you will do. You should aim to slowly but steadily establish your ability, your credibility, your authority, your dependability. You should also know that every piece of written and spoken communication communicates messages about you. Make sure they are the right messages. Don't cut any corners.

Takeaway: You have to turn an unknown into a known.  Everything about you must reek of ability, experience, credibility, authority, trust, dependability.

Must Know 5: You have to be good with finances

There are umpteen reasons for this.  For one, you should be prepared to get paid 1-3 months later for any work that you do. This means you should have enough in past earnings and savings to meet your financial obligations and expenses .  You will need to be disciplined about invoicing and following up on payments.  You will also need to understand the taxation side of things.  For instance, if you get 1099 income, you will have to estimate your taxes on that 1099 income and pay the IRS estimated taxes 4 times a year.  If you pay taxes with a spouse, you will have to pay it at the combined marginal rate. You have to be very conservative in your estimates, otherwise you will end up owing a chunk to the IRS when April 15 rolls around the next year. Finally, you have to buy your own health insurance. If you've read some of my past posts, you know the gutsy decision I made regarding health insurance.  In more recent years, I have made myself a little more secure by participating in a Christian health-sharing ministry.

Takeaway: Money flow, invoicing, payments, taxes, health insurance - you have to learn about all these things, or have someone who is capable and whom you can trust take care of it for you.  Do this and you will be unstoppable.

Must Know 6: You have to be client-cherishing

 Flexibility is not just for those who do yoga. Self-employed professionals have to be extremely flexible. Client requirements can vary so much. One wants you there from 9-5, the other doesn't care as long as you meet the milestones. One has a few large projects. Another has many small ones. One needs a lot of hand-holding and explanations, another will get something you tell them instantly.  One will give you a lot of input, another will expect you to figure things out on your own.  Performance standards will be different too. Some will prioritize deadlines over quality, others will prioritize quality over deadlines. And quality will mean different things to different clients. My advice to you is summed up in the following bullets:

o    Be flexible. Go with the flow.

o    If you get an unusual request, wherever possible, tell the client, "Let me think about that" Avoid an off-putting immediate "No. I am sorry. I can't."

o    See all problems as opportunities and as puzzles to be solved.

o    Let constraints spur your creativity.  Some of the best ideas emerge because of constraints.

o    Have a service heart and a servant heart.

o    Communicate with your client as much as you can. Don't make assumptions.

o    Aim to delight and to deliver above and beyond when you can.

o    Value the journey.

Takeaway:  Be flexible. Don't let the unexpected throw you. Go with the flow, adapt, and aim to over-deliver and delight. A service heart and a servant heart, and a client-cherishing focus will serve you well.

Must Know 7: You have to stay the course

 You will experience positive and negative surprises when you are self-employed.  Your challenge is to ignore the negative surprises, and use them as learning experiences - whether it's a bad day, or a burdensome reality, a tax shock, or whatever else. Every time something negative happens to you, watch out for the "Is it worth it?" thought, which is not a productive thought.  Squash this thought like you would stamp a bubble in a sheet of bubble wrap.  Keep a piece of bubble wrap in your office and every time something doesn't go your way, stamp some bubbles in the bubble wrap and shout,  "Go away bad thought" or "Yes, it's worth it." .  Ha ha - just joking.  What I am trying to say, is stick with it - in good times and bad.

Takeaway:  Don't throw up your hands easily.  If you love freedom and want to be your own boss, you have to be able to boss your negative thoughts away.  Find a way to think, "It is worth it", even in your down moments.  And you will be unstoppable.

Now go crush it, Ms or Mr Unstoppable!

Practical Advice From A Professional Job-Hopper:

How To Settle Into A New Job Well  –

9 Off-Putting Things You Should Never Do

1: Criticize Anything

The lack of technology or resources, the lack of perks, the level of noise, the excessive number of meetings, the hoops you have to jump through to get things done … there may be any number of things you find off-putting.  Take my advice: Do not criticize. Learn to bite your tongue.  Resist. You have plenty of avenues (such as online forums) to channel your inner critic. A new job is not one of them.

2: Complain About Anything

Do not complain about anything or anyone - even your commute. Once you have established your value, you can do that. But why would you do that even then?  Develop the good habit of being a non-complainer. And stick with it.

3: Compare Your Present Company With Your Last Company

“In my last company we used to…blah….blah…blah”. Don’t do that.  Don’t make comparisons between your current company and your previous company.  Your peers at your new company might not come right out and say it. But what they will think is, “Why didn’t he just stay in that job – if it was so great?”

4: Boast About How Good You Are

Confidence does not need to be trumpeted. You may be tempted to boast about how good you are. Do not do it. Instead let your work speak for you.  If you are good at what you do, and you have a great work ethic, it will be noticed.  People will say, “What a great work ethic”, “Wow she has such a strong grasp of this”.  You don’t need to toot your own horn as if you are part of the San Jose Symphony.

5: Refuse To Do Anything

Don’t say “I don’t do that” or “I can't do that.” It may be off-putting to discover, you have to take care of some low-level, time-consuming, tedious and professionally non-valuable tasks. You should never outright refuse to do them. Your predecessor may have been doing them. There will come a time – after you have established your value – when you will be able to speak up, and get those tasks switched.

6: Be Unapproachable

Don’t make it such that people can’t approach you. Don't start telling them off if they interrupt you, disturb you, want to engage in a friendly conversation with you, or ask you something for the umpteenth time. The only people who have a right to be unapproachable are geniuses. So unless you’ve been told again and again you are a genius, I would work on being as approachable as you can. Patience will go much further than you ever dreamed of…I guarantee you that.

7: Hold Your Tricks To Yourself And Be Unwilling To Help Team Members

Life is not a zero-sum game.  By helping others, you win. And the person you help wins. Don’t resist sharing your expertise.  More importantly, don’t resent sharing your expertise.  Become known as the “go to” person, the one with the expertise.  Don’t let your mind spin on things like “Oh, she shouldn’t be asking me this – she is in a senior position – she should already know this”. Steer away from those thoughts.  Be happy to be the go to person, the super user, and the one who people turn to. It’s better to be ahead, rather than behind.  It establishes you as being an authority. And that my friend is an opportunity, not a liability.

8: Cause A Nuisance To Any Of The People Who Sit Around You

Some obvious things to avoid - being loud, being obnoxious, taking people’s stuff without asking them, leaving dirty plates around. Be sensitive to the needs of the people around you. It will serve you well.

9: Have Long Lunches And Leave Early

Taking long lunch breaks, leaving office early, taking time off, being late to meetings, and such - these are things to do only after you prove your value. This should be obvious to most of you, but it helps to restate it.

That wraps up the 9 off-putting things you should never do - if you want to settle into a new job fast and well.

So tell me - how do you stack up?