3 Years In: What ROAM's Founder Has Learned Working For Herself

Whatever you prefer to call it -- self-employment, entrepreneurship, freelancing -- more than 53 million Americas have chosen to be their own boss. Deciding to go out on your own and create your own business can be scary. Everyone’s reason for making the move it different too. Some people need a more flexible schedule, while others just don’t want to answer to anyone else. Regardless, the first year working for yourself teaches you things you never really thought you needed to know -- about business, finance, operations, and most importantly, about yourself.

Now multiply that by 3 (because you never stop learning in this game!).

Having just passed the three year anniversary of starting my own PR consulting firm, I thought it would be appropriate to look back at what I’ve learned.

• Getting more freedom… with more responsibility. You want to take a personal day or a vacation? Sure! But are you willing to forego a new project as a result? You are constantly negotiating with yourself, trying to strike a balance between being successful professionally and allowing yourself some “Me Time.” For some people, these decisions are easy. But for others, like myself, it is a constant battle, especially as you are starting to establish your business.
  
• Becoming a jack of all trades. Like many people going into business for themselves for the first time, I chose not to take on any additional staff right away. I wanted to see what I could do for myself before taking on that additional responsibility and overhead. As a result, I’m the CEO, the bookkeeper, the contract negotiator, the head of business development, the account manager and the intern. All rolled into one.
  
• Pushing yourself beyond what you thought possible. I honestly didn’t know how my business would turn out. I knew that I had all the pieces and had learned from some of the best in the business. But in the end, did I have enough contacts to keep my pipeline going? As a natural introvert (weird given my career choice, no?), was I meeting enough new people in my new city to establish a strong, long-lasting business? It is still early days, but I’m happy with where things have gone over the few years and I’m proud of myself for getting out of my comfort zone.
  
• Knowing when to raise your hand for help. Everything on your to-do list can get pretty daunting. Having a strong network of mentors and peers as well as family and an amazing partner to support you is vital to making the whole entrepreneur career work. Looking to those mentors that have gone down the road you’ve chosen -- and done it successfully -- is incredibly reassuring. And just knowing that you can gut check hypothetical scenarios and tactics with fellow consultants and vent to your sister about juggling life can make stressful times a little bit easier.
  
• Celebrating the wins -- large and small. When first starting out, things can get frustrating. The ebbs and flows are much more pronounced. But it is important to not get stuck focusing the missteps and obstacles but rather the learnings from them. How can you make that process smoother next time? What will be your vetting process or minimum requirements for vendors and clients moving forward? Besides learning from each step along the way, remember to celebrate each win, both large and small. These fuel the competitive, overachiever in all of us so we can get past the moments of frustration faster.
  

There are certainly pros and cons to working for yourself and it isn’t necessarily for everyone. And who really knows what’s in store for the next year of business. My hope is many more learnings, a bit more balance (without so much internal negotiation!) and wins along the way to celebrate!