I remember being younger and saying “I never want to own my own business.” Fast forward a couple decades and I am the happiest I’ve ever been in a career as a small business owner & creative entrepreneur!
Today I want to share 3 reasons I love being self-employed.
1. I make my own hours.
Hoot! Hoot!~ I am a night owl. I seem to get more done between the hours of 7pm-midnight than the rest of the day. It could be that the house is quiet, but that’s only part of the equation. I feel more creative at night, and my mind focuses differently. The truth is, I usually want to keep working past midnight, but I force myself to close the lap top and get some sleep- knowing I have 2 human alarm clocks that wake up around 6am every morning.
2. I get to work from home and be around my kids.
I love being able to drop off and pick up my kids from school, and volunteer in their classrooms. I have freedom that I’ve never had in any other job I’ve had. When I worked in the corporate world I craved a flexible schedule but in my position it wasn’t easy to get one. Having gone through schedule struggles makes me more appreciative of what I am able to do now.
3. To quote The Soup Dragons “I am free to do what I want, any old time.” If I want to work more than 8 hours a day, I can! And I love my job so much- this happens frequently! If I want to play with my kids in the San Diego sun all day and work while they sleep- I can! If I want to bring my lap top to a bar to work while I sample some brews-I can! [Sidenote: did you know San Diego is the ‘Craft Beer Capital of the World’?!] Cue William Wallace in Braveheart with his fist in the air screaming “FREEDOM!”
Of course, without the proper business tools in place I couldn’t successfully run a family photography business. One of my FAVORITE tools is QuickBooks Self-Employed; Because taxes=yuck. QuickBooks takes the headache out of tax prep for me. If you are self-employed and haven’t tried it yet- DO IT! I even have a promo code to save you 50% for the first 12 months! When I love something I want to tell everyone about it! Let me know if you’ve tried QuickBooks Self-Employed yet and if it’s changed your life as much as it has mine!
