Build A Business, Not A Job

Many people have the goal of working for themselves, being their own boss, and having the freedom to take on only clients and projects they love.

What they don’t realize, though, is that there is a massive difference between building a business and just being self-employed.

For example, business owners scale their income, while self-employed people trade time for dollars.

Business owners leverage systems and the skills and talents of a team. Self-employed people often only rely on their own skills.

Discouraged yet? Don’t be.

Every business owner starts out self-employed. The key is not to stay there. It took me years to figure this out. I thought I was doing a great job building my business and getting lots of new clients until I realized I had created a new job for myself, and not a business.

I had strapped myself down with endless client work and no time to grow the business. I learned the hard way, but you don’t have to.

These tips will ensure you build a sustainable, scalable business instead of just another job.

1. Don’t Try to Do It All Yourself

Building a sustainable business requires that you leverage the talents and time of others. While it might seem cost-effective to do everything yourself—especially in the beginning merely, start-up phase when you likely have more time than money—it’s the path to burnout and stress.

Instead, separate your tasks into those that you love and are suited for (such as marketing or sales) and those you dislike and aren’t good at (like accounting or design). Then make a rock-solid plan to get those that you aren’t good at off your to-do list. If you can’t afford to outsource it this all right now, start with what you tend to procrastinate the most on, even if it’s just for a handful of hours each month.

2. Don’t Work All the Time

The biggest trouble with working at home is that you live at work. And that means that there’s not always a clear line in between your work day and your home life.

Since there’s always work to do (and trust me there is always something), it’s easy to find yourself working every available moment—often to the detriment of your family relationships.

You can avoid this by

• Setting—and maintaining—clear work hours
• Have an office with a door you can close when you’re done and reopen during business hours
• Schedule time for family and other activities
• Taking time for yourself

3. Vacations and Downtime

It’s possible to create a business that doesn’t require you to be “in the office” each day. When starting out, you may need to be available more often, but you should be planning for the time when you can be “off the grid” for extended periods of time.

This will be important actually to scale your business.   

• Have a few trusted contractors who handle things when you’re not available, like a VA
• Leverage automation tools such as autoresponders and auto-calendaring
• Create and apply repeatable systems, so you don’t re-inventing the wheel over and over

While you might not be able to go on vacation with no internet for days at a time, you should be able to reduce your work to a daily check-in at least while traveling and enjoying yourself.

Sound impossible?

It’s actually not. With some planning, you can create a team and the systems to successfully run and grow your business without becoming overwhelmed and overworked.

Here’s to creating the business and life you LOVE!