Based upon conversations with hundreds of freelancers across our communities, here are the top 15 most common things that people need to work on unlearning, when moving from employment into self-employment
We're so heavily indoctrinated in to how "work" should "work", that when you step into self-employment, freelancing or working independently, it's easy to fall into the habits and traps of how we've always done things.
Based upon conversations with hundreds of freelancers across our communities, here are the top 15 most common things that people need to work on unlearning, when moving from employment into self-employment
It's all yours now! You don't need to worry about coming in late, taking a longer lunch break, working from the coffee shop or another country. You're in control of how, when and where you work. Whilst there are benefits in having some routine and structure, you're not tied to working in any particular way.
The only watchout is that you will need to communicate clearly with any clients or people you're working with. You can't just disappear in the middle of a project or not show up for a meeting. And at times, you might have multiple clients at once - which means you need to communicate and juggle multiple schedules and expectations.
Employers have an obligation to look out for you and your mental health, and physical health and safety. Often you might have been provided with an EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) or other support to help you with your mental health and wellbeing, and of course you get paid holiday to rest, sick leave if you're unwell, compassionate leave if you're dealing with a personal issue, parental leave if you're starting a family.
But self-employment means you need to put this support structure in place for yourself.
You probably had a legal team or someone who was checking contracts that your employer was agreeing with their clients. But now you're responsible for reading and understanding what you're signing up to - and making sure there is a contract in place.
Whilst AI has made it easier to interpret contracts and look for red flags - its still incredibly important to have your own contract in place when working with clients. It's a good investment as soon as you can afford it.
Whilst there are benefits in having structure to the day, getting up, getting dressed and getting into the work mindset - when and where you work is no longer defined by others. If you're an early bird, if you prefer working late into the night, if you find weekends are quieter for focus, or you like the idea of a 4 day week - you can do it.
Bear in mind though, your working patterns might be different to those you're working with. If you need to be available face to face, for example, make-up artists need to be available for their client events, camera operators need to be on set or location, workshop facilitators often need to travel to their clients' location, etc. you'll still need to have some flexibility around when the work needs to be done.
When you are employed, there's an obligation to provide you with some work to do, and perhaps another team in the business are busy making sure there's work to be done.
When you're self-employed, work doesn't magically appear in your inbox. You'll need to be proactive and ensure you're marketing your services, building your network, and finding new business - as part of your routine, not just when you're quiet.
Many workplaces expect you to be available to respond quickly to emails, messages, calls, slack DMS, etc. But now you're self-employed, you're more in control of setting those expectations and boundaries.
You might choice to be completely unavailable outside of certain hours, you might want to join the clients' intranet, slack or teams channels, you might only be available via email, rather than phone.
Bear in mind though, there's always a balance to be struck - being responsive and clearly communicating with your clients is essential to build trust.
When you're employed, often you'll be sent on mandatory training around things like health and safety or data protection, or useful skills in the workplace for your job, perhaps learning new tools or interpersonal communication.
When you're self-employed, we need to take this responsibility ourselves - investing in our own learning and development, seeking out new opportunities to grow and demonstrate expertise in new spaces, and continue our career development.
There's a risk that your career can slow-down or flatten out, if you're continually developing, and that includes putting your prices up each year, as your experience grows too.
When you turn up to work, there's a computer on the desk, an internet connection, access to software and tools.
But now you need to be spending your own money on these things. There can be some costs involved in getting your business up and running, as well as costs for things like email, web hosting, insurance, or when your laptop needs upgrading.
Whilst you can put many of these costs as an expense to the business, which means you can offset them against your tax liability, it can still be a frustration when something stops working, and you have to shell out for it to be repaired, upgraded or replaced.
And building upon the previous point, more often than not, there was an IT team or someone who could help you sort out issues with the internet, your computer, software, or dialing into a video call.
Now, that person might be you. You'll need to be able to troubleshoot issues, get comfortable with understanding which tools and technology are right for business, which you can trust and which you should avoid, and think about issues like data proection, backups and security.
Employment usually means regular income - which you're able to budget around, knowing what is coming in each month.
Self-employment can be far more precarious, and comes with two risks: you might not have any work for a period of time - which can eat into your savings; and even if you've done the work, late payments are a far too common occurrence, further eating into your cashflow.
It can help to "smooth" your income over the year, by trying to take a consistent income each month, based upon your annual goals, rather than taking everything from one invoice.
Employment often comes with a built in team - others who are working alongside you, who can share the ropes, share the workload.
Self-employment means you'll need to build your own team - whether that's just people in your support and social network you can check in with and ask questions of; or people you want to collaborate with on projects.
This doesn't come magically though - you'll need to invest time and energy into building this network, via communities, meetups, networking events, or your existing professional contacts
In theory when you're self-employed, you have unlimited time off, but in practise, many freelancers find it hard to take holiday.
First, you're not getting paid. Second, if you're not working, you might feel like you have to be checking your email, picking up the odd client request, or simply just not able to switch your brain off.
You'll need to put things in place to make sure you're taking time off to rest and recharge, else you risk burning out, and being unable to work.
There's no-one you need to call when you're sick - that duvet day is all yours to take when you need it.
But there are still clients you might need to manage, and communicate with, if you're unable to work for a period of time.
This is where having a support network can be incredibly helpful, and having a plan for if something unexpected happens is essential, as there may not be others who are able to step in and cover your work.
When you're employed, someone is likely to set goals and objectives for you - the things you need to do to show you're delivering the work.
Self-employment still comes with goals and objectives, but they're split into two categories:
Both of these are likely to fall to you to discuss, agree and ensure you're meeting them.
But your own goals and targets are often something that can get forgotten about. Make sure you're putting aside time each quarter to review your progress, and make any adjustments to your goals and targets as needed.
Fortunately, now you're the boss, and you're the best boss you've ever had.
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