photo via flickr user Ed Yourdon
One of the things that surprised me the most when starting my own business was how lonely it felt. When you think about striking out on your own you think about being independent, a revolutionary or a visionary in your field. But you rarely think about what it means to really be “on your own.” The hardest part, I find, about being the sole entrepreneur is the feeling of isolation that comes with it just being me and my computer. The bad days can be particularly hard because I don’t have anyone to share the stress with and if something goes wrong it’s all on my shoulders. It can definitely feel like it’s me against the world.
And while it’s tough to have a bad day, it can be even more challenging to have a really great day and no one to share it with. Your friends and family might try their best to be excited, but they can never truly understand how much all the little victories mean when you’re running your own company.
I feel that in order to be successful working for yourself you have to have a positive headspace. It’s easy to get sucked into the loneliness and get depressed, but if you let yourself do this it will inevitably impact your work. Here are a few things that have helped me to avoid the loneliness that comes with being a sole-preneur.
- Find a community
Whether it’s a networking group, coworking space or group of friends you need to find people that understand what you’re going through. I not only work at my coworking space, which provides me with a group likeminded entrepreneurs, I also try to have friends that work in the PR world. It’s important to have people to vent to who can really understand and have been there. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t come easy and sometimes you do have to go out of your way to look for these people, but they exist and they’re probably looking for you as well.
- Get out of the house when you wake up
One of the things that made me the most depressed when I worked from home was just that- working from home. Waking up, not getting dressed and staying inside for the rest of the day can feel like your living in a cell. Don’t let your work turn your home into a prison. You’re free! Get up, get out and go to the gym or maybe your favorite coffee shop each morning. Just find something that will help transition you into “work mode” and give you a little interaction with people.
- Set a schedule
As entrepreneurs most of us can set our own schedules. Sometimes this means we’re tempted to evolve to a different schedule than the rest of the world- staying up late and sleeping even later. But while this may be tempting it can also be a hindrance to your work. When clients are up and getting work done, you’d better be as well.
More importantly, for your own sanity and to scathe the feelings of isolation that may creep up on you, make your work schedule reflect that of your friends and family. When my friends are done with work at five I won’t be just starting, I’ll also be wrapping up and preparing to meet them for a happy hour. And I can do this knowing I’ve had a full day of work behind me.
Not keeping a regular schedule can lead to a lot of undue stress. So avoid the stress and stick to a productive routine that can help you maintain some sense of a social life and interaction with people.
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