full time business owner | 365daysofmarriage

I can’t believe I’ve been a full-time freelancer for four years! So what have I learned? Here’s a few thoughts.

You can put a value on your time – I have made lots of choices that ensure I spend my time how I want to. I’ve had to say no a LOT.

You may not make more money – I’ve consistently made the same each year. It’s definitely less than what I made in the 9-5 world but I put a higher value in the intangible items like more time with my husband, flexible work hours and being able to work in my pjs.

You can work in your pjs – I won’t tell you how often I do though…

You have more flexibility in your time – this is actually one of those bittersweet things. Sure, I can choose when to work, how much at a time and all that jazz….but if I put things off, I’ll have to do them later. Not having someone bugging you about what you’re doing can be a bad thing for some people.

You can create a job – One of my BIGGEST career changing moments was when I realized I didn’t have to have a defined job title. I felt lost when I realized photography was ending – what the heck was I going to do? I heard a great webinar about someone who created a brand new job using all of her skills from previous jobs. It was then I realized that I LOVED the business side of things in my business. I now do a hodge podge of jobs for photographers and while I don’t have a “job title” in the normal sense, I love what I do! I think the best description I’ve come up with is – everything I used to do in my business minus taking pictures and editing!

Have you been a full time business owner for four years? Longer? Shorter? What have you learned?

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