How to combat the lonely life of self-employment?

Although working from home has the advantages of not having to get dressed or deal with people face-to-face, (so yes you can mimic the man on the phone) and napping is always a choice, it can become a lonely sector to put yourself in. The freedom can be very attractive but, when it comes to things like borrowing a pen off the imaginary person sat next to you, you can hit a wall which may cause you to overthink whether being self-employed is the right option for you.

So, how can you combat the lonely feeling?

All ideas are appreciated

Because you are self-employed, any ideas that cross your mind will be valued as they are coming from yourself. When working with and for people, there is a high chance that any ideas you suggest will be hit outside the field. In cases like this it can drag you down and lower your self-esteem.

The biggest fall out will be with yourself

As you work for yourself and with yourself, if and when conflict rises it will just be with yourself, meaning your worst enemy is you. This means you never have to worry about an ongoing colleague feud or the stress of whether work will be awkward. You can get over the argument happening between your mouth and your mind pretty quickly and continue working.

Be there for yourself

Whether you are just starting off or in your fifth year of working as self-employed it is important that you are always supporting yourself, there may be some quiet times and perhaps no work but, that doesn’t mean you should give up and lose morale, if anything go back to your workshop and begin jotting down new ideas to get yourself going again.

Keep going

Just like being there for yourself, always strive to keep going. You may think one day working for someone else is easier but in hindsight you will lose all the benefits of being self-employed. You will have to negotiate with others, put your ideas to one side and work with people who might not necessarily be on the same wave length as you. Being self-employed is not just about taking time off when you need it, whether convenient or not it’s about the independence and excitement of going at it alone!

Kareema