DEALING WITH THE EBBS AND FLOWS OF YOUR BUSINESS

Are you comfortable with periods of insecurity? Is your significant other similarly comfortable?

Ask any self employed person and they will tell you that a solo career is a lot like Pharaoh’s dream about cattle: sometimes fat and sometimes lean. I either have so much business that I work till all hours to keep up and neglect my family and friends in the process, or have very little going on. I have not yet managed to get to that blissful state of consistently having exactly the right amount of work, nor have I met a soloist who has. (I am getting better though, read on to find out more.)

In the early stages of my solo career I became full of self-doubt and anxiety during the lean times, driving myself and my family crazy in the process. I have learned to plan for the lean periods, both financially and by pursuing other activities during these times.

I set aside some of the money I earn during the good times to carry me through the quieter periods. I have learned to market my business, pursue other interests and build additional income streams around them, so that I continue to satisfy my worker bee instincts and my needs for achievement and some semblance of financial stability.

It can be useful too to use the quiet times for your self-development.

What are you best at/worst at in your present job or business? How will/does this affect the running of your business? Are there skills/knowledge gaps you need to address? How will you develop them? Who can help you?

You may not be able to afford hired help in the early stages of developing your business. Are you willing and able to do the mundane administration and other ‘routine and perhaps boring’ tasks that keep your business on an even keel and growing?

I am not crazy about administration, and knew very little about sales and marketing or the tax and financial aspects of running a business when I started out. I have learned to 'just get on' with the administration and I use experts to help me with those lesser known but crucial to success aspects of building and managing a business. For example I pay an accountant to look after my bookkeeping, financial and tax affairs and website design experts to develop and help me promote my website.

Marketing was my biggest weakness. I had never had to market a business before I started my training and coaching consultancy. Jay Conrad Levinson of Guerilla Marketing fame and Ellen Britt of Marketing Qi are two gurus I learned a lot from and would recommend to marketing newbies and experts alike.

Learning how and where to network effectively was another of my key development needs. I got pretty good at this, and now most of my work comes through networking and word of mouth contacts. (Take a look at the book, Magnetic Networking, in the Products area of my website.)

I discovered that marketing was a great deal of fun and that if I did it intelligently it didn't cost a fortune or take up an inordinate amount of time. I experimented with the various ideas and suggestions offered by the gurus and found the tactics and strategies that worked for me and my business.

I didn't always get it right but I quickly learned which activities built my credibility and my business. You can too - just find the gurus and tactics that work for you and then get out there and build your business.

The self employed ocean is terrific, please don't wait too long before you dive in and start having the time of your life!