Six lessons from six months of being my own boss

Lesson one: It's not rocket science

Jul 11, 2022

At the end of last year I quit my safe, well-paid media job in order to go freelance. It was the most exciting but also most terrifying decision I had ever made. Last week, somebody asked me whether I already regretted going freelance and as much as the question annoyed me, I could whole-heartedly answer: Not for one second. It’s been far from easy, my finances are still wobbly, but I’m optimistic – and so far the ups definitely outweigh the down.

So, I thought I’d share six lessons I have learned – or rather am consistently learning, after my first six months of being my own boss.

It’s not rocket science

I spent so much time (years!) contemplating whether to go freelance or not. I had been toying with the idea for six years before I made my move, and I always shied away from the bureaucracy, the taxes, the uncertainty, the “having to find clients”. I thought it was just too complicated for me. And that I wasn’t good enough.

But then I thought, so many other people have done it before me, is it really that hard? Turns out, it’s totally manageable. After taking the time to prepare for freelancing, getting some great coaching and finding an accountant who takes care of the complicated stuff, it’s really “just” putting your work out there.

I have to be my own cheerleader

This is one thing I still need to get better at: Telling myself I’m doing a good job. There’s nobody around to pat me on the back and say “good job, today – way to not lose your cool during that weird call”. Or “thank you for getting the annoying accounting stuff out of the way”. Or “come on, send that pitch, it’s great!”.

I also have to be the boss I always wanted to have

Related to the one above. Just like I don’t have someone who tells me I’m doing a good job, I also don’t have someone who scolds me when I show up at my desk an hour later than I had planned. So I’m trying to hit the sweet spot of holding myself accountable in a fair way, while also allowing myself to ask for help and being kind on a bad day. Which leads me to …

I have to let go of a lot of completely random “rules”

One of the most shocking realizations when I stopped working in a company was how inhuman our office work culture still is. Sitting at a desk, or in meetings, for eight hours a day, on five consecutive days, no matter how much or little you have to do – like, in what kind of world does that make sense? (I know, capitalism)

Today, I try to make my work fit my life, and not the other way around. Sometimes that means calling it a day after two hours of work because my body craves rest. Sometimes that means working for ten hours on a Sunday to make up for the time I gave myself off during the week. Sometimes that means working in the evening because I wanted to spend the afternoon at the barn. Sometimes it means one 60-hour week, one 30-hour week and two 15-hour-weeks in a month. And it works. My output is really good, and I feel much more balanced.

There are actually only three things I have to do:

Make enough money to cover my costs of living
Hit deadlines
Be on time for meetings

I have to both trust and challenge my gut.

This is another tricky one. I have finally learned to distrust my very first “oh you absolutely cannot do that”-gut instinct. I know that 90 per cent of the time it’s my imposter syndrome talking to me. Instead, I try to see every opportunity that comes my way as a challenge and I do have confidence in my skillset and my ability to learn new things.

However, when all my alarms go off, or when I’m feeling really bad vibes with a client, I do allow myself to turn down projects. (Unless they are paid so well that I can afford to go on a month long yoga retreat afterwards)

I will keep updating that list and am excited to see where it leads. I’d also love to hear from you: Are you a freelancer or founder of your own company? What are your most valuable learnings?

pop culture pleasures

This is the best and funniest "Things I wish I had known" list you'll ever read. I mean, it’s titled “Eight Things I Wish I’d Known in My Twenties Before I Blew My Life Savings on an Alpaca Farm”.

“There’s plenty of time to try something new. Unless, of course, you have six stupid long-necked llama wannabes to feed and care for, and not even the local petting zoo is willing to take them off your hands for a fraction of what you paid for them.”

During an intense burst of anxiety, one of my wisest friends recommended I listen to Liz Gilbert on the Quitted podcast in order to find more clarity and remember to take care of myself. And boy did it help. Here is part one and part two.

After I wrote about the messy millennial woman, another friend recommended this Guardian piece from 2019 – which is a watertight argument for Fleabag being for posh girls only.

I also enjoyed the Danish mini series “Baby Fever” on Netflix, which has an unfortunate English title but provides solid entertainment (although we – once again – have to deal with a messy millennial female lead…).

It’s not news that the USA are coming apart at the seams, and here is a scary piece on book bans. Author Dave Eggers illustrates how extreme conservative and catholic groups are infiltrating school boards, after his novel “The Circle” was banned at a South Dakota high school.

Pretending you’re fine won’t make you feel fine – it’ll actually make you feel worse. I think most of us know that but here’s some science to back it up.

🎧 Jonathan Van Ness appeared on The Guilty Feminist podcast and had a very intense, emotional and fun conversation with Deborah Frances-White. Part one and part two.

🇩🇪 Als Kind war ich obsessed mit den Dülmener Wildpferden, und letzte Woche hat mir Gabriela Herpell endlich die komplette Backstory dieser zähen Ponys nördlich des Ruhrgebiets im SZ Magazin geliefert. Lohnenswerte Reportage, nicht nur für Pferdemädchen und -jungs.

And this is just an amazing image: