One of the key benefits of self-employment is the ability to have more control over our work life.

​What control do you have? You can respond to an opportunity you see in the market by creating something of value. You can set objectives for your business. You can set boundaries for your customers and yourself. You can make many of the day to day decisions. 

So many factors conspire to restrict our freedom and impose stress on our projects and lives. This is where we must push back...

An observation from the last 12 years of self-employment:

Most jobs are susceptible to scope creep. That's when the project description that you originally bid on grows once you start.

"Can you paint a few of the doors as well? We tried cleaning them and a few of them are going to need a fresh coat."

"The designer needs to change some of the colours. This scheme isn't working for the client."

"My husband tried to do the soffits himself but he almost fell off the ladder. We're going to need you to do those as well if you could."

How do you react in these situations? Does your heart rate increase? Do you feel frustrated?

A couple of suggestions...

Living life, truly living - not just surviving or existing, involves risk. One of the biggest risks is failure. It can be be so scary that it keeps us stuck. So if you are thinking of quiting your job to start your own business, or are thinking of taking a sabatical from your business to pursue an adventure or project, or are thinking of simplfying your life and cutting back on work in order to free up time and resources to pursue something more meaningful, there is likely an element of fear trying to hold you back. You will find the following article relevant...