If you work on your own, how do you describe yourself? Are you simply ‘self-employed’? Or are you some sort of -preneur, whether that be a solopreneur, a mumpreneur, or just an entrepreneur?
Anyway, that got me thinking about what it’s like when you work alone. There’s no avoiding it – it can be tough! Yes, your ‘journey to work’ probably isn’t very far. Yes, you probably have the flexibility you need to fit in appointments, errands and school commitments when you need to. Yes, you’re probably doing something you love.
But chances are, you might feel lonely from time to time. Or you might spend a little more money than you should working from a ‘coffice’ (for those of you unfamiliar – a coffee shop that allows you to use it as an office). It might be a struggle to make the difficult decisions yourself when there is nobody to bounce ideas around with. Or just taking a break might be far more elusive than it should be.
And that’s where the support team comes in. Everyone that starts out on their own in business needs one. It’s pretty fundamental. So I thought I’d share a few of ours with you!
1. Family and friends
This is an absolutely must. You need your nearest and dearest right behind you if you’re working for yourself. To understand when you have to take a phone call in the middle of a family event. To offer to cook dinner when a deadline is looming. Listening when things go wrong and of course celebrating your successes!
2. An amazing accountant
We feel very lucky with the one we have. Rosie is fantastic, especially with start-ups and small businesses. She is a great teacher when numbers aren’t your strong point; makes time for all of our questions, regardless of how trivial they might be; and is just brilliant at what she does.
3. Our mentors
We’ve talked about our mentors lots of times both on our blogs and on our social media. They push us to take our business and our thinking to the next level; they pick us up when the doubts start to creep in; and they bring with them huge amounts of expertise and experience. And we learn so much from them.
4. Our team of Experts
Without them, we would simply not have the Tabono programme, and we’re delighted to be able to bring their skills and experience to our course participants! You can read more about their role here.
5. Hannah, our Digital Mum
I am actually a Digital Mum myself, and I’m delighted and honoured to be able to support another mum as she trains as a social media manager. In addition though, she brings a fresh perspective on our business, along with brilliant new ideas, questions and viewpoints. And when she takes over our social channels in a couple of months’ time, she will bring with her an exciting new campaign, so look out for it! (Plus, there’s an added bonus of freeing up my time for other things!).
So if you work on your own, why not give a shout-out to your team in the comments? Or if you’re not yet established, let us know who you’re planning to approach to join your team?
And if you already work for yourself and need some company or support, why not join our Community or come along to one of our co-working events?