Success in Sweatpants

Question: Why did you start your own solo home business?

I struck out on my own for two reasons: freedom and wealth. For me, and for many solo business owners, freedom means the ability to steer my own professional course, make my own rules. No performance reviews, no office politics—just the ability to make my own business decisions and reap the results they produce.

Freedom is also “time freedom” for many of us. No longer hemmed in by a traditional work day, we can make time for friends, family, and others important to us when it works best. No more missing soccer games or recitals, no need to squeeze social time into evenings and weekends, no continuing to put off new hobbies or interests.

Wealth for a lot of solo business owners is not simply the traditional “money wealth” that many people pursue. It is also about wealth of experiences, wealth of activities…wealth of life in total. We want the professional side of life to seamlessly blend with the personal side rather splitting into separate pieces.

Another question: Are you living that seamless life with your solo home business?

It took me a while to get there. When I started my solo business, I came from the structured environment of Corporationville. For the better part of the first year my daily schedule was still modeled from years of commuting to and from various offices. I wouldn’t let myself take personal time on a weekday; if I did for some reason, I felt guilty, like I was playing hooky and someone would catch me. I structured my project activities in the same 8-to-5 timeframe that I had lived with for so many years. I kept personal and professional communication separate, with a home phone and a work phone and separate email addresses.

It eventually dawned on me that I could loosen up. I realized that my clients don’t care about where or when I work, and they know that mine is a home business so there’s no need to separate phone lines and email addresses. Clients like for me to be responsive to them, but they don’t expect me to answer the phone every time they call or to be available at the drop of a hat. I can run errands, take a nap, or go to movie in the middle of the workday if I want to, as long as I’m keeping my word.

And that’s what matters in the end: keeping my word to my clients. If I deliver high quality results when I said I would for the price I quoted at the start of the engagement, I can include aspects of my whole life in my days, seven days a week.

That’s what a 360-degree life is about: No clearly marked lined between personal and professional things, the ability to pursue activities when they work for us and the people in our lives, all the while maintaining quality in our businesses and excellent service to our customers.

And achieving 360 degrees in our days is what freedom and wealth is all about!