Being your own boss seems like a dream come true – you get to decide when you'll rest, you won't have any harsh rules, you can spend time with your loved ones freely and you'll never have to stress about being late for work or getting fired.
While there are certainly numerous perks to being self-employed or a stay-at-home-mom, there's a darker side to that life that not many want to address.
However, if you're serious about taking the road to self-employment, no matter if you're doing it via blogging, online work or something else, there are some key personality traits you need to have to survive this kind of lifestyle.
Are you cut out for the self-employed life? To find the answer to that, see if you have these 6 personality traits.
1. You are motivated
Sometimes, motivation seems to be like a mythical creature that everyone talks about, everyone chases but only a few selected people capture.
The key to motivation is knowing exactly what your goals are, both in the short and long term. Are you working so one day, you could be financially free and retire at a young age? Are you working to create something? Are you going to work just to get a fixed paycheck that would enable you to live through the month? Do you want to buy something specific or do you have any goals for the earned money?
No matter what your goal in life is, it's absolutely necessary to make that goal clear for yourself. When you have a specific goal, you'll be motivated to work towards that, therefore you'll be more motivated to work, in general.
When you're freelancing, the need for a specific goal becomes painfully obvious since otherwise, you might find yourself wondering: why am I even doing this? Your goal answers that question and keeps you motivated to work more.
2. You are responsible
When you're self-employed, the line between personal life and work becomes very unclear. Even so that sometimes, you might put your personal life first and forget about work completely.
If responsibility isn't one of your best traits, being self-employed might not be the best road for you since lack of sense of duty might urge you more towards dealing with personal life, instead of focusing on work.
On the other hand, a strong sense of duty will urge you to work more since a little voice in your head will constantly remind you: you need to finish your tasks and you can deal with your personal life afterward.
3. You hate missing deadlines and make sure it would never happen
There are two types of people:
- those who have fun until the last minute of the task's deadline is ticking away, rushing to work on the last minute
- those who put their tasks first, prioritize according to deadlines and stick to a solid plan that enables them to finish everything before the deadline with plenty of time left.
When you're self-employed, you won't have a strict boss who's constantly reminding you about that report being due. It's up to you to remind yourself about deadlines.
If you're naturally keen on delivering your work ahead of the deadline, self-employment shouldn't pose any particular issues since you'll just naturally make sure your life is structured in a way that enables you to finish your work with high quality and without rushing.
4. You are structured
Before becoming self-employed, you might think that working for yourself means a lack of daily routine and structure, just “going with the flow”.
However, once you take up self-employment, you'll realize that routine and structure are necessary components that will enhance your productivity tenfold. In fact, without a clear structure, you can find yourself just floating around without a clear perspective and of course, your performance will be hindered as a result.
Structure and routine are normal – and beloved – by any SAHM who's taken up freelancing or self-employment. If you hate structuring your life and following a simple routine, you might be up for a rude awakening once you realize that these previously hated things are exactly what you'll need to be productive.
5. You are willing to take your financial situation in your hands
This might be, in fact, single-handedly the most important part of being self-employed.
Self-employment is not for everyone – and solely for this reason. There are people who can't deal with the lack of certain fixed paycheck and get frustrated or afraid when they won't have that safety net. Sooner or later they'll go back to that trusted check which guarantees an income every single month.
Being self-employed means that you – and only you – are responsible for what happens with your finances. You need to hustle for your income and there's no certainty in how much you'll earn. If you're willing to take responsibility for your life and you want to take your financial situation in your hands 100%, self-employment might be for you.
However, if this doesn't sound like something up your alley, it's better to avoid diving into the self-employment world since it might just end with bitter disappointment. If that's the case, you shouldn't feel bad since people are different and not every road is suitable for everyone – that's completely okay.
6. You are not afraid of uncertainty
As mentioned previously, self-employment is not for the faint-hearted. You'll need to deal with uncertainty on a daily basis. Are you going to have new gigs next month? Is anyone interested in your services? Are you going to find new clients? How much are you going to earn next month?
As a self-employed SAHM or a freelancer, nothing in your life will be certain. It's a risky road that might pay off incredibly well but it will require patience, willpower, strong motivation and constant active work. If you're willing to put in extra efforts and work your way up while taking full responsibility for everything in your life – and that doesn't scare you – then self-employment might be the road for you.
