From Bunny Slippers to Business Plans
Just this past weekend, I attended my husband’s 10-year high school reunion.
I was nervous but, really, it’s a lot less scary to be at a reunion where no one knows you than at one where you feel the need to prove yourself to tormentors past.
Still, it got me thinking: If I were to encounter my entire graduating class, in the flesh, tomorrow, how would I feel about the things I’ve accomplished thus far? Am I at a place I can be proud of?
More specifically, is my career where I want it to be?
A couple weeks ago, I participated in a teleconference where I (and others) determined whether career coaching was for us. At the beginning of the call, CCI founder Marcia Bench listed the personality traits necessary for success within the career coaching realm. Of course, the characteristics she mentioned were relevant to all aspiring entrepreneurs.
Do you have what it takes?
It’s been a rough day, you guys (not to mention a rough week). I’m allergic to our new kitten, who was sick last week and ended up passing her virus along to one of the other cats. So I’ve spent a good portion of today moving furniture and tackling Mercutio and wrestling with him so as to get two different meds down his throat. This while partially comatose due to the Benadryl I’ve been taking (with some Xanax thrown in for good measure at the especially trying times). Plus I managed to squeeze in a doctor’s appointment (for me), a post office run, and seven new posts over at MM. Now I’m making my way through a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Karamel Sutra because, really, I need me some comfort food.
I think I need a vacation.
It being Thursday and all, I would normally post a book review.
Last night, however, I found out that my main source of income may be folding, so I figured this was the perfect time to touch upon the ways in which you can keep the unexpected vagaries and pitfalls of freelancing from plunging you into financial ruin. The main thing to remember? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket:
Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope you’re all indulging in bbqs and taking final trips down the shore and generally NOT WORKING. Because you deserve this holiday! Me? In addition to my at-home work, I travel into NY three days a week for five-hour shifts proofing at a newspaper, and today is no different. When my boss offered to give me today off, I told him I would be fine with coming in. Why?
Many of us leave our full-time jobs and become our own bosses in order to give ourselves the flexibility to sleep in, take more time off, and not work overtime. Yet when we go into business for ourselves, we often end up working longer hours than ever before, because there’s no one around to tell us: “Go home!” After the jump, the 5 benefits you shouldn’t forget to provide for yourself:
Hello all! I’d like to apologize for missing a day of posting. As you can see, I was a bit distracted. Over the weekend, Michael and I adopted Lusa, a sweet little girl who is nevertheless able to strike fear into the hearts of my 8-year-olds, Gizmo and Mercutio. And so, the weekend was a mishmash of hissing, territorial spraying, despondency, and my own feelings of guilt and self-doubt. Ain’t she cute, though?
It’s good to know that, as an awesome self-employed person, the world doesn’t end when distractions pop up. Life is more flexible now. It’s a huge part of why I started moving toward freelancedom in the first place. I wanted to eventually maintain my work while raising children.
What have you been able to fit into your life now that the boss of you is…you?
