Laying the Groundwork for Self-Employment

Article for Tone - January 2007

Each January brings opportunity for new beginnings. No doubt you have spent time thinking about what you would like the new year to be for you. If you are considering a move to self-employment in 2007, and especially if your service is in the helping professions, evaluation and planning are essential to establishing and sustaining a thriving and vital practice, and to making your work life the best it can be.

Recently I was reviewing a book called Building a Dream: A Guide to Starting Your Own Business, a Canadian publication by Walter Good. In this book, Good offers an evaluation process to help people discern whether self-employment is really for them. He lists some of the motivational factors that attract people to self-employment:

• The opportunity and challenge of following one's heart
• Creating a work life that allows for full creative expression and variety in work
• Making the best use of skills and knowledge
• The freedom of flexible work hours
• A sense of accomplishment from starting and running one's own business
• The chance to increase income and claim more tax deductions.
  
  

Those of us who have been in private practice for a while look at that list and also know the stark reality that can go along with it. Good also lists the downsides of going it on your own:

• Working long hours
• The loss of company-provided benefits
• The loss of structure
• The potential for isolation
• The abundance of administrative paperwork
• Unpredictable income
• Constant pressure to keep sales and clients coming in
• The potential for financial loss.
  
  

Along with those considerations, here's a summary of the personal attributes and characteristics that most contribute to success in self-employment: creativity, problem-solving and innovation, highly-developed skills in one's field, assertiveness, decisiveness and the willingness to take calculated risks, a proactive approach, perseverance, self-confidence, good people skills, willingness to work long hours when required, and health.

While some people say that entrepreneurship is born in the blood, it is also true that even if you don't have all the skills required, these skills and attributes can be developed if you believe self-employment is for you. And that's where self-evaluation and planning come in. The new year is a good time to take stock of yourself and your goals. If starting your own private practice is on the horizon for 2007, what do you need to be working on now to make it a reality or bring you steps closer to it?

As you enter into the terrain of self-employment, doing your research is a crucial first step. Having the information you need to get started will save you hours of time and potential headaches as you move closer to actually printing your business card and setting up an office. Visit the public library and the Ottawa-Carleton Business Centre www.entrepreneurship.com. Make a list of people in the community who are doing something similar to what you'd like to do. People are usually willing to share their experience if you approach them in an honest, respectful and appreciative manner. Pick up the telephone , invite them out to lunch (you pay) and find out how they did it.

I found the material from Good's book an excellent review, even if you're like me and have been working on your own for a while. As you set your work and life goals for 2007 and review the status of your business, where are the areas that you can attend to that will have the most impact in increased fulfillment in your work? Perhaps you're well established and it's all about sustainability, which includes continuing to find ways to express your creativity in your work and to build balance between work and personal life.

What do you need to earmark for attention this year? Is the bookkeeping or administration perennially draining you of energy? Perhaps it signals a time to pay someone else to do it. Are there new projects that would inspire you creatively that you never seem to get around to? Do you need to make a serious commitment to a plan and get a friend or a professional coach to support you in making it a reality? Are there old habits and chronic time wasters that you can banish to make room for activities that advance and revitalize your work?

Taking some time at the beginning of the new year to set priorities and action steps for the coming months will help you realize your dreams. If self-employment is in the cards for you in 2007, research your plan well before embarking on any decisions. Self-employment is a risk, but with attention to planning and forethought the risk can be minimal.

Good, Walter. Building a Dream: A Guide to Starting Your Own Business, 4th Ed. McGraw Hill: Toronto. 2000.

Madeline Dietrich M.A. Madeline has been in private practice as a holistic psychotherapist and group facilitator since 1991. In addition to her private practice, she offers support, education and networking for individuals who are in the early stages of establishing a private practice in the helping professions. Her program is called Intentional Practice and includes workshops and individual coaching.