We’ve discussed in my previous UPGRADE article on “How to decide on the project you will transform into a business” what location independence means. In this piece, we’re going to take a step further back to see what it truly means to be independent, not just location independent.
Forewords
Do you want to become self-employed and run your own business? Maybe you want to be a freelancer, a consultant or an independent contractor? Which ever label you want to put on it, if your goal is ultimately to be location independent, then you might want to read this article.
You already know that articles that provide the answers to the question “How to be become self-employed” by listing the below 5 steps, or similar ones, are just scratching the surface… to say the least.
1 – have an idea ; 2 – create a business plan ; 3 – incorporate a LLC ; 4 – market your services ; – 5 find clients and cash in.
You want more than that!
Well hopefully I have some of the answers you are looking for! I’ve been an independent consultant for 4 years now and I have other business projects I’m working on, to diversify my income stream. Although I’m not yet 100% location independent, I’ve learned a thing or 2 and I’m sharing those nuggets of wisdom with you, in this UPGRADE series.
At this point, it doesn’t matter if you want to be a freelancer, an independent contractor, a consultant, a coach or anything else. Those are mostly labels that we put on a business type that usually has a single head, acting simultaneously as the boss and all the employes. Being independent means creating your own business and treating your activity as such. The same challenges and issues therefore apply.
What it truly means to be independent
Being independent means different things to different people so I’m just going to share here what I think is important to know, before diving in. Part of this may sound a little grim or at least off-putting. The reason is that, as usual, I want to be completely honest with you. Being independent isn’t a fairy tale, at least not at first. However and if you read to the end, you will understand that I love it and would not exchange my position for anything else.
Independence comes with a plethora of choices
The choice to party all night or work late on your business. To sleep late in the morning or get up and work. The choice to stay in PJ all day or get out and meet new potential clients, get inspired or just get fresh air. The choice to watch TV all day or learn new skills…
You can easily guess which choices are going to make or break your new career!
Independence comes with a wide variety of responsibilities
For most people, starting a new business is a one man show. You got to learn all the ropes on your own, find all the relevant regulations and fill up all the paper works. From registration, to accounting, tax filing, creating your own marketing materials, your own contract and invoice format, time sheet, expenses reports… and do the work.
In a single day, you’ll be wearing all possible hats: CEO, CFO, assistant, customer services representative, marketing, IT expert… and anything in between.
Some of those responsibilities will be easy to handle. Some you will probably dread. I don’t know anyone who likes to call clients to remind them about their unpaid invoice(s)!
Even if you have the cash upfront to pay service providers to handle some of these tasks, in the long run, you’ll be glad that you have knowledge in all those fields. It will help you tremendously to know, at least a little, about all the different aspects of your business.
Independence means facing an uncertain future
When you have a regular 9 to 5, you never know when you are going to be laid off. No one is irreplaceable despite what some may think.
When you are an independent, it is pretty much the same think.
A lot of freelancers will argue that they have several clients and are therefore in a more secure position because of their different income streams. Which is true. But what is also true is that most likely their different income streams comes from clients in the same industry. This means that when the next crisis hit, pretty much all businesses of the same nature will be hit at the same time. Do you know the first think a business usually does, to cut costs? Remove contractors! Then at a later stage, lay off employees and replace them with contractors! But that’s usually another phase, which is actually the beginning of recovery.
So, actually and that’s just my opinion, being a freelancer is about accepting a pretty uncertain future and being able to live with it.
There are a lot of things that you can do to have a resilient business. Diversification of clients (of different industries), a serious sales & marketing strategy, top-notch services, excellent reputation, excellent network and a good cashflow with plenty of savings are amongst them.
Independence comes with a lot of stress
Waiting 2 months or more, for a client to pay a big invoice is not for the faint of heart.
Deciding to work, or to not work, with a client is like playing Russian roulette.
You already know you’ll have to work during your vacations, you just don’t know how much.
Planning all the tasks to be handled, meetings & appointments to attend as well as the rest of your life, while staying sane, can feel like trying to solve an impossible jigsaw puzzle.
Dealing with the fears of concerned family members is nerve breaking and annoying!
Each type of services, business, etc, comes with its own pros and cons. Maybe at this point, you are thinking : “In my drop and ship business, clients will pay up front, so I have no worries” or “I’ll have system in place so when I go on vacation, everything will be on autopilot” or “I’ll hire a virtual assistant and will only be checking in every other day”. Good! In my experience, things don’t always work as planned even with the best organisation. And even with the best organisation, dealing with unexpected events can be nerve breaking. Your clients have different expectations than your boss…
Independence means you are always on the job!
After a while, you kind of start to wonder where is the freedom, in being a free-lancer! It is especially the case, if you are successful. So instead of saying “freelancer” you switch for another equivalent word like “independent consultant”. Anything really as long as it doesn’t remind you that you were supposed to be free!
Being independent isn’t for everyone!
You hear and read everywhere that the gig economy is on the rise and so is the number of independent workers. For most parts, it sounds so good, it seems everyone is working on some sort of side projet that will lead to a big business. You almost start to think of yourself as a looser, for not having a side project.
Like me, you may be living in your own virtual bubble.
If you step out of this bubble and dig a little bit on the topic, you will realize that actually a lot more people than you think, do not want to be independent. Don’t believe me? Check out this article by Deloitte: Deloitte survey finds 67 percent of Americans who have worked as independent contractors would choose not to do so in the future.
Alternatively, you can speak to your friends and family and do your own little survey. Chances are that people around you don’t want to become independent. In fact, a lot of people still don’t consider freelancing as a positive career choice. Although the wheel is turning, a lot of people don’t become independent by choice but by necessity. You can check the Upwork survey results to see for yourself: not everybody wants to be independent and not all independent workers are happy!
People mostly want flexibility, not freedom. A vast majority can’t handle freedom!
I may get a lot of backlash for writing something like that!
I’m writing it because, I’ve seen it again and again. If you pay attention, you may see it too. It’s not a negative thing, especially if you, as oppose to other people, want this freedom and know that you can handle it!
What does it take to be independent?
I’ve touch based on some of the things that are required to be independent, in the first part of this article, when describing what it truly means to be independent. In addition you will find below what, I think, it takes to be independent, to start your own business and to succeed.
To be independent, you will need to:
Deal with your own fears and the ones, your loved-ones are kind enough to share. Fear of uncertainty, fears of making it on your own, fears of the end of month cashflow, fears of not being good enough, fear of not finding a regular job if you want to ‘go back’…
Be able to get organized without having a boss, a team, a structure.
Deal with working alone and potentially feeling lonely.
Face many new challenges unrelated to your know-how (legal, accounting, marketing, web design, tax…)
Be able to juggle between clients, tasks and obligations of various natures.
Be committed to continuous improvement and learning. The only way to stay on top of your game.
Have the highest standards in terms of reliability and quality is of paramount importance.
Learn to say NO to a potential client, even if the money is good.
Be able to learn from your mistake and push past failures. It starts by being able to recognize your mistakes and it’s not that easy.
Stay motivated. Building a business is a marathon, not a sprint. You will have ups and downs and it’s important to stay motivated through the rough times.
Those are in my opinion, some of the most important aspects of being independent.
Notice something that you think might be missing? The above list does not include passion. That is because I don’t think you need to be passionate about the field in which you offer your services. Do you need to be excellent in such field, yes! Do you need to be passionate about it, no. Can you be passionate about it, certainly!
More explanation on this can be found here: Why Confusius was wrong!
To follow your dreams of independence, you must have a drive & passion for such goal. This is what will inspire you to push yourself and succeed.
In conclusion…
If you made it up to here, you are most likely very motivated to become independent and I salute you!
As you have seen independence isn’t for everyone and, in my opinion, that’s a good thing! Until robots, AI and chatbots take over, we need people who want to have 9 to 5 jobs.
But you have different dreams and that’s why I created this UPGRADE series. To help you make the right decisions and to give you the hard truth, although that’s debatable of course.
In this article about what it truly means to be independent, I listed so many items which, I think, are required that you may feel a bit scared. So let me tell you something: It’s all worth it!
I would not exchange my situation for anything in the World* and it would kill me to have to go back to a ‘normal’ life. Becoming an independent consultant is the best thing that happened to me.
*Maybe I would accept to become a princess, as long as I have my own castle. Yeah, I think that could be acceptable! 😉
Keep being inspired and keep taking actions toward your goals!
This article is part of my UPGRADE Series. Click below to learn more:
Eventually I will get to the point where I explain why Brainy and Papa Smurf are here… I’m working on it but you’ll have to be patient!!
