Convincing Yourself that You Run Your Own Business

Many entrepreneurs do not think of their self as running a business. People who sell Avon or other catalog items really are business owners. They have to make schedules, find clients, order and deliver merchandise and keep their own records. I am a freelance writer and I also run my own business, even though I didn't know I did.

I Don't Run a Business, I Just Write

I write web content and I also write fiction. I work from home and set my own hours. I never even considered the fact that I run my own business. My CPA tells me I do because I have to pay self employment tax. Other freelance writers consider themselves as business owners while others, like me, just think consider themselves as writers.

Angie Mohr is a freelance writer and an accountant. She wrote "Managing a Freelance Writing Business." She tells many of us freelance writers that we are business owners and threatens to smack us with a keyboard if we doubt it. I need to get that into my head because I really don't want to get smacked with a keyboard.

If you are working as a freelance web writer you need to convince yourself that you are a business owner. It has taken me awhile, but I am starting to think of myself in those terms. I have even started telling people that I run my own business. I do not work for the sites that pay me, they are my clients. Sounds impressive doesn't it?

Nobody Thinks of Me as a Business Owner

A lot of freelance writers that work from home complain that family and friends don't think of them as a business owner. People drop in or call when they are writing and think they can just stop and visit. If you ran a beauty shop out of your home, would you stop in the middle of giving a client a permanent just because a friend dropped by? If you did you would have a very unhappy frizzy headed client.

The first step is convincing yourself that sitting at your computer and writing articles or fiction is as much of a business as a beauty shop is. Sure, your computer won't sit there and get the frizzies, but you may be on a deadline and your writing client is just as important as a person with a head of hair.

Just because you have the luxury of working from home, doesn't mean family or friends should take precedence over the writing work you have to do. I used to leave the computer and take lengthy phone calls. I usually succeeded at losing my entire train of thought by the time I got back to the keyboard.

Now, if I feel I must answer the call, I will tell whoever is calling that I am working and will call them back later, unless it is something important. I have children and grandchildren, so I do not just ignore the phone, or shut it off. Having Caller ID can help you decide if it is really a call you should take or if it can wait. Facebook is also great for leaving and checking messages when you take a break.

Don't Feel Guilty about Telling People You Can't

Some of your friends and family will think that because you work from home, you are always available. If a friend calls and wants to grab lunch but you are in the middle of an assignment, or are in a writing groove, just tell them you are working at the moment. They wouldn't expect you to drop by their place of work in the middle of the afternoon and ask them to go for coffee. It's really no different.

Freelance writers keep very odd schedules. Some have scheduled hours, yet some work better "when they feel like writing." I work very erratic hours, depending on deadlines or inspiration. It's just part of the business of freelance writing. Friends have called to ask me to go out with them and I have said, "I can't tonight I am working on an article, or a short story." If they protest, I quickly tell them, "This is how I pay my bills."

If you plan to work from home as a writer, or as any other type business to make money, you first have to convince yourself that you are running a business. If it is work you do yourself, find your own clients and keep all of your own records, you are in fact running a business. The sooner you convince yourself of this, the sooner your friends and family will believe you. If you need help, I can always borrow Angie's keyboard.