Self-Employment: My Long Road to Financial Independence

My path along the road to self-employment and financial independence was anything but easy, and even now, I still wouldn't characterize it as a pleasure cruise. The journey has been full of ups and downs and a huge number of lessons and learning experiences. And for anyone who thinks that being able to stay at home and be your own boss is "fun," think again. While there are certainly positive aspects to such a role, if you haven't been there for yourself -- like trying to describe the Grand Canyon to someone who has never seen it -- it's often hard to put exactly what being self-employed means and entails into words.

Therefore, my story may inspire some -- and it may dissuade others from ever trying their hand at becoming self-employed.

The Long, Long Road

At some points as a self-employed person, it may seem like you'll never turn a profit. Your income may just be too small or your business levels too low to make it ever appear that success is a feasible outcome. At least this is how I felt at times during the first few years of my self-employment.

Notice I said years -- not weeks or months. Want to know why so many small businesses fail? Well, there it is. Most people are unprepared to go this long without finding regular success. And I'll tell you, it's tough, believe me. There were many times during this period, as I slaved away with little reward for my work, that I doubted myself, my skills, and my abilities. However, I kept at it, trying different things, from magazine articles to books, screenplays to blogs and Internet writing, and writing anything that people would read or pay a buck for until I began to discover and build a niche and a name for myself.

Those First Few Successes

It almost catches you off-guard when after months and months of hearing nothing and not making a dime, someone suddenly contacts you for work. It's like you're Sally Fields at the Academy Awards and you're left saying, " -- you like me, right now, you like me!" (and no, the quote isn't, "You like me, you really like me." You can watch it on YouTube if you don't believe me). Then you spend the next month wondering why no one else out there likes you besides your one client.

And as the excitement fades and you begin to fall into that slump again where you start to lose all hope of hearing any good news, it happens again -- and again -- and suddenly you realize that the interim periods between the good news are growing ever shorter.

At this point in my self-employment adventure, I had been at it for nearly three years.

Hitting it Big -- Then What?

As my number of clients started increasing, many were tentative at first, as was I. It takes time in just about any business to build a report with customers until you feel comfortable with them. Once I had made it through this initial trial period with most of them, then the orders for work start coming in hot and heavy.

Suddenly I was being inundated with work. In some cases, almost more work than I could handle -- and I could handle a lot!

Finding That Stride

So with plenty of work on my plate and customers happy, I began to settle into a groove. I got to know my clients better. Got to understand their particular wants, needs, and little quirks in what they wanted in their finished products. I even got to know a bit about their backgrounds and personal lives in some instances, and vice versa.

I was hitting my stride and settling in, reaping the rewards of all that hard work -- but it doesn't end there. Now I was working hard for a different reason. Not because I was trying to make it, but because I was making it and now had so much on my plate there was little time for anything else -- and oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I was also raising my son as a stay-at-home dad at the same time.

Turning Business Away!

At this point, I was buried under work. In some instances more work than I frankly wanted. Because I was so busy, I began to loose track of why I had moved to becoming self-employed in the first place -- so that I could choose the type of work I did, not others.

Therefore, I had to step back for a moment and make some tough decisions. I hate to turn away work, but as a self-employed individual, sometimes it may be necessary. I had to select my work dependant upon what was financially best for me, not others.

It's a wonderfully tough situation in which to be put. On one hand, you feel bad turning customer requests for jobs down, but at the same time it's great to have the selection and opportunity to choose the work that you want to do and for the money you had hoped to do it. It's the reason I became self-employed, and although it took me nearly four years to get there, and there is still a long way to go, I'm happy I stuck with it.

More From This Contributor:

5 Websites that Could Save You Money

Valuable Financial Lessons From Mom and Dad

How One Page Simplified My Financial Life

Disclaimer:

The author is not a licensed financial professional. The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Any action taken by the reader due to the information provided in this article is solely at the reader's discretion.