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6 Lessons on Self-Employment (Courtesy of My Dad)
Words of wisdom after three decades of running a small business.
When I decided to start freelancing full-time at the beginning of this year, one of my friends asked me if I would really be able to support myself without a traditional 9–5. He wasn’t being rude — he was honestly just curious, and although it’s becoming more and more common for people to start their own businesses or go freelance, it’s still not the norm.
But as the daughter of a successful small business owner who didn’t come from money himself, I didn’t necessarily share the same worries about self-employment. My dad started his own local construction business in his late twenties after bouncing from one random job to another, and although construction is generally a more lucrative career path than freelance writing, having his example to look up to and being able to ask him for advice has boosted my confidence throughout this entire journey.
If he could be a self-employed breadwinner for the household throughout my childhood and get the bills paid, I could certainly figure out how to support myself and a couple rescue dogs eventually, right?
Although I rarely get to spend time with other writers, having a “business mentor” in my family has been invaluable, despite the…
