Lesson 4: Have an I’m the Boss mindset!
A common misconception is that this means you can do what you want.
When I say no to coffee dates during the day, kick out friends who drop in, or when my daughter was at school and I used to respond to questions about what we were doing over the school holidays with “I’m working”, many people say “But you’re the boss!”
I think this misconception is also the reason many start up sole operators only last a couple of years in business.
Being the boss does give you certain freedoms but it also comes with certain responsibilities. As a sole operator you are the one doing the work so if you take time off to go for that coffee, you need to put that time BACK. If you don’t do the work you don’t get paid.
When my daughter was still at school and I took her to the movies during school holidays, I knew that meant I had to get the work done at some other time. After she left home we had a tradition of travelling to the city together for shopping for one day during her holidays. I would take that day and tell clients I was out of the office, but I knew I had to put that lost day back in – often on the weekend.
Small business makes up 96% of Australian business – and 60% of these are non-employing businesses, so you can successfully run a sole operator business. But to succeed you have to move beyond that first rush of excitement about the freedom that comes with being your own boss and realise that success comes down to you, the support of your friends and family, and an ability to manage your time and set some boundaries both with your clients and your friends and family.