You're not an Employee Anymore

So, you’ve taken the giant leap (maybe not for mankind but for you) and guess what, you aren’t an employee any more...

You have made the decision that you will be the boss, accountant, marketing manager, customer service agent, cleaner, tea maker and PR guru (to name but a few) and there is no-one else to make those decisions for you.

This is liberating, it is what you wanted – to see your idea/product come to life the way you want it to – isn’t it!?

Firstly, you are not alone, that is why you are reading this on the Startacus– a great community tool for all us self-employed people – which will give you insight and support for you and your plan for world domination.

But you will need to change your mindset now that you are the boss. You have to have the strength and conviction of your decisions, you don’t answer to anyone else except your customers now. The reason not everyone is as brave as you is that they don’t want to leave the comfort of the employee position and who can blame them – final decision lies with someone else, clock off at 5 on Friday because they only pay you until then, guarantee of work the following Monday morning, work phone also clocks off, no emails to worry about until that Monday morning...




However, maybe you left that life because you wanted control of your destiny and you knew you had a great idea that would work and you are prepared to make some mistakes and learn on the way how you can make the most of this opportunity. This is where you need to change your mindset – you have the power to make all the decisions, talk to whomever you want about your product, sell yourself to anyone that wants to listen (and maybe some who don’t) or use that crazy marketing idea. You can’t hold back or look over your shoulder, there is no-one checking up on you or saying ‘you can’t do that’ or unfortunately no-one patting you on the back when you do well.

There will be days sitting in your ‘office’ (kitchen table, car, garden shed) when you are getting lots of knockbacks and ‘thanks but no thanks’ and this is when you miss the backup of your office team, your friends and colleagues being there for you but, (as I mentioned in an earlier article, you will learn many new skills as an entrepreneur,) more of your newfound skills will include resilience, positivity and self belief. These are the skills of someone who is sure that their product is worth fighting for and you will pick yourself up and keep going, it only takes one person to say ‘yes’ and you are off and running again.

So, as you are not an employee anymore you can’t find anyone else to blame but equally you get all the praise (and income!) when it goes well.

Here are 4 tips to help you stop thinking like an employee and thinking more like you are the boss:

Tip 1. It’s not Monday to Friday, 9-5 anymore. Use your evenings and weekends to return emails, phone calls, update your website, LinkedIn profile, Twitter, etc.

Tip 2. You are your own editor – write what you think is relevant about you and your product – find your own communication style.

Tip 3. You are not alone – use your local enterprise office or local development company to network, get advice, learn more.

Tip 4. Don’t look over your shoulder for approval or disapproval – you’ve made this leap so use the momentum to keep moving forward!

Keep believing...

You can find Helen via Helen Murphy Creative Solutions and on Twitter via @hmurphyadare