The 3 Most Important Life Lessons I’ve Learned as a Freelance Writer & “Solopreneur”

By the time I left my job in 2018 to run my health content writing business full-time, I’d already learned so much.

In all that I had learned and would learn, 3 core concepts kept rising to the top. I realized that by continuously working on these areas, I could continue to grow and develop as an entrepreneur, as a leader, and as a person.

Since you'll likely find these relevant to your own freelancing or entrepreneurial journey, I'll share them here.

1. Self-Awareness: Your knowledge and understanding of yourself AND how others see you

A month or so ago, Erin Edge, Editor-in-Chief of Healthline.com at Healthline Media spoke these words to a group of people: "To set yourself up for success, first and foremost, know yourself."

The statement matches my go-to advice when Person X asks me what they should do about Thing Y? Well first, know yourself.

Know what you believe in, what you value, and what you stand for. Know your natural tendencies, your strengths, and your weaknesses so that you can make decisions and create process that take them into account.

More concrete examples of how this can show up in business ownership:

• Are you a morning person or a night owl? Use this to figure out when to work and when to rest.
• How much structure do you need in your day? This influences what kind of time management practices you need.
• During what times of day are you most engaged in meetings??Keep that in mind when setting your calendar availability.
• Are there certain types of clients or partners you are more exhausted or drained by? Protect your energy, and stay away from them when possible.

"To set yourself up for success, first and foremost, know yourself." -Erin Edge

Self-awareness helps you, as a business owner, create systems and processes that maximize your strengths and account for your weaknesses or things in your business you’re less than enthusiastic about.

Self-awareness is also highly relevant when it comes to how others perceive you. Not only knowing your beliefs, values, and preferences, but understanding how you show up in the world to others is invaluable.

2. Self-Trust: Your relationship with yourself

A key element of self-trust is self-confidence.

Are you confident in your ability to learn new things and to succeed at them? Are you confident in your ability to thrive and flourish?

Do you trust yourself enough to know that you can accomplish the goals you've set out for yourself and your business?

In my humble opinion, one of the best things about self-trust is that exercising self-trust breeds more self-confidence and self-trust.?As as a freelancer or solopreneur, you'll need to exercise that muscle often.

Much like self-awareness and self-care, which we’ll talk about shortly, self-trust is a practice that starts to feel more natural over time.

3. Self-Care: Respect for yourself

Early on, a mentor-in-my-head, who had also recently left her job to run her podcast full-time, shared an idea that continues to resonate with me today.?

She spoke about the moment she realized "I am my business" ...which meant that if she got sick or went down, so would her revenue.?

I used this secondhand lesson to commit to prioritizing my own self-care — and not just getting my nails done (hate) or getting facials (love), but my actual health and wellness. Staying hydrated, fueling myself with nutritious food, switching up my work environment as needed, exercising consistently...

More specific to business, self-care often looked like setting and enforcing clear boundaries and saying no. Saying “yes” is often in service of someone else. Saying “no” is often in service of you.

Consider ways that you can prioritize your own physical, mental, emotional, and financial well-being.?

Saying “yes” is often in service of someone else. Saying “no” is often in service of you.

If a journey in freelancing, service-based business ownership, or entrepreneurship might be in your future, keep these 3 concepts top of mind.

And remember: practice makes progress.

In the meantime, here are a few more reflections on self-awareness, self-trust, and self-care you might be interested in.