Why starting a business is easier than you think

Starting a business sounds daunting. The long hours, taking on the taxman, professional responsibility, the list goes on. There are undoubtedly hundreds of considerations that come with working for yourself yet at the same time there are just as many life-changing positives. That’s exactly why the shift from being employed to self-employed has been a topic of conversation for decades.

The truth is we can talk ourselves out of anything. The biggest hurdle to overcome is our own doubt, the thought of ‘not making it work’. The doubt you feel comes from the fear of the unknown, an emotion we deal with all the time. Anything we haven’t experienced or don’t understand can be scary. Owning a business typically involves both.

Let me tell you my story.

After studying creative media at college I wanted to start my own business. I loved the idea of being a director or founder of a company. It sounded confident and successful, more so than just being a graphic designer.

I started setting myself up. A WiX website, 100 business cards and a handful of A5 flyers and I was ready to get started. From that point on I spent around 6 months building a profile, client base and getting used to thinking about business 24 HOURS A DAY.

Before I knew it, I was employed as a junior graphic designer. Wtf? Everything was going so well? Well that’s how it happens. A job opportunity presents itself and lures you in: Want a regular wage? Tired of HMRC admin? Want to go home and NOT think about work? Want to plan your life 6, 12, 24 months ahead?

That’s when time starts passing by real fast. I was employed full-time for the next 5 years. I changed job role during that time but didn’t consider self-employment as a serious option. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy my time on the design industry frontlines but there was always an itch I couldn’t quite scratch. The itch turned out to be exactly what I gave up by ‘getting a real job’: Want complete financial and creative freedom? Want to be in charge of your taxes? Want home and work to be balanced as you see fit? Want your future to be in your hands?

So I started building my business outside of my day job, which, if you’ve ever been crazy enough to try is exhausting, overwhelming, completely unsustainable and yet somewhat rewarding. It’s rewarding because we are hustlers. We want to be challenged by our work situation, it gives us purpose and helps us, in a weird kind of way, fight for what we believe in. It’s that entrepreneur gene that makes us want to be better than the rest.

This went on for about 4 or 5 months until I hit burnout. I was exhausted, not just physically due to lack of downtime but mentally too. I started forgetting simple things doing my day job and kept finding myself typing out sentences to look up and find a line of gibberish (to be honest that wasn’t new). I was also commuting from North Wales to Chester every day which was starting to take its toll, not to mention the Starbucks line items stacking up on my monthly bank statement. It was time for a change.

It became clear to me that it wasn’t just the status of being a director of a company that attracted me to self-employment, it was how it could work around my life. When I need to rest I can take the time to rest. When I’m ready to put in the hours they’re there for me to do so. The autonomy of being a self-sufficient professional not only changed the way I work but my life too.

The thing is, we adapt to our situation. Sure I was scared to start with, just as many other start-ups are in their first few months of trading but once we get used to our new environment, we adapt, improve and thrive. 

It’s true we can talk ourselves out of anything but if we instead buckle up and get stuck in, before you know it you’ll be wondering why you didn’t do it sooner.

“Just do it” – Nike, 1988.