I just finished doing my taxes for 2016, and last year, for the first time ever, my non-yoga teaching/non-yoga-related income was almost double my yoga teaching income. Woah! If there was ever anything to make me feel like a real entrepreneur/solopreneur, it's this big change in where most if my income comes from. And while I absolutely LOVE working for myself and am even more thankful to be my own boss on days like today-- when I'm sick (and the baby is sick) and didn't have to call in or worry about going anywhere (and can write this post in bed with Sayde on my lap, as pictured above)--I think it's always important to reiterate that working for yourself is still really hard, no matter how much you adore it. There are the obvious reasons for this, most of which I've discussed here before--like the fact that you don't get benefits or paid vacations (or paid sick days, for that matter!), or that you have to fill every role in the business and therefore are in charge of marketing, accounting, content + product development, account management, and scheduling--but in my opinion, there's one thing that is WAY harder than all of these things combined, and it's this: being a solopreneur or entrepreneur is an emotional rollercoaster. What do I mean by this? Well, here are some examples of the emotions that I experience running my business on an almost weekly basis:
So do you see? It's not all sunshine and rainbows when you work for yourself--and although you *do* get to go outside and enjoy the sunshine in the middle of the day whenever you want to--you may just have an emotional rollercoaster happening in the old dome while you enjoy those warm rays. {I think I should also add that I'm aware that you can still experience all of these emotions while working in a more traditional job, but I think it's much more rare to feel all of these emotions at once (or as frequently) as you do when you work for yourself.} And with that, I'm off to walk around the house with a garbage bag, picking up dirty tissues and cough drop wrappers while praying that Charlie Mae doesn't wake up. Ahhh, such a glamourous solopreneur life, isn't it!? PS. If you liked this post, check out my "The Reality of Doing What You Love" series:
Whitney Delaney
3/22/2017 11:22:22 am
You nailed it! All those things are true. I wouldn't go back to a salary job for anything!!! Hope you feel better soon.
Mary Catherine
3/23/2017 06:25:15 am
Aww, thanks Whitney! I agree, wouldn't go back to it for anything. I'm SO glad you're loving solopreneur life so much, too! xo Comments are closed.
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HELLO!I'm Mary Catherine, a Cape Cod-based yoga teacher, painter, designer, writer, mom, and list-maker extraordinaire. My goal is to inspire you to start living a more creative, simple, joyful, + purposeful life.
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