I talked yesterday about being full-time with my business for a year now, and in that time there have been many, MANY things I’ve discovered about working from home, working for myself and all the things that come along with it! I thought it’d be fun to share some of those things I’ve learned and discovered over this past year, and some tips for other self-employed friends out there (or those considering it)!

Discoveries:

• I eat less working from home, go figure. I think it’s a mix between not keeping many snack foods in the house and not giving myself time to get away from the computer to put food together.
• BUT I drink way more coffee
• Mailing packages has never been more easy. One of the first things I purchased after going full time and working from home was a small mailing scale…this way I can just print shipping labels on my computer and send packages off with my mail lady.
• I have many more lists, but that’s a good thing. I’ve always loved making lists, but never before did my life depend on them like it does now. Each month, week and day I set goals and make lists to make sure everything gets done that needs to get done.
• Routine is key. I consider myself to be a very structured person (see bullet point above for proof), but one of the hardest things for me to overcome this year was figuring out how to set a routine that works best for me and my business.
• Having a beautiful and clean workspace makes a difference! I’ve loved having a bright, decorated workspace to work out of each day and it was important for me to have a designated room and space to call my office. Also, at the end of every day, I put everything away and clean my desk so that the next morning I have a clean area to walk into…it’s made a world of difference!
• Just because I am full-time doesn’t mean I was great at every aspect of my business. I had to learn and accept that it was okay to delegate and outsource parts of my business. I’m not the best at delegating, but this has made a huge improvement for my business as a whole. Think about it…Do you want to be mediocre at 10 things or great at 5? I want to be great at the 5 I things I do best and have people who are great at the other 5 things, conquer those.

And, that’s just a little glimpse into my life as a full-time photographer!