Everyone who has ever had a boss has probably had at least one moment that they thought "I could do better than THIS!" A fraction of those people set out to do exactly that - improve their work life, build a better widget, or do something as it has never been done before. Suddenly thrust into
role of boss, and employee, it is very easy to find yourself being worst boss you ever had. And so I share a few entrepreneur-at-home lessons I've learned through experience.1. Pay yourself This seems so simple, doesn't it? But anyone who has freelanced or run their own business knows it is not. Clients sometimes don't pay on time - sometimes there aren't even any clients - and it takes some practice to learn how to juggle unsteady income you might generate, especially at first. When money comes in, chances are there are a whole pile of bills waiting to be paid, and more than a few things you need to get work done. If you immediately start paying bills, it's a good bet you won't pay yourself and you definitely won't save. So, I present to you my fool-proof routine, which has worked for me for last 7 years and made my accountant oh, so proud.
First, make sure you have at least 4 bank accounts - personal checking, personal savings, and business checking and business savings. When money comes in, deposit it into business checking. Then immediately calculate what 30% of that deposit was, and transfer that amount into business savings. DO NOT touch that money, until I tell you to! Twice a month, pay yourself a salary (this will probably fluctuate, of course!) by transferring money from business checking into personal checking, and pay your personal bills from that account. At end of every quarter, calculate how much gross income your business took in that quarter. Using percentage your accountant tells you is appropriate, figure out what part of that amount will need to be paid to tax department. My percentage is usually between 20-23% of every dollar. Transfer that amount from business savings to business checking and write that check to tax man. Next, calculate what 3-5% of total income was, and send that to whatever you have set up for a retirement fund, for yourself. And finally, most importantly, take same amount, another 3-5% and transfer it to your personal savings account.
Assuming you are bringing in money in first place, if you follow this plan strictly, you will always have money to pay your taxes, save for future and cut yourself a nice bonus every quarter that is based on how well you did.
2. Go home When you're only employee of your company, you will undoubtedly find yourself doing nearly everything there is to do. If you're successful, you will often have more work than you can handle. And if your work is in your home, you will find it extremely hard to "go home." While, its part of entrepreneurial expectation that you will have to work overtime fairly often, you have to discipline yourself to make it exception and not rule. There is no faster route to burnout, than to work 16 hours a day, for weeks - trust me! Set office hours for yourself, even if office is in your bedroom and hours are all in your head.
For example, I set a basic work day that runs between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. That's a reasonably long day - in which I do take a break to eat lunch, maybe another break to walk on treadmill and read for a while. Occasionally, I bargain with myself - work until 7, and you can have that cat nap in afternoon. But for most part, I have learned that it is critical that you set a boundary on your work time - and walk away from it, just like you did when you had a regular job elsewhere. Otherwise, you never can find boundary between work and home, personal and business life, and that's just not good for you in long run.
3. Don't skimp When you were an employee, you probably had to beg and plead to get equipment, software, or tools you needed to do your work, right? You might need to budget for it, or save for a while but if means are there, don't skimp - if you really need something, get it. Ergonomics are extremely high on my priority list - so I didn't think twice about indulging myself in a good mouse and keyboard, since I tend to type for hours and hours, days on end. Invest in a really comfortable chair; if you are going to be parking your tail in one all day you'll be glad you did! The key, of course, is to be honest with your boss - if it really will make you more comfortable, healthy, productive or able to do your work, put it on your approved list. Research what you need online, search for best price, save for it, and get it.
Just be sure to revel in fact that you don't need to justify yourself to anyone else, wade through red tape or sell your first born to get what you need - that's half fun!
