30/01/2025
Working by Yourself Sucks—But You’re Well Able for It! 🥵
Let’s not sugarcoat it: working for yourself can be such a pain in the ass. Whether you're painting nails, cutting hair, laying tiles, fixing leaks, or slogging at your laptop, it’s bloody tough. No workmates to have the craic with, no one to tell you you’re doing grand. It’s just you and the mental noise in your head.
Some days, you’re flying. You wake up like you’ve had three espressos, ready to take over the world. The clients are happy, the jobs are getting done, and you’re buzzing. This is what it’s all about, right?
But then… there are those days.
You wake up feeling like the carpet’s been pulled from under you. The appointments are thin on the ground, the jobs you do have seem cursed, and you’re chasing invoices like your life depends on it.
You scroll through social media, seeing others with fully booked schedules and clients queuing out the door. Meanwhile, you’re wondering if your business has just fecked off and disappeared.
That content you worked so hard on? Crickets. Your follower count is moving slower than a sloth on a bad day. No one’s booking, no one’s buying. You’re sitting there thinking, Why am I even bothering?
So, what do you do? You start scrolling some more, or maybe you throw on a podcast. Cue stories of “overnight successes” who built empires out of thin air. Now, instead of feeling inspired, you feel like a total failure. “Am I just not cut out for this?”.
The Tug-of-War Inside Your Head
That annoying voice in your head kicks off again: “Wouldn’t you be better off with a steady job? Regular hours, regular pay, someone else dealing with all the headaches.”
And of course, it doesn’t stop there: “You’re not good enough to run your own business. You’re not a natural entrepreneur. Other people are better, faster, more experienced. You’re just blagging it, and sooner or later everyone’s going to figure that out.”
It’s brutal, isn’t it? That voice knows exactly where to hit you. It’s like having your own personal heckler, following you around and taking the p**s out of every little thing you do.
But then, another voice chimes in. A smaller, tougher one: “Hold on now, I’ve gotten this far, haven’t I? I’m still here.”
That’s the voice you need to listen to. The one that knows you’ve got more fight in you than you realise.
You're Not Alone (Even If It Feels Like It)
You’re not the only one having these meltdowns. Whether you're doing up someone’s kitchen or perfecting a balayage, anyone running their own gig has days where they feel like a total eejit. You just don’t see it on Instagram or Facebook.
What you see is the highlight reel—fully booked schedules, glowing reviews, and people smashing goals left, right, and centre.
What you don’t see are the mornings they wanted to throw their tools in the skip or the times they cried in the back room because three clients cancelled on them at the last minute.
Trust me, they’ve been there. We all have.
The truth is, being self-employed means constant uncertainty. But the hardest part? It’s not the work itself. It’s the trying.
Trying to push through the doubts. Trying to keep going when nothing’s happening. Trying to believe in yourself when your brain’s telling you you’re a disaster. It’s a head-wreck, plain and simple.
So, what’s the answer?
Stop just trying and start doing!
Get Out of Your Own Way
Stop thinking of yourself as being stuck by yourself. You’re not isolated. You’re working FOR yourself, WITH yourself. You’re the boss here, and you’ve got to start acting like it.
You’re not stupid for wanting more. You’re not wrong for wanting to build something meaningful with your own hands—whether that’s a business, a skill, or a legacy. You’ve got every right to dream.
But it’s not going to happen overnight. You’ll have slow days. You’ll be wrecked. You’ll want to pack it all in and apply for a “normal” job just to take the pressure off. That’s not failure—that’s just part of the process.
It’s time to dig deep. And weirdly enough, we could all take a lesson from sloths :-).
Lessons from the Mighty Sloth (Hear Me Out)
Sloths might look like lazy little sh*ts, but they’re survival experts. They know how to conserve their energy, moving slowly and deliberately. They’re built for the long game. And get this: sloths can hold their breath underwater for up to 40 minutes and are surprisingly quick swimmers.
What can we learn from them? Sometimes, slowing down is a smart move. Don’t be racing around like a robbed car! Take your time, plan your next move, and hang on when things get tough. Resilience and patience—those are your best mates now.
Keep Grafting—You're Well Able
This journey? It might seem like some straight, easy road. Until you hit the M50 in the rush hour. It will p**s you off, it will make you want to do a u-turn, you’ll take some sh*tty country road trying to skip the traffic. But you’re still in the driver’s seat.
Every day you show up—whether that’s on a building site, in a salon, or behind your laptop—you’re proving you’ve got what it takes. Stop comparing yourself to everyone else. Your success isn’t measured by likes or how many bookings you’ve got this week. It’s about persistence.
Keep learning. Keep showing up. Keep doing. Success doesn’t come from perfection; it comes from sticking with it, even when it’s hard.
So grab a cuppa, take a deep breath, and remember: You’ve got the skills, the determination, and the grit.
Keep grafting. You’re well able. You’ve got this. 💕
