30/01/2025
Working by Yourself SucksâBut Youâre Well Able for It! đ„”
Letâs 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, itâs bloody tough. No workmates to have the craic with, no one to tell you youâre doing grand. Itâs just you and the mental noise in your head.
Some days, youâre flying. You wake up like youâve had three espressos, ready to take over the world. The clients are happy, the jobs are getting done, and youâre buzzing. This is what itâs all about, right?
But then⊠there are those days.
You wake up feeling like the carpetâs been pulled from under you. The appointments are thin on the ground, the jobs you do have seem cursed, and youâre 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, youâre 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 oneâs booking, no oneâs buying. Youâre 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 âovernight successesâ who built empires out of thin air. Now, instead of feeling inspired, you feel like a total failure. âAm I just not cut out for this?â.
The Tug-of-War Inside Your Head
That annoying voice in your head kicks off again: âWouldnât you be better off with a steady job? Regular hours, regular pay, someone else dealing with all the headaches.â
And of course, it doesnât stop there: âYouâre not good enough to run your own business. Youâre not a natural entrepreneur. Other people are better, faster, more experienced. Youâre just blagging it, and sooner or later everyoneâs going to figure that out.â
Itâs brutal, isnât it? That voice knows exactly where to hit you. Itâs 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: âHold on now, Iâve gotten this far, havenât I? Iâm still here.â
Thatâs the voice you need to listen to. The one that knows youâve got more fight in you than you realise.
You're Not Alone (Even If It Feels Like It)
Youâre not the only one having these meltdowns. Whether you're doing up someoneâs kitchen or perfecting a balayage, anyone running their own gig has days where they feel like a total eejit. You just donât see it on Instagram or Facebook.
What you see is the highlight reelâfully booked schedules, glowing reviews, and people smashing goals left, right, and centre.
What you donât 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, theyâve been there. We all have.
The truth is, being self-employed means constant uncertainty. But the hardest part? Itâs not the work itself. Itâs the trying.
Trying to push through the doubts. Trying to keep going when nothingâs happening. Trying to believe in yourself when your brainâs telling you youâre a disaster. Itâs a head-wreck, plain and simple.
So, whatâs the answer?
Stop just trying and start doing!
Get Out of Your Own Way
Stop thinking of yourself as being stuck by yourself. Youâre not isolated. Youâre working FOR yourself, WITH yourself. Youâre the boss here, and youâve got to start acting like it.
Youâre not stupid for wanting more. Youâre not wrong for wanting to build something meaningful with your own handsâwhether thatâs a business, a skill, or a legacy. Youâve got every right to dream.
But itâs not going to happen overnight. Youâll have slow days. Youâll be wrecked. Youâll want to pack it all in and apply for a ânormalâ job just to take the pressure off. Thatâs not failureâthatâs just part of the process.
Itâs 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 theyâre survival experts. They know how to conserve their energy, moving slowly and deliberately. Theyâre 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. Donât be racing around like a robbed car! Take your time, plan your next move, and hang on when things get tough. Resilience and patienceâthose are your best mates now.
Keep GraftingâYou'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, youâll take some sh*tty country road trying to skip the traffic. But youâre still in the driverâs seat.
Every day you show upâwhether thatâs on a building site, in a salon, or behind your laptopâyouâre proving youâve got what it takes. Stop comparing yourself to everyone else. Your success isnât measured by likes or how many bookings youâve got this week. Itâs about persistence.
Keep learning. Keep showing up. Keep doing. Success doesnât come from perfection; it comes from sticking with it, even when itâs hard.
So grab a cuppa, take a deep breath, and remember: Youâve got the skills, the determination, and the grit.
Keep grafting. Youâre well able. Youâve got this. đ