Reflections Upon 1 Year of Entrepreneuership

After six months spent consulting part-time in addition to working more than a full-time job in the corporate sector, I decided to try my hand at being a full fledged entrepreneur by forming a limited liability corporation. Here are just a few brief musings, learnings, and reflections upon the trials and tribulations of my first year as a "solo-preneuer."

• Deciding what to spend money on to start up a business is scary, yet exhilirating. Software, supplies, courses, professional associations; there are plenty of places to spend it. What's the strategy?
• Continue to hone skills and knowledge about trends in your industry.
• Writing down your values and goals is crucial.
• Create boundaries between work and home life, especially when your office is 20 feet from the laundry room.
• Creating informal and/or formal "mentor relationships" - people who will listen, encourage, and play devil's advocate.
• It's ok to say no. Stand up for what you want to do, and where you can best use your strengths.
• A trusted accountant is worth every penny - and even better, may give guidance for free.
• Pass it on - if it is work you cannot do or are too busy to do, refer a colleague.
• Your business goals are just as important as the goals of the potential client with whom you are negotiating.
• It's impossible to be in four places at once.
• Being a consultant is a "real job", despite when people ask when you will get a "real job again."
• Have a backup plan. Sometimes clients offer you a job via email and then back out four days before it is supposed to start, though you've already filled out tax paperwork for them.
• Establish a system for recordkeeping, invoicing, and other accounting tasks.
• Not everything has to be perfect right out of the gate. Sometimes a genuine conversation about potential opportunities is the best way to start - websites and blogs can come later, for example.
• With great risk comes great reward.
• Those who say being a consultant means never having to deal with corporate politics must have not ever been a consultant. Now I deal with politics in multiple corporations, simultaneously!
• Believe in yourself. When you falter in that belief, surround yourself with others who believe in you.

I've been asked whether I will consider a return to the corporate sector. My answer is and will remain, "I can't say it will never happen. For now, I have challenging work with fascinating varieties of corporate culture, and can balance that with a more flexible schedule." That's worth working hard for, right?