Thinking of starting a business? Here are my musings a few months in...

It keeps you up at night, it needs constantly feeding, it makes a lot of noise and you definitely cannot leave it to look after itself! No I didn't have a baby, I started my own business...

I recently decided to start my own business psychology consultancy, allowing me to build my own varied client portfolio and giving me the opportunity to do something I love - work from home or my local coffee shop. 

I started my business because I enjoy meeting new people; I love being constantly challenged by new and exciting opportunities and I like the option of working the hours that most suit me. So far, I haven't been let down; my journey has been an invigorating rollercoaster ride and although I feel a little sick at times, I really don't want to get off. 

Working for yourself is becoming quite the trend in our modern business world; due to the fantastic growth of technology that allows us to keep connected from anywhere in the world, we no longer have the need to be constantly tied to our desks - we have the ability to talk to our colleagues from the comfort of our own living rooms. 

There are quite a few things that I've learnt in my short time as a company director and I've developed a few new insights on the changing world of work and flexible working practices that I want to share with you. Here is a list of my home working / business building lessons so far:

1) Setting up a business is an administrative minefield:

Whatever anyone tells you about setting up a business being easy, has more time on their hands than I do! The list of things to consider is endless; registering with companies house; understanding the shareholding jargon; setting up a business bank account; finding clients; keeping receipts; recording your expenses; creating invoices; buying stationary; setting up office equipment; finding coffee shops with wifi - that works; being disciplined with your working hours; paying bills - phone, internet etc; building your online presence - I spent hours beefing up my blogs and upping my twitter followers. It has definitely all been worth it as I now have my own company, something I wasn't convinced would ever happen for me, but be warned, there's a lot to do in the early days! 

2) Get an office chair and desktop computer:

If you spend a lot of time working from home and find yourself perched at your dining room table like I do, take stock. I suffer with arthritis and sitting on a hard dining room chair hunched over a laptop is doing me no favours! Even if you don't have a bad back like me, you can soon end up with one if you are regularly sat in uncomfortable furniture that is not ergonomically designed for long periods of sitting. Make the investment, it's worth every penny. 

3) It can be lonely:

I love what I do and mostly I enjoy spending time alone - I work best in quiet locations without interruptions - but there are times when I just want to have a good old rant. Perhaps you just got drenched in the rain because you couldn't cope with adding another item to your bag of two laptops, numerous papers and your lunch and home made cup of coffee (of course to save cash) and sadly your umbrella didn't make the cut. Or, you made a mistake with a client and you feel like a complete wally - confidence dropping at a rate of knots - but know you have to plough through. It's tough, no-one is there with you and there's no one to share in your mini breakdown. Yes, if you're lucky, family and friends are there to listen, but they don't really understand what it's like - unless they work for themselves too -  to be so exposed and completely accountable for their actions. At the end of the day, if you don't make the client happy, you can't pay the bills... 

4) Like me, you may start to see the working world through a different lens: 

I've worked from home for the last few years - despite only recently starting my own company - so I knew what I was letting myself in for but - partly because of the field I work in and partly because as a consultant you are an outsider looking in - I wasn't quite prepared for the new perspective I would gain on the future of the working world. Ultimately, it's caused me to have more questions than answers but it's given me the opportunity to consider what our working world will look like in 20 years. I have to be honest, I feel like by taking this step, I am now ahead of the curve; I've learnt recently (and it's been hugely prominent in the news) that a job is no longer for life, there's no such thing as company loyalty and as employees we are now more demanding of our employers than ever - we want higher pay, more benefits, flexible hours and we even want to feel happy in our jobs (shock horror!) just to name a few - and so, I believe I'm prepared for our uncertain business future by ensuring my eggs are in many baskets: but where will our uncertain world lead? 

I believe that our future working world will change our landscape as we know it. We used to have communities based around industrial hubs, think coal mines and factories, now our communities are based around office space and mass transport infrastructures but I think our new worlds will be based around technological hubs. Now that might seem obvious but if you consider where our technological hubs are - well, they're everywhere. In our futures, I think 'hubs' as we know them will cease to exist - we will be able to live and work from anywhere at any time via technology, reducing the need for us to meet face to face, and the need for us to base ourselves in cities to work. In addition we have an increase in online shopping and networking, so why do we ever need to leave the house? 

Sadly, I fear that this might be where we're headed. 

5) Your time is no longer your own

I think this is an old revelation but in my eyes it still very much stands true - when you work for yourself your business becomes your baby; it keeps you up at night, it needs constantly feeding, it makes a lot of noise (clients always want something!) and you definitely cannot leave it to look after itself. 

6) What about the good stuff? I hear you cry!! 

Well, I'm happier than I've ever been: I'm exhausted, but right now my baby is sleeping softly and after months of hard work I believe I'm starting to establish a brand. Working for yourself allows you freedom, opportunity to learn and space to grow, and it gives you something to be truly proud of. I'm a true advocate and I'm looking forward to my slightly uncertain, but certain future...