Six rules to help you love your work

In many ways, 'Six rules to help you love your work' is a terrible title for this article as many soloists - including me – come out in a rash when they see the word ‘rules’.

So let’s call these ideas ‘suggestions’
for consideration.

But as you read through them you will see that the rules for flying solo and loving it are that there are no rules at all.

1. Become customer centric.

The first rule for flying solo is that there need not be any rules other than doing what you need to do to dazzle your customers. 

2. Embrace the opportunity.

If you choose to fly solo, relish the chance to define yourself and your business your own way. There is no reason to mirror corporate style, unless you like it.

3. Ignore what people say to you.

Someone asked me the other day how my “little business” was going. I felt the attack but took comfort in the fact that my “little” business almost certainly makes me more money than his “big” one – and allows me the flexibility to be an involved parent.

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4. Identify and exploit your advantage in the marketplace.

For many soloists, flexibility means sometimes they can spend most of their ‘working’ day at the school sports or their afternoon at the gym and the hairdressers. But how does this serve their customers? How many corporate-style setups can turn work around overnight? Soloists often can and their customers are delighted.

5. When the opportunity arises, work when you feel like it.

Some soloists feel the need to don business attire to work at their desks productively – even home-based ones. Okay, but if you are more feelings-driven, go with that. Scrawl out an article or a proposal on your couch on a Sunday and go to the movies on a Tuesday morning. Why not? It doesn’t affect the quality of the work you produce.

6. Don’t set up too many boundaries about how and when you will conduct business.

Life balance works perfectly when you organise yourself around being contactable when your customers need you, on hand when your family needs you and you set up some ‘me time’ in and around that. 9 to 5 is for BHP Billiton.

• Published 18 October 05
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Business psychology (15) | Business values (16) | Social responsibility (6) | Work motivation (9) | Work styles (5) | Working alone (14)

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3 comments | Add your own 

• Great 'guidelines' for soloists to live by ! Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles

• Thank you Karen
  Your rules - oops suggestions lightened my load.
  Begone stress coldsores, I am doing the biz my way Deb Balen from Melbourne, Australia

• I wish they were my legs in the picture next to the story! Karen Morath from Melbourne | Read my articles

3 comments | Add your own 

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