3 Things Entrepreneurs Should Never Put Off (The 3rd One May Surprise You)

Freelancing or contracting can be absolutely brilliant, but often there are several steps you have to take. Here are three things that you should absolutely not skip out on when working for yourself.
December 20, 2018



Tell me if this sounds familiar. You’ve always dreamed of working for yourself, and you finally take the plunge, expecting the freedom of flexible hours and the glory of unlimited earning potential. You expect it to be your best life.

And it is.

It really is, but the reality of working for yourself begins to set in the first time you have to figure out what in the heck a quarterly tax payment is and how to plan an income that’s rainfall one month and drought the next.

I jumped into full-time freelancing at the beginning of 2018 after several years of part-time freelancing while balancing a full-time 9 to 5. It’s been the best decision I ever made, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. I thought replacing my income would be the hardest part, but it turns out that these three things were much more challenging on my path from employee to entrepreneur.

1. Nailing down a website

One of the first things I did when I started freelancing was build a website. Well, I say it was one of the first things, but in reality, it took me six months to stop thinking about it and set it up. It had nothing on it except my niche and my name. I realized finally that a LinkedIn or Facebook profile alone wouldn’t cut it because I had no control over those websites and would have no recourse if they went under.

Building a website is a vital part of launching your own business and too many people skip this step. I used Squarespace because I have zero design skills and zero programming skills. I’m a writer, not an artist. It gave me a professional looking website in minutes and a place where I could begin to showcase work and a portfolio to direct clients asking for samples. It takes three minutes to update, and if I want to scrap the whole thing, all of the design themes are free.

If you have more programming skills, you could build in a more robust platform like Wordpress, but whatever you do, don’t wait on your website.

2. Building a financial system

Growing a business isn’t just about getting clients. It’s about tracking what you’re making and what you’re spending. If you’re used to having regular paychecks, this could be a big shock.

I spent the first part of the year with no idea of what I was actually making. In fact, I realized that I never had a good idea of what I was making the whole time I was freelancing part-time. I lived in a constant state of panic because I never knew if I was making enough to pay bills or just dreaming.

I spent the first part of the year with no idea of what I was actually making. In fact, I realized that I never had a good idea of what I was making the whole time I was freelancing part-time. I lived in a constant state of panic because I never knew if I was making enough to pay bills or just dreaming.

I downloaded Quickbooks for Freelancers (finally) and discovered exactly how much I’d been making and when. I was able to separate personal and business expenses, track my income, and finally make some income goals. Turns out, I was making more than I thought I was and didn’t even know it.

Now, I can clearly see my tax obligations, deduct things like mileage for work meetings, and quickly file expenses. It’s nearly on autopilot, and when tax time rolls around, there are no surprises. I’m also ready (with hard numbers) for those inevitable conversations with family members who don’t understand what I do and think this whole entrepreneur thing is “just a phase.” (You know the one).

3. Building your benefits

The hardest part of this equation and the one I wish I hadn’t put off the longest was building my own benefits package. It has been way too easy to see money coming into my account and allow it to go right back out to expenses without paying myself first. I thought being successful was growing a business, but success for me means something else entirely.

The hard truth about freelancing is that a lot of freelancers fail because they can’t (or won’t) take care of themselves first. One revolutionary bit of software changed all that for me when I found Catch.

The hard truth about freelancing is that a lot of freelancers fail because they can’t (or won’t) take care of themselves first. One revolutionary bit of software changed all that for me when I found Catch.

Catch’s purpose is to help you automate taking care of yourself first. You can set up withdrawals each time you get paid to cover taxes and savings. You can even build vacation time. For me, paying taxes hurt a lot worse as a freelancer than it did as an employee because I never felt like I had the money in the first place when my employer handled tax withholding.

I can set up a percentage to come out of each paid invoice, and Catch places it automatically in a secure savings account for when my tax bills are due. It comes right off the top. I can also build in a percentage for when I decide to take a vacation. As a chronic workaholic who uses finances as an excuse never to stop working, Catch is poised to change my unhealthy ways.

In the future, Catch plans to add options for your health benefits and retirement, offering tailored solutions to these vital parts of your benefits packages. Soon, you’ll even be able to take care of the ones you love most with life insurance coverage.

Catch isn’t going to do anything to build your business or improve your freelancing skills. What it will do is help you stay happier and healthier by centralizing and automating your self-care. When you aren’t terrified about a crisis, when you know that you and your family are taken care of, you can afford to be the most creative you, right?

Signing up for Catch

Signing up is simple. Right now, you can set up your savings account to handle tax withdrawals and those emergency expenses, with other benefits soon rolling out. Yes, build your website. Yes, expand your business. But don’t do it at the expense of your health. If I’d had Catch years ago when I’d first started freelancing part-time, I might have been able to quit my job sooner with a solid foundation underneath me. I can’t go back and change the past, but I can find joy now in software that takes care of me first.

If I’d had Catch years ago when I’d first started freelancing part-time, I might have been able to quit my job sooner with a solid foundation underneath me.

Be honest. Are you taking care of yourself or are you letting all the talk about hustle wear you down? Let us know in the comments what your biggest anxiety is with your freelancing, and we’ll discover together how Catch might be able to help you change it.