How I Survived my First Year of Full-Time Self-Employment: Going it Alone at 40

by Liz Broomfield

In December 2011 I stopped being part-time employed / part-time self-employed and took the big, exciting (and scary) step into full-time self-employment. Except it wasn't scary, because I'd worked, planned, set goals and knew when it was time to do it. In this book I share exactly how I got to that stage. No tricks, no schemes to buy into, no promises of wealth on very little effort - just the concrete ways in which I planned, measured, built and worked hard to have the flexible and comfortable lifestyle I now enjoy. I'm passionate about helping other small business owners see that they, too, can take the that they don't have to be a beardy entrepreneur, give up everything and live on that you can do it carefully and safely, building your own safety net until you can fly free. This book is a mixture of diary entries and useful articles that will help you to find out ... - whether self-employment is for you - how to establish a business while maintaining your employment - how to set goals - how to network - how to measure your social media and website success - how to manage your days so you stay healthy - how to achieve a good work-life balance - how to dress to work at home

Genres: Nonfiction

150 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 2013

About the author

I'm an editor, proofreader and transcriber by trade, so I'm used to working with words. When I got my cholesterol levels down through diet and exercise, I wrote the book that I wished I'd had to guide me. When I'd been full-time self-employed for a year, and blogged about it, I decided to base a new book on my blog, and published "How I Survived my First Year of Full-Time Self-Employment" in April 2013 (note, this book is not just for 40-year-olds or for editors!) and more business books since then.

I wrote these books to help people; I'm an independent author so I rely on reviews and shares to get word out about my books - so if you enjoy them and find them useful, please review and talk about them! Thank you!

Reviews

[Stephany Wilkes]

This is the best book on self employment I've read, and I've read several. Other books on self-employment skip over the details of exactly how the leap from traditional to self employment is made, failing to deliver on their biggest promise, and contain platitudes about life being too short and following your dreams. Their advice comes down to "Save some money!" and "Work your network!" and "There's no reward without risk!"

Broomfield's (now Dexter's) book is a breath of fresh air. She describes exactly how she transitioned to self-employment in the diary of a year, and I found her diary style extremely comforting in its detail. The diary style presents self employment as a daily, natural, normal thing that isn't a perpetually terrifying endeavor, a new normal. The descriptions of what's going on are, at some points, mundane -- but I mean this as a compliment. When you're thinking of a risky, scary new endeavor, the thing you MOST want is for it to become as sure, regular and mundane as the comfort zone you're leaving, and that's exactly what Broomfield shows. This removes, or at least reduces, fear. Without saying it, Broomfield's book has the outcome of "See, that wasn't so bad after all, was it?"

It's also helpful to be looking back on someone else's jump. It provides a mental reprieve from the future focus and fret of "Will I, or won't I? When will I?"

I appreciate that Broomfield is as level headed as I expect to be about such a move someday (soon?). She doesn't take out a second mortgage, take on roommates, or do other things I'd not want to do. Instead, she lines up work, saves her money, and works very hard to make it work. These are things we are all capable of, which makes self-employment seem like an accessible future rather than one that is out of reach.

I like Broomfield's writing style, too, especially her sense of humor. As someone who often works from home, I laughed aloud with recognition at her resolving not to use all the mugs (to which I'd add spoons!), her clothing choices (I'm not alone after all!), and the importance of eating a meal (that includes at least two food groups) and going outside before 2 PM.

[Ozone-nut/ Zoe]

I'm not currently contemplating becoming self-employed, but still found this book useful and informative. The whole working-for-yourself concept seems a bit less scary now, and perhaps it is something I should consider in future. I do work a couple of days a week from home so could relate to the advice about talking to real people, going outside and having a proper lunch! I would recommend this book if you are thinking of making the leap to self-employment as I'd be willing to bet amongst the advice the author shares, there will at least one thing you hadn't thought of. The book is well written, things are explained in a straightforward way without being too dry. I did skip a few of the what-I-did-every-hour-on-a-certain-day type entries as they were a bit too much info for me, but otherwise, I enjoyed reading this and am envious of the author's success!

[Kate Millin-Shaw]

I have found the information in this book helpful as someone who has recently made the same step (although at a considerably older age).
It is really helpful to read about someone else's experiences as when you are developing a business on your own it can feel like you are the only one who is going through it. You also do not know if what you are experiencing is 'normal' - and this book describes the highs and lows in a clear but unemotional way which makes it clear that it is a roller coaster, but an exciting one.
The book is clearly written and includes some really useful hints and tips too. An inspirational read for anyone who is thinking of making the same step.

[Sarah Goode]

I've been following the authors blog for a while and when I found out that this book was now available in format other than for e-readers I just had to buy it. I started with my full time self-employment 2 months ago after working with my self employment in tandem with full time employment elsewhere and found there was a lot of information that resonated with me.

A really easy to understand book which was enjoyable and informative.

Excellent and to be recommended to anyone thinking of the self-employment route.