What does job security mean for you?
When I became a small business owner, I knew I’d never have job security as it’s traditionally known. No one can ensure that a client will work with me as long as I would like them to, that they can afford a price that gives me security, or that I won’t have up and down months. I can work to mitigate them through my business model (see my newsletter last month about working on a retainer model), but these are all hard truths I’ve come to accept.
Despite that, I’ve recently discovered that there are other kinds of security that I’m getting to enjoy for the first time in my working life—namely,I can take time off of my own accord and know it will be OK. I don’t mean this in the sense of vacations (although that is important, too), but in the broader sense that I finally own all of my time again.
When you work at a traditional (for the sake of ease, let’s call it a W-2 job) workplace, you are beholden to be there for certain hours and days. But all those strings have suddenly been untied for me.
I’ve recently had a few moments when I’ve realized how lucky I am to be liberated from that “traditional” schedule:
🤯 I got to attend a family friend’s event at her child’s school and be that cool, supportive older sister figure we all wish to be. It was at 9 am on a Friday, and I didn’t have to ask anyone to be there; I just went and then continued my day, business as normal. No fear about rushing back to the office or checking my phone as I used to. No constant text messages (my previous jobs were all guilty of this, time away from the office was never actually time away from the office, texts followed me including when I was at my own grandmother’s funeral and celebrating religious holidays). I was able to be there in the moment. And guess what happened? Later in the day, I was even more productive, because I’d been able to enjoy myself and came into my work happy and at peace, ready to focus.
🤯 When I suddenly needed to undergo a medical procedure (all is well!) causing me to have to take a day and a half off in the middle of the week, not a single client said anything other than wishing me well. There was no worry about the work piling up, no negotiating for sick time, or begrudging allowances, and no working from bed. In fact, when I suggested I may do that, my client protested, saying she would rather me just relax. This was revelatory! I could just heal and not worry about my work. My clients knew I would take care of anything timely or communicate with them if I couldn’t and trusted me to take care of them and myself. I healed quickly and came back refreshed, plus no projects fell behind.
Some of this comes down to luck: I have amazing clients who are kind and brilliant! But some of it also comes down to the fact that I’ve finally built a business that allows me to be a human. One day, hopefully, this won’t be a privilege, but for now, it’s one I’m lucky to enjoy and proud to work toward.
Lesson Learned: Being human is our strength, not our weakness. When we allow ourselves the time we need, we do better work in the long run.
