The top 5 benefits of joining a self-employment support group
Being self-employed isn’t easy. There’s a lot to learn. On top of that, you’re often working on your own, without managers or other employees to help you, as you would have in a traditional job.
You’ve got to learn everything there is about running a business, and, typically, you learn it on your own through trial and error. It can be a long learning curve.
But there is a way to speed up your progress—a way that not only increases your knowledge much faster but also helps combat the feelings of isolation that can come with working for yourself. And that’s to join a self-employment group.
I’m not talking about just any group. I’m talking about a group that can truly help you learn, grow, and prosper. That means a group that:
Offers learning opportunities
Provides advice on your specific business issues
Consists of self-employed members who can act as mentors
Is supportive, helpful and helps keep you on track
In fact, I’m such a fan of groups like this, that I started my own—the Free Agent Collective. Every week we meet to help, mentor, and support each other.
So this week I want to talk about how groups like this can help you and your business.
I’ll do that by outlining the top 5 benefits to joining a self-employment group.
Learning
Everyone who goes into business for themselves has a huge learning curve. Heck, there are things you need to learn that you may not even have heard of yet! It can be a long, frustrating journey.
That’s why you want to learn from others. You want to join a group that has regular learning sessions on all topics related to running a business.
In the Free Agent Collective, we do this by holding weekly meetings in which we tackle any and all aspects of being self-employed. Whether it’s accounting, sales techniques, or website design—we’ve had sessions on it.
We also have in-depth showcases, in which we really get into the nitty-gritty of a certain topic. Recent showcase topics include improving your business model, graphics tips, contracts 101, and content marketing.
By leveraging other member’s knowledge, you shorten your learning curve, build a better business, and reduce your frustration.
Advice
Learning is great, but what about your specific challenges? What if you have issues that haven’t been covering in a learning session?
That happens—a lot in fact. That’s because there are just so many things that can happen that there is no way to cover every possible event in learning sessions, no matter how many you have.
That’s why in my group we have regular meetings to process any issues members are having. You just bring up an issue, and we’ll brainstorm it with you.
We can’t guarantee we’ll have all the answers, but we can say that you will leave the meeting with lots of ideas and new knowledge.
This is actually the core of what we do in the Collective. We help each other with business issues and challenges. We’ve helped members with questions such as:
How do I handle a difficult client?
How do I create an accurate quote so I don’t lose money on a job?
Should I sometimes work for free so I can get some exposure?
How do I get paid what I’m worth? (How do I get my client to see my true value?)
No matter what your issue is, we’re happy to tackle it in one of our meetings.
Mentors
When it comes to learning, there is nothing better than a mentor. You can learn so much more from people who’ve “been there” than you can from books or videos.
It always amazes me that no matter what issue a member might bring up, there’s always at least one other member (usually more!) who’s been through the same thing. Learning how they tackled their similar issue can help you save hours of time, fine-tune your services, and make better decisions.
We also often have people who mentor each other one-on-one. If you have a specific issue in say, accounting or graphic design, and we have graphic designers or accountants as members (and we do!) you just may find yourself getting some individual help.
Accountability
Because you’re often on your own when you are self-employed, staying on track can be a challenge. You don’t’ have a manager looking over your shoulder, or someone to remind you of what needs to be done. So you have to finds ways to stay motivated, keep on task, and move forward.
And that’s where a support group can help. Yes, they give you guidance, knowledge and help, but they can also keep you accountable to yourself. By sharing your goals and tasks, your fellow members can help you keep going in the right direction, step by step. They can boost your motivation and lift you up when your spirit is lagging so that you are more likely to meet your own goals and deadlines.
Support
I’ve already mentioned how being self-employed can be isolating. You don’t have co-workers or bosses around to encourage you or help when you need a hand. You’re on your own.
But if you are part of a self-employment group, your fellow members can act as your co-workers. Better than that, they can be your personal Board of Advisors.
Whenever you have a problem, a question, an issue, or even a success, they are there for you. They urge you on, build your confidence, share in your joys, and empathize with your disappointments.
They listen to your problems; they suggest solutions; they are on your team.
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Okay, I know I said 5 things, but I need to throw in a sixth!
The personal touch
Learning how to run a smarter business is one thing, but let’s face it, sometimes our issues can be of a more personal nature. And it’s important to talk about those matters too, because we are all human, and well, life happens.
Over the past few years, we’ve had two members go through the difficult task of moving a parent into Long Term Care. I was one of them. I had to spend several isolating weeks in Calgary taking care of everything from choosing a home, reassuring my mom, and selling her house. It wasn’t an easy thing to go through, and I really appreciated being able to discuss some of my challenges with the Collective.
Isolation is a topic we sometimes talk about in the Free Agent Collective. People who are self-employed typically don’t have the regular, daily interactions they would have if they worked in a traditional job. If you live alone, that isolation can be even more pronounced. Being part of a group that gives you regular interaction is an important part of combatting the loneliness that can come from working for yourself.
And then, of course, there’s progress to a post-covid “new normal”. That’s been challenging on us all. We’ve talked a lot about it over the past year, sharing information, and discussing how to stay positive and resilient. Some members went through low periods, and they’ve told us how having regular contact with the Collective helped them through it.
That’s why belonging to a group like this is so important. Not only do you get to hang out with people who “get” the self-employment side of you, they also support you as a person.
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So, you can see how helpful joining a self-employment group can be to growing your business. If you are interested in learning more about my group, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page or email me directly to set up a quick call.
Cheers,
Tim
Helping you engineer the business of you