My Top 7 Tips for Being Your Own Best Boss
I’m lucky to have had a runway before I permanently left my day job to read a lot of books, get a mentor, and build a business plan. Not everyone has these luxuries when they start their own businesses. I honestly think that in these ways, I had some real advantages when I took photography full-time. But none of what I learned from books could have given me what really helped me to succeed: Discipline.
Looking over what I’ve learned in the last 5+ years, I realize a lot of the best lessons I actually learned through experience. When I catalog my top wisdom for starting a business and being your own boss—which is essential if you want your business to last—these are the 7 tips I think make the most impact.
Tip No. 1: Rise at the same time every day/Establish a morning routine
By having a clear start-time to your day, you get to decide the tone for everything that comes after.
It could be really easy to think, “I’m my own boss. I can sleep in if I want.” But when you have this mindset, you’ll eventually find you start every day behind, frantic, wishing for more hours to squeeze everything in.
I try to rise every day 3 hours before I want my workday to begin. In these 3 hours I have time to ease into the morning, make myself a warm lemon water to refresh my system, do some body movement to get the blood flowing (an object in motion stays in motion), have a healthy breakfast, shower, dress, and look over my game plan for the day… all before I have any face-time with clients.
Having this morning routine helps me in so many ways. First of all, a lot of details of my personal life, particularly regarding my health, could easily fall to the wayside if I didn’t make time for them—so addressing them first thing means I’ve already succeeded in a few habits that matter over time. If the rest of the day doesn’t go perfectly according to plan, at least I did a few things right.
But second, these habits help me to embody success for the rest of the day. Michael Phelps, the famous Olympic swimmer, is known for “playing the tape,” or having the same pre-swim routine that he follows at every swim meet—and he attributes no small part of his success to this routine. If he has 11 things he does before every single swim, and the 12th and final step is swimming the strongest and fastest he ever has, then winning is really just the home stretch of a much longer process. It’s the easy part, the part where victory is in sight.
This is how I feel about my morning routine. If I rise at the same time each day and do a series of habitual tasks that are good for me and that only I can do, then getting through my work day is almost like the “second half” of my day. It’s all coasting from there.
Tip No. 2: Dress for success
I’m not a girl who works in her yoga pants.
Why? Well, it’s hard to respect myself, feel strong and empowered and successful, or stay focused on doing good work when I’m in loungewear.
Instead, before I ever click one file on my computer, I make sure I’m showered, wearing clothes I’d be glad to run into my former bosses in, and do a full face of makeup. I imagine having client meetings in that outfit, meeting a potential collaboration partner over coffee, or filming a new lesson for one of my online courses—even if none of those things are planned for that day. If I don’t look polished enough for one of those activities, I’m not ready to take on the day.
Yes, occasionally I let this one slide; if I’m not feeling well, or it’s a rainy day of just photo-editing, I might dress more casually or do lighter makeup. But I try not to let it become a habit, because I genuinely feel like we dress for the job we want—and I want to be a success.
Tip No. 3: Tackle the biggest, most Pressing Tasks first (this is not your email)
This photo of Alexis by Becca Pope
For a long time, the first thing I did each day was check my email.
Maybe this was because in the beginning, I didn’t want to delay in responding to an inquiry if it came in; I’m not really sure. At my former job, email was one of the most triggering activities on my to-do list. Every message seemed to be marked urgent, and if I didn’t respond quickly, I’d start getting, “Did you get my email?” follow-up messages, so my inbox was always stacking. I hated checking my email, so why on earth I made it the first task of the day in my own company at first is beyond me.
When I finally changed my routine and tackled my biggest, most pressing task first, and only after it was completed checked my email, my stress level went way down.
For example, if I know I have a gallery of images due in a couple days and there’s still a fair amount of Photoshopping left to do, I’ll get those edits out of the way and then check my email before lunch. This means that I already feel accomplished and like the “worst” is off my plate when I open my inbox. Not only this, but because lunch is coming up (more on that in a sec), there’s a natural limit for how much time I’ll spend responding to messages.
Email and social media are both massive time-sucks if you’re not careful. So it’s important to prioritize tasks that affect your deadlines and client relations.
Tip No. 4: Take a real lunch break
It’s strange, but sometimes being your own boss actually feels like more pressure than working for someone else. You can feel like you can’t take a break because everyone wants a piece of you, and if you stop for even a second they’ll all come after you with pitchforks.
A friend of mine who owns a film company told me that one of the best business decisions he ever made was forcing himself to take an hour-long lunch break. It helped him to feel like the CEO of his business instead of like his business was the CEO of his life. And as a confident CEO in his business, he was able to approach decisions from a stronger, healthier place, which helped his company to grow.
I have taken this wisdom to heart. As of this writing, I always take a lunch break with my man. We eat together and usually one other activity, too, like listen to clips of a podcast, watch an episode of one of our favorite shows, or have a discussion about politics or faith. Then I resume work for another few hours before calling it a day. I look forward to my lunch break, and it always makes me feel empowered over my life and business.
Tip No. 5: Know your best working hours
I work in a creative industry. It’s important that as a creative, I dedicate my most creative hours to my job if I want to be passionate about what I do and generate the best possible product for my clients.
I realized early on that my most creative hours are the morning hours. This was tough for me at first because I knew the importance of having a morning routine, and I was afraid of losing momentum in tasks like working out and preparing a well-rounded breakfast. It took me a while to find a good balance for me (what has worked for me might not work for you, which is why I mention this).
I’ve made sure that I always start my workday at 9am because this offers me the best chance of having a productive day—especially if I tackle the biggest, most pressing task first.
In addition to this, I also know I tend to hit a slump around 2:00, which makes it a good time to engage with comments on social media, answer a few emails that only need canned replies, or another task that doesn’t require a ton of creative energy.
If you’re not in a creative industry, but maybe something that requires sharp attention to detail, such as contract law or accounting, it’s probably good to know what hours you’re most alert, so you can do your best work during that window, and save your more menial work for the times you know you’re less likely to be at your best.
Tip No. 6: Set clear boundaries
My contracts all say that my work days are Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm, and I don’t always answer emails quickly because as a photographer, I’m often away from my desk. I also put in there that I answer emails at my own discretion on Saturdays, but not to expect any contact from me on Sundays.
Not all my clients read their contracts thoroughly, but just having these few lines in every contract has helped massively with creating boundaries that protect me as the boss of my company. Overall my clients are very respectful of my time, and even when they aren’t, I’m able to remind myself, “This client’s contract clearly states I do not answer emails on Sundays,” which means I can feel good about protecting my time.
Whatever protecting your personal life looks like for you, get clarity on it and make sure you communicate it to your clients and/or employees so you’re not beholden to your business at all times.
Tip No. 7: Stop at the same time every day.
This one is really about remembering to have a personal life.
I remember when my man told me that he felt like I cared more about working than anything else in the world. That stung. I decided right then and there that I’d have a cutoff time every work day so we could have dinner together and spend the evening doing something we enjoyed as a couple. This has been a game-changer for us and for me; I know I don’t have to feel guilty when 5:30 rolls around and I’m going to call it a day. Plus Matt knows he can count on me to be present with him in the evenings, and that tells him he’s important to me.
Now, there’s obviously a LOT that goes into running a business successfully that goes beyond what I’ve shared here, but these simple steps can really strengthen the foundation of your business if you take them seriously.
Would you like another post like this one that delves deeper into operations? Tell me in a comment below! Then pin this post to a business Pinterest board so you never lose track of it. We all need little reminders in business, so having the link handy is sure to be a measure you won’t regret!
HELLO! MY NAME IS ALEXIS.
Coffee lover, day dreamer, foodie, and creative. I believe in doing what you can with what you have where you are. I blog to help you do more with what you have. I hope you love it here!
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