That was the motto I had emblazoned on the back of my business cards. My clients were almost all home owners and married, or in domestic partnerships. It was my desire for whoever the dominant partner was, as far as home decorating decisions, to know they had my rapt attention and that I was going to do my utmost to leave them with a finished product they would be proud to show off to visitors. My parting words upon finishing a project were always “Please talk about me behind my back.”

My impression of most everyone I’ve known that opted for self employment, like myself, were somewhat driven. They weren’t satisfied with simply fulfilling the requirements of a company for whatever position they held. There is a passion to stand out from anyone else. I believe that passion and skill go hand in hand. Choosing to be self employed is choosing to create all of the things taken for granted when accepting a position from an already-established company.

There is no punch in at 8:00 and punch out at 5:00. There is no one else to hand problems to, it is now “tag, you’re it”. There is nothing more motivating than having to correct a mistake, and that correction affecting a percentage of expected profit. There is also nothing more exciting than correcting a mistake, and having that correction establishing you in the eyes of the client as someone they can recommend to others. Milton Hershey is a very good example of “mistakes”. He failed three different times at candy making, before the Hershey Bar became the icon of chocolate in America.

Taxes, advertising, purchasing, attracting clientele, scheduling projects, human resources, payroll, etc.; You are it, the whole ball of wax. I will never forget the first time I woke up and realized I was sick and wanted to turn over and go back to sleep. My thought was that I would just call in. Then it hit me, call in sick to who, myself? I got up, called the client to tell her I’d be a little late, and took a really long hot shower. I didn’t get as much done that day as I would have liked, but my boss didn’t give me any grief.