Self-Employed: Strong Suggestions from my trial and error approach

I left my job 4 years ago.
I know! FOUR YEARS! I can’t believe it either!

The past 4 years have included many highs and lows, and everything in between. I get asked a lot about how I did it, how it has changed my life, and advice on what to do.
So here you go!

What I’ve learned in my 4 years of running my own business:

1. A leap of faith works, when you have an inner knowing, and a strong foundation.
Probably the best thing I did for myself was ease into self-employment. I’ve heard stories about the people who ditched the job on a whim and opened up a shop and were hugely successful and filthy rich in the first month. I love those stories. I was also pretty sure that I needed a way to gracefully progress.
I reduced my hours for 6 months, continued to build my client base, my reputation, and my skill. At that point, I felt that I had enough of a cushion to keep from panicking.
Here’s the key to why...