1
00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680
Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

2
00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:15,240
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

3
00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:19,960
Speaker 1: Today's tip is that if you are your own boss,

4
00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:26,000
Speaker 1: you should aim to be the best boss possible. Anyone

5
00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:29,639
Speaker 1: who has had a bad boss knows how difficult that

6
00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:34,800
Speaker 1: situation can be, so you should avoid making the same

7
00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:40,400
Speaker 1: mistakes as you manage yourself. I know that a lot

8
00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,800
Speaker 1: of Before Breakfast listeners own their own businesses in one

9
00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:49,640
Speaker 1: form or another. Others are leading their organizations. You aren't

10
00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:54,120
Speaker 1: answering day to day to someone else, And even many

11
00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:59,040
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast listeners with conventional jobs work remotely at least

12
00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,120
Speaker 1: some of the time. So while you might have a

13
00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,640
Speaker 1: traditional boss, a lot of your work experience is under

14
00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:11,960
Speaker 1: your own control. That means that you need to manage yourself.

15
00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,080
Speaker 1: Yet many of us commit acts of bad management on

16
00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:21,960
Speaker 1: ourselves that we would never do with an employee. For instance,

17
00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,880
Speaker 1: I'm not sure I have ever taken a complete sick day,

18
00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:28,679
Speaker 1: though people who have worked for me have taken plenty

19
00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:33,920
Speaker 1: of them. I have sat on ergonomically terrible chairs because

20
00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:38,039
Speaker 1: I couldn't be bothered to replace them. I love what

21
00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:40,679
Speaker 1: I do and I am happy to work hard, but

22
00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:46,000
Speaker 1: the chair thing that is just silly. In any case,

23
00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:49,720
Speaker 1: If you are your own boss, then think about what

24
00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:54,960
Speaker 1: a really great boss would do and do Likewise, it

25
00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:59,120
Speaker 1: might be setting clear goals and expectations, those that are

26
00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:05,680
Speaker 1: challenging but doable, do not create crazy and arbitrary deadlines.

27
00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:09,639
Speaker 1: It might mean dialing down expectations if you are not

28
00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:15,000
Speaker 1: feeling good. It might be maintaining space for real time off.

29
00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:21,799
Speaker 1: Another key component is smart professional development. A good boss

30
00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,320
Speaker 1: would be thinking about what skills you need to develop

31
00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,760
Speaker 1: and people that you need to meet, So you should

32
00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,120
Speaker 1: be thinking about this too. When you look at people

33
00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:36,440
Speaker 1: you admire, what skills do they have? How could you

34
00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:40,080
Speaker 1: learn these skills? What conferences would be good for you

35
00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:44,200
Speaker 1: to attend. If a boss would send you, then send

36
00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:47,400
Speaker 1: yourself and figure out how to make the most of it,

37
00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:53,120
Speaker 1: including presenting what you've learned to others afterwards. If you

38
00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:58,080
Speaker 1: are your own boss, make sure you have adequate equipment. No,

39
00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:00,600
Speaker 1: you should not be sitting on a kitchen chair from

40
00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:04,679
Speaker 1: your first apartment. If you need an external monitor or

41
00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:10,280
Speaker 1: special software, get it. Your productivity will be better in

42
00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:14,119
Speaker 1: the long run. You should also think about setting your

43
00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:19,160
Speaker 1: own policies. Ideally, a good boss would set office guidelines

44
00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,440
Speaker 1: about how quickly people need to respond or how soon

45
00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,040
Speaker 1: to follow up with a vendor who isn't getting you

46
00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:29,480
Speaker 1: what you need, So create your own guidelines, like you

47
00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,080
Speaker 1: will respond in twenty four hours during the week with

48
00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:36,680
Speaker 1: clients and on the first business day after a holiday

49
00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:40,840
Speaker 1: or weekend, or that you always call thirty days after

50
00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:44,680
Speaker 1: an invoice is sent if it isn't paid. That sort

51
00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:49,440
Speaker 1: of thing. You might also, as the boss, decide that

52
00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:53,160
Speaker 1: certain clients or people are more trouble than they are worth.

53
00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:58,000
Speaker 1: That is the kind of executive decision that sometimes needs

54
00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,680
Speaker 1: to be made, and it is okay to make such

55
00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:06,840
Speaker 1: tough decisions or draw boundaries in the interest of preserving

56
00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:10,520
Speaker 1: your sanity, even if it is something as simple as

57
00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:14,640
Speaker 1: asking for a different location in a coworking space if

58
00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:20,240
Speaker 1: a neighbor there is loud or grouchy. Being the boss

59
00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:25,719
Speaker 1: of anyone isn't easy. Being the boss of yourself isn't

60
00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:29,119
Speaker 1: easy either, But if you want to have a long

61
00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:33,800
Speaker 1: sustainable career, it helps to step outside day to day

62
00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:38,800
Speaker 1: details and think strategically. It helps to think about your

63
00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:44,160
Speaker 1: long term development. That is what a good boss would do.

64
00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:49,400
Speaker 1: If you are your own boss, either officially or unofficially,

65
00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:52,520
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear how you provide for your own

66
00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:57,880
Speaker 1: sustainability and motivation. You can reach me at Laura at

67
00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:03,679
Speaker 1: Laura Vanderkamp dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

68
00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:08,920
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

69
00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:18,080
Speaker 1: our attacks. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

70
00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:20,960
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

71
00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:25,320
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

72
00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:30,200
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four, then

73
00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:33,640
Speaker 1: Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an

74
00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,479
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast Podcast at i heeart media dot

75
00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:40,440
Speaker 1: com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

76
00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:43,119
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

77
00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,040
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

78
00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:55,200
Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the I heart

79
00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:58,640
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

80
00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:04,840
Speaker 1: favorite shows. Worn't go