Does starting your own business mean you’re more or less independent?

Two months before recording this podcast, we started our first business together called Making It Creative. Although we feel more “independent” working for ourselves, we’re also feeling a surprising amount of dependency on the work we do and the service we provide to others. This is what we’re calling “The Independence Paradox.”

Here’s What You’ll Learn

  • Discover what we mean by the “independence paradox”
  • Hear some of our thoughts (and fears!) around being an independent business owner versus working for someone else
  • Learn about some of the systems we use to keep ourselves on track and keep our fears out of the driver’s seat
  • Listen to our vision for Independence Day 2020

Show Notes

Tony talks about a quote he heard from a mentor related to work-life balance. Below is the full quote and author.

“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both. ”

– James A. Michener, Novelist

We also shared some thoughts on “the compounding effect of consistency.” Below are some of the quotes we touched on.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” – Unknown

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” – Bruce Lee

And while we didn’t explicitly talk about it in this episode, we think the article, Continuous Improvement: How It Works and How to Master It by habit guru, James Clear, is worth a read.

Tony also mentioned his system for organizing a Gmail inbox. He calls it the “Getting Things Done” style inbox system. You can read more up on it here.

And lastly, we asked you to share with us your answers to the following question.

What are your favorite resources (groups, clubs, books, quotes, etc.) would you recommend to small business owners in Asheville?

Let us know by emailing us at hello@makingitinasheville.com

Music by Commonwealth Choir

Curious to learn more about what we do?

Making It in Asheville is a podcast where we go behind the scenes with artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in Asheville. We learn about what they’re making and how they’re making it in Asheville.

Making It in Asheville is powered by Making It Creative, our boutique marketing and business consulting agency. We help passionate small business owners build and improve their sales and communication strategies. Learn more here.

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