Read Part I of this interview here.

How hard/easy was the transition from a 9 to 5 job to running your own business? Did you have other means of support while you were getting your business off the ground (part-time job, spouse, etc.)?

My husband finished veterinary college in 1997; that is when I quit working full time. He has supported our family since then, so I had the ability to start this business without needing to work another job to pay our bills. (If I didn’t have 4 kids, I could have started this business by working nights and weekends on it…)

Aside from the demands of child rearing, I just couldn’t face going back to work for a boss again. I doubt I will ever do that unless I have absolutely no choice. It doesn’t suit my temperament very well. I was lucky in my last 9 to 5 job that I had a great deal of autonomy in my daily work, or I would not have lasted that long.

Are there things you miss about a 9 to 5 job?

Yes! I miss the daily contact with other adults and the office friendships. I also miss being able to run errands on my lunch hour! The retirement benefits were also very nice, and I will not be able to duplicate them working for myself.

What are the hardest things about making your own living? What are the best things?

The hardest thing now is keeping at it when things go wrong: my Google placement drops for no apparent reason, an unreasonable customer ruins my day, etc. There are no office friends to vent to or laugh with about it. The unsteady income is also difficult, especially when expenses are not so unsteady! The final difficult thing is when I have to get something done in the evening and my family gets annoyed with me for working. I try to avoid this, but emergencies do come up, even if my husband says, “Post-it notes are never emergencies!�

The best thing is that I don’t have anyone looking over my shoulder at what I am doing and when I am doing it. I hate being micromanaged. The next best thing about working for myself is that I can fit it in with my whole life. I can meet my kids at school, get to their conferences and take them to the library or park when it is nice out, without feeling bad.

Was your business an instant success or was there a period when you felt like your new business wasn’t going to make it? How did you push yourself through that?

I didn’t expect to do huge business the first six months, so I got through the initial build-up period pretty well. I had initially planned on focusing on wedding invitation printing, but I soon found there was a demand for small quantities of custom Post-it notes that was not being met online. I started focusing on that. Then I started doing better, getting sales every day, and that helped. I found other niches to expand my business. However, when there were dips in sales, it was difficult to understand why and very frustrating. Much of my business, especially at first, has been dependent on my Google ranking, so when they change their algorithm and hurt my ranking, that was frustrating. (When it helps me, of course, that is wonderful!) I have made some advertising mistakes and felt like it would never be profitable. Many times I felt like quitting. But then I looked back at what I had accomplished in less than a year and felt I had to give it more time. Most businesses are not profitable the first year or two, and I was already breaking even by 8 or 9 months.

Do you have a handle on getting a good ranking on Google now? Or does it seem somewhat like a black art?

I know a lot more about search engine optimization than I did before, but Google is constantly changing its algorithms in large and small ways, and the competition is changing as well. It is clear that text links to relevant sites are MUCH more important than they were a year ago, “link farming” is less effective and some parts of it nobody understands. I think the key is to focus on each page separately, giving it a separate focus and keyword to emphasize. Google doesn’t look at “sites”, they look at “pages”, so you have to think about it that way. Page A is focused on “custom post-it notes”, page B is focused on “personalized post-its” and so on.

Do you have any advice for someone who is trying to make his or her own living and get away from a traditional 9 to 5 job?

Either have enough money saved to live on for a year, a spouse who can support you or keep your other job until you are at least breaking even. It is easy to get into debt building your business for the future, but if you have no backup, it will sink you before you have a chance to make it.

Make sure that you will be capable of balancing your work with your life. Work is always there, waiting for you, and it is easy to get sucked in. You need to be able to set boundaries or you will become a workaholic and have no life; it sneaks up on you. If you can’t do this, don’t work for yourself; ultimately, you will not be happy with it. At least with a 9 to 5 job you walk away at 5; with self-employment, there is always work to do and you need to be capable of setting limits for yourself. If I didn’t have kids, I don’t know if I would have learned this, and my marriage would have suffered. (The kids made it easier to keep my priorities straight.)

Thank you, Karen, for your wonderful story and insights!