How is the rest of your December looking? Have you got an office Christmas party, or a team Christmas dinner to attend?
One of the downsides of being a freelancer is I don’t have those work social functions that I used to when I was employed. My last employed job was at a sixth form college and we used to have a staff Christmas dinner, Christmas jumper day, and a carol service, all of which I loved. We also used to make an amusing video of some of us singing a Christmas song every year…
Or maybe being freelance is a good thing – at least I don’t have to buy a Secret Santa gift for someone I hardly know!
I also don’t have to buy a million cards for work colleagues.
And I still make my own amusing video to share with clients!
To be fair there are a few events for self-employed business owners that I attend. I’m a member of my local branch of the Equity Union and we always get together for a Christmas dinner in early December (no subsidised wine though!). This year we went to Healing Manor, and we were so impressed with the food that we’ll be returning there next year.
The Business Hive Club always put on a couple of ‘fizz and nibbles’ events for members, and I attended one at Hirst Priory this week. They had the most beautiful tree in the entrance hall as you can see from my picture.
There are also some online events hosted by a couple of business networks that I belong to. The Creative Collective have an annual Christmas quiz, and so does the Find a Business Expert community. The latter even has a prize for the best fancy dress!
One of the main positives of being a business owner is that I can take time off when it suits me. I can spend a morning Christmas shopping, or wrapping presents, or decorating the house….but equally, I don’t get paid when I’m doing those things.
The back end of December and beginning of January are always a quiet time, so I have to plan for a reduction in income – just as we hit the most expensive time of the year!
Although things are usually quiet, there will always be one or two clients who suddenly remember at the eleventh hour that they need some new out of hours messages recording before they shut up shop for Christmas, and then it’s a mad rush to get them recorded…
If you’re a small business owner what do you think are the pluses and minuses of being self-employed at this time of year?