Struggling and being successful both bring stress

Stress from taxes

Early in my full-time freelance career I would have sleepless nights.  No jobs on the calendar yet I could see the bills on my calendar.

Every April the IRS helps me to evaluate my year and help me to project earnings into the New Year.

The good news is every year I have watched my business grow.  I credit the stress as the major factor of growth.  I feared failure so much and how it would impact my family that it motivated me to take on cold calling and other aspects of business not so exciting.

The first couple of years I had so many expenses as compared to income that my taxes were not that much.  As the years went by the taxes increased each year with the income.  Some folks will be upset about all the money going out to the government, but for me I was excited that I was finally paying taxes.  Early in my career it was pretty common as a newspaper photographer to make so little that I got most all my taxes back.

The hard part in recent years is being successful in a terrible economy.  I am aware that every job I get is really a blessing.  However, the IRS expects those who are self employed to pay quarterly taxes based on their last year's earnings.

I am having a good year and doing OK, but I have to admit it the stress of knowing the economy is so fragile and my clients may not have work really makes me worry about something I have really no control over.

A different perspective on taxes

What is common for every business just starting to large corporations is your present business may disappear not because of you, but for reasons beyond your control. You need to always looking for new business not just so you can grow your business, but also to make up for the inevitable loss of business from customers who can no longer use your services.

What are you doing to stay a float and get new business?