Keeping Personal and Professional Seperate As An Entrepreneur

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Stepping into the world of self-employment and delivering a burgeoning idea from its very first inception to reality and consumers is an exciting but slightly scary proposition. 

Regardless of the products or services you’re going to sell or distribute, going it alone has some massive steps to climb, hurdles to face, and huge consequences if it all goes wrong.

Protecting your personal self and your life from any consequences of starting a new business is vital for everyone. You need to be able to separate work and personal life and create an identity that is separate from your professional endeavors.

But how can you avoid things becoming intertwined? Read on to find out.

Separate Bank Accounts

Mixing personal finances with business ones is a surefire way to end up with a disastrous situation on your hands. It can lead to financial instability, tax issues, and personal liability for business debts. You need to have separate business and personal finances to stay clear on the money the company has, what you’re doing, and how well you are doing financially. Giving yourself a wage is an excellent decision, and then transferring your wages to your personal account. Ensuring you only use business money for business purposes and vice versa can help you avoid a common pitfall many new solo traders find themselves in.

EIN

An EIN is your employee identification number, and even if you’re not a working employee, you need one for yourself, as this can help you create a separate entity for business purposes. Plus, an EIN protects your personal information, as you can use it instead of identifying details that might put you personally and financially at risk. For instance, when you need to provide a tax identification number for a business transaction, you can use your EIN instead of your social security number, reducing the risk of identity theft. Don’t worry; filing for an fein (federal employer identification number) is easy, and there are resources online to help you out.

Create a Schedule

It’s not just about setting professional boundaries; it’s about setting personal ones, too. You need to have an end to your workday as a general rule to help you relax and unwind. Even in those busy early days when you need to be hands-on all the time, you need a schedule and be able to stop working and put things to rest. It’s so much easier to do this from day one so you can avoid your business life encroaching on your personal life and limiting how much of what you do becomes who you are and what you’re about.

Set Priorities

You need to have priorities so you don’t get swamped with work, life, and anything else. You need to know when you have to be free to do certain things as non-negotiables. For example, are you more creative or productive at certain times of the day or in specific environments? Are you better at hosting meetings in the morning rather than in the afternoon? Do you prefer to work later in the evening? Know your personal priorities for conducive working environments and then attach them to business priorities so you can set a schedule that enables you to do what you need to do when it needs to be done or is more likely to get completed in the best possible way.