- A massage therapist who makes house calls.
Having your massage at home eliminates the stress of driving when it’s over and saves you time, too. Besides that, it’s a little bit of luxury to have your own in-home therapist. A friend of mine schedules hers late in the evening and can count on an especially good night’s sleep to follow. - A medical savings account.
Although they’ve been around for a while, MSAs have not been well publicized, but if you’re self-employed you’ll want to find one for yourself (unless you live in a more civilized place where health insurance isn’t an issue). Essentially, an MSA allows you to put money into a special account to pay out-of-pocket medical expenses. This money is not taxed, however. One carrier that offers medical savings accounts is Blue Cross. - A techie friend who knows more than you do.
Actually, I have two such friends. (To be honest, almost all my friends know more than I do about technology.) Blair Hornbuckle and Peter Vogt are two gentle giants who patiently coax me into learning new things. And on a recent afternoon when I thought I had erased my hard drive, Peter dropped everything and came to my office to restore order. Everyone needs such a willing friend. - An accountant who understands small business.
It might seem sexy to hire a large accounting firm (although big firms aren’t as prestigious since the Enron scandal) but don’t do it if you’re a one-person business. People trained to handle corporate affairs won’t understand what you’re up to. So find an accountant who works from home or from a very small office — one who is self-employed. - A diary.
Journals are great for exploring thoughts and ideas, but a diary is a factual running record of your life. If you can find an old-fashioned five-year diary and write in it faithfully, you’ll have an ongoing account of your growth. As you jot down the events of your day, it’s fun to look back at the same date a year or two ago to see what you were doing.
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Barbara, I’m so glad to read this 4 of the 5 I have done but still need the Techie friend & this has got me back into getting that Journaling started up again, thanks for the inspiration. Funny how we can know the things that help us but somehow life gets in the way and an article like this gets me inspired again to get back on track with the things that help the most.
My daughter & I once had a profound discussion about why it’s so hard to remember to drink enough water. It’s not the big stuff that we forget about. Now, about that techie friend…I went through a couple of Webmasters before coming to my current Web Wizard who keeps me sane, answers silly questions and meets all my requests promptly. Heavenly!
As someone who has been self-mployed for 32 years, I must say that this is a great list. However, what popped the most was the Diary. I chuckled to myself and wondered- “do they still make diares.” I remember how cool they were to write in when I was a teenager and how precious that tiny key was to me HowI wish I still owned those! I am newly widowed and it ws such an unexeced and tramatic death. My husband who was the picture of health had a massive heart attack while we were laughing and talkig. He literally fell at my feet and all my medical training could not change anything. My point being s that is wha a journal is for. I am now faced with carving my own path and a diary is a wonderful tool – it is like a gauge where we can see what we did, what we want to do, and how well are we working on those dreams and goals. What a terrific suggestion