Are you a paediatric allied health clinician, pondering whether to branch out and work for yourself? I meet LOADS of Speechies and OTs who are super-nervous about taking the leap into soletrader-ville. Anyone who knows me knows that one of my favourite hobbies is chatting about the many, many pros of working for yourself, so I thought I’d jot some down. Here we go!
Flexibility
My number one reason for working for yourself, is that you get to choose your own schedule. No more 9 to 5 (or 6?) grind or writing your clinical notes at 8pm. You can work when it suits you, and for how long it suits you. After I had a mini-midlife crisis post-CoVid, I curated my perfect daily schedule, which doesn’t start until 11am. It’s a dream (and highly recommended!)
Money!
We’re probably not meant to talk about this one, but one of the best things about working for yourself is that you get to keep all your hard-earned cash! No more giving a large chunk of your income to your boss or on loads of overhead expenses. This can really add up over time and gives you loads more freedom and flexibility. Joining a coworking space like Sum of Us Kids Therapy Hub, means that most of your overheads are covered in your daily room rate. Woohoo!
Curate Your Dream Client Base
Thirdly, when you’re your own boss, you have the freedom to curate your client-base based on your interests and passions. This means you can tailor your services to specific niches or demographics, providing a more specialised and personalised service to your clients. Plus, when super-passionate about your work, it really shows and can make all the difference in building strong relationships with your clients. At Sum of Us Kids, we help market to your preferred niches, helping you build up your dream client base.
Do What You Love
Lastly, being self-employed means you can outsource tasks that you don’t enjoy or aren’t skilled in. This means you can focus on the parts of your business that you love and are good at, while still providing your amazing clinical services to your clients. Here at Sum of Us Kids, we provide a virtual receptionist and waitlist management, so you can spend more of your time doing clinical things you love.
Community
Working for yourself doesn’t mean you have to work alone! Find yourself a coworking hub of like-minded allied health practitioners, and you’ll have access to a community of supportive OTs, Speechies, Play Therapists, Psychs every day.
So, there it is, my 5 big reasons why you should seriously consider working for yourself. The rewards are literally life-changing. Are you ready to take the plunge?
If you’re based in Melbourne and want to find out more about our delightful paediatric coworking clinic in Yarraville, feel free to get in touch at hello@sumofuskids.com.au
