We've got some good news and some bad news. Bad news is that Ben is wearing pants in this episode; good news is ITS BECAUSE SOPHIA AND BEN ARE TOGETHER IN THE SAME ROOM!

Summer is here and friends are coming to visit! The joys of making your own schedule is you can shift stuff around to hang out with them!

We talk about working when it's sunny out, how to make the most of it, and how you can avoid being stuck inside all day.

Sophia finished her first Our Homes assignment and had to rush to get it done so that she could enjoy her weekend. Ben just got some new cushions so that he can sit outside and work rather than being stuck inside all day.

Here are some sample tips:

Find Sophia at @ridiculouslyhappyppl / sophialemon.com

It's very important to have a network of other self-employed people. You shouldn't be afraid to talk to them about money, fears, successes, and more. It's a great way to learn and avoid potential mistakes. That's what we are talking about in this episode.

Sophia's BNI network has created a marketing mastermind which is proving to be quite inspiring. She has business veterans and newbies in her life and she is inspired by all of them, regularly.

Find Sophia at @ridiculouslyhappyppl / sophialemon.com

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Ben was supposed to have a day off, but NOPE, that didn't happen! There is never a day off when you are self-employed.

Sophia is now writing for Our Homes,  is now an ambassador for BNI (which means she'll be responsible for 1 to 2 BNI chapters), she is the guest speaker for a local charity's AGM, and has NO weekends available until. She is gearing up for her busiest season to date, and because of these things, she is trying to maximize her time. Not spending time with toxic people is one of those things. She's had some personal social issues come up which have affected her relationships with good people, and she's not happy about it. So she is investing more time in good people, and reducing the amount of attention the others get.

In this episode, Ben and Sophia talk about the types of toxic people you should probably ditch from your social circle. Here's what we look at:

Find Sophia at @ridiculouslyhappyppl / sophialemon.com

Get Who's In Your Room: The Secret to Creating Your Best Life by Dr Ivan Misner, Stewart Emery, and Rick Sapio

In this episode, Ben shares his big news and how it relates to him feeling like he had to be there for everyone (i.e, waiting at his computer just in case work came in, being attached to his phone constantly, doing work Friday after 5pm, etc...) and how things changed when he suddenly stopped doing that.

We discuss how to get out of the cycle of being everything to everyone, because you have to take care of yourself first!

Find Sophia at @ridiculouslyhappyppl / sophialemon.com

If you're like Ben or Sophia, at some point, you'll be leaving your job.

When do you know its a good time to leave? And how do you do it without burning bridges??

In this episode we explore why Ben left his job, and how he did it! Here's the overview:

He was no longer happy. He knows not every day will be perfect, but when he started dreading having to go into work and it was effecting his physical health, he knew it was time to leave.

His role was becoming obsolete. The work started to slow down and he found he was spending more time reading the news than he was actually doing work. This also makes him stir crazy and unhappy, like he is wasting his time.

He'll share how to prepare to leave and how to give your notice respectfully.

Find Sophia at @ridiculouslyhappyppl / sophialemon.com

Sophia went out on the weekend and Benjamin hasn't been sleeping well lately but we have to record a new episode.

Having the flexibility to manage your own schedule helps reduce the stress of having to be productive all the time. We compare this to those days when we worked in an offices and sat at our desks pretending to work.

Here are some tips we cover in this episode to help maximize productivity when you just don't wanna!

Find Sophia at @ridiculouslyhappyppl / sophialemon.com

In this episode, Ben has a 5 minute confessional following Sophia calling him out for not being open enough. So he updates us on how business is coming along.

Next, Sophia tells us about an interesting request she got from her website. A man emailed about boudoir photography, and quickly transitioned into propositioning her for a 3 some. After immediately saying no, he tried again. To which she said no again.

Meanwhile, Benjamin takes it personally that no one has ever requested ANYTHING like that from him. His interesting requests always involve short turn around time, long hours, and making magic happen. Quite often he receives files that are a mess and is asked to clean them up, or is asked to squeeze WAAAYYYYY too much information onto a poster or in a brochure.

Find Sophia at @ridiculouslyhappyppl / sophialemon.com

This week, Benjamin and Sophia are talking about personal branding and the importance of living your values. No, this isn't all about your logo. This is about YOU, listener.

For example, as a local business owner or freelancer, we recommend you shop locally and support other small businesses. It's an easy way to network and to keep your local industry thriving.

You might choose to volunteer. For example, Sophia volunteers her photography skill with the Alzheimer Society, and working with people who are ridiculously happy despite living with a disease that is stigmatized as negative.

We want you to figure out what you believe in and stick with it. Try to support and work with companies and individuals that you align with morally.

We also strongly recommend that you keep politics off social media. We all know those people... Those local business owners who share way too much online or worse, who call people out over social media. Keep your online presence positive and uplifting to appeal to your target market.

How you spend your money, how you dress, and how you speak to others tells the public all they need to know about whether they should or shouldn't work with you. So keep it happy, professional, and adhere to your brand!

Find Sophia at @ridiculouslyhappyppl / sophialemon.com

What happened when Sophia stopped tracking calories and weighing herself every week? She started losing weight. And that might sound counterintuitive, but this week we are talking about those things that we put on the back burner while we hustle, but which are necessary to maintaining our sanity, our passion, and our drive.

Ben says that listening to your body is more important than tracking calories. Your body should hopefully tell you what it needs. And when you own a business or work freelance, you might stop listening, thinking that you just need to grind harder. That's why we are talking about a few things that we do when we're feeling anxious to keep ourselves on track mentally and physically.

For Sophia, it's hiking, weight lifting, yoga, meditation, baseball, drinking tea, and napping. While for Ben, it's biking, summer jogging, and yoga.

Physical health isn't everything. So is mental health. We are not doctors so if you think there is something wrong, go see a professional. But you should make a point to do the little things that make you feel good about yourself. For example, Ben always has chocolate on hand, and usually splurges on the nice stuff.

Sophia places a significant emphasis on physical touch. Hug your friends, hug your family, cuddle your pets (unless they are fish), and get a massage. (Ben ads that consent is key!)

Find Sophia at @ridiculouslyhappyppl / sophialemon.com

This episode recaps of some stuff we have touched on in our previous episodes, some new revelations, and a bit of a story time.

Ben went back and listened to all of the episodes before starting to record this one. Firstly, I would like to apologize for the echo happening in Episode 2. I listen to a lot of loud music and my headphone volume was at its maximum level so I could hear Sophia, but my mic picked it up. Second, its been nice to be able to reflect on the journey of self employment so far. I feel like I am out of the honeymoon stage and its now a reality. I want to suggest that our listeners keep a journal of their highs and lows of self employment and read back and reflect often. All week I have been second guessing my choice to be self-employed, and listening to how excited I was when it first happened helped me to get excited about it again, but also be more realistic with my expectations.

Here's what we talk about:

1. It's hard to not take it personally when things don't pan out, but you have to remember—it's just business. The people that I have reached out to and said they were excited to work with me has not panned out exactly how I wanted it to, but its important to remember their projects probably aren't panning out the way they want it to. They have clients to answer to, budgets to meet, and bosses to get permission from. Remember that your relationship at work and outside of work are two different entities with a little bit of overlap.

2. I am back from my vacation, and surprise—I didn't work! Instead I read a great booked called Run Studio Run by Eli Altman, Creative Director of A Hundred Monkeys. I won't give away too much, but its an easy read and gives some great advice on how to run a small creative agency. It does specifically say that it is not meant for freelancers, but don't let that discourage you from reading it. If you are working with small agencies, it gives some great insight on how they run, and there is some advice that you can apply to self employment.

3. New revelation (sometimes I am naive). It's not personal, its business when it comes to me too. Sitting around waiting on someone to give you work because they said that they "might have something coming in hot" doesn't mean that you actually have work. Continue to reach out, network and let people know you are available. If you are lucky, you will be so busy you will have to politely turn down work.

4. The Email Story: That time I got burned via email and fired from doing free work.

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