For anyone who owns or manages a small business, it’s easy to fall into the trap of:

I need money to keep my business open. Money comes from clients. Therefore, if I’m not directly working on a client project then I am not making money. Taking a day off means I’m losing money. Working on an internal project like my own company’s website means I’m losing money.

But that’s exactly how you burn yourself out. And that’s not good for your business, obviously.

So how do you balance the voice that says “invest some time in yourself and your company” with the one that screams “DO CLIENT WORK WE NEED MORE MONEY”?

The answer is to stop thinking like a freelancer and start thinking like an entrepreneur. Stop working to build successes only for your clients and start building successes for your company.

How? Your brand, your company…is your best asset. Once you take the time to solidify a brand / personality / online presence (don’t care what you want to call it) for your own company, that becomes something you can spin out into brand extensions, products, etc that can be used for your own success. Hey, maybe even sold!

There are some great examples of people who did just that…and they’ve stopped worrying about creating a never-ending stream of client revenue…because they’ve created their own.