For this customer spotlight, we focus on Tara Mahoney, a freelance web designer and developer at TaraMahoney.com. You can find Tara on Twitter at @taratmahoney.
What do you do for a living, and why did you make the jump to self-employment?
I'm a freelance web designer and developer. I'm self-employed because I like the freedom of being my own boss—it allows me to work on the things I really want to work on and travel while I work.
What’s a big challenge you’ve had with running your own business, and how did you overcome it?
Actually, managing and tracking my own finances at first was super hard. I wasn't making enough money at first and I wasn't lining up a new client project when an old one finished, so I was constantly stressed and feeling like self-employment might not be for me. When I started using Harpoon to track my finances, I could see visually every day what I needed to do to stay on course to make my goal amount of cash/month.
What advice would you give to those who are just starting out on the journey of running their own businesses?
It's not going to be easy at first, but once you get into the flow of self-employment and start knowing what to expect, it can become enjoyable and rewarding.
Where would you like your business to be three years from now?
I'd like to offer a wider breadth of services and products to my clients. I'd like to be better at what I do and to be only working on projects I like with people I enjoy working with.
What quality, habit, or decision has contributed to the success of your business?
Financial tracking has helped for sure, as well as disciplining myself to work even when I don't want to.
About Tara
Tara Mahoney is a freelance web designer and developer in Toronto, ON. Learn more about Tara at TaraMahoney.com or by following @taratmahoney on Twitter.