With spec work and promises of “exposure” running rampant, it’s no wonder freelancers and creative entrepreneurs are wary of trading their services—and with good reason.

Working for yourself is an extremely romantic idea. It's all about taking the leap, chasing your dreams, and building a life you love, isn't it? At the heart of it, this is absolutely the sunny side of being self-employed. But not every day ends up feeling this way.

The Self-employed illusion

I've been working for myself for just about 10 months now. At first the freedom was all but intoxicating. I mean, I get to work from home, I can wear whatever I want (most often yoga pants), and there's no onslaught of annoying meetings to keep me from doing the work I love. Amazing, right? At first it absolutely was.

After a while, however, it gets old. When the novelty wears off, working for yourself can get pretty lonely. I started feeling sloppy, anxious, and absolutely starved for company. It felt like I had to wait forever for my husband to get home, and yet I simultaneously felt like I was behind on everything and never had enough time. Couple that with not knowing where your next project is coming from, and you've got one stressed out mess of a girl.

Solving the Struggle

As you can probably tell, the struggle has been extremely real for me recently. I'm a firm believer in being very open about this journey (even the not-so pretty parts), so last week I took to Twitter and Instagram to talk about it. After sharing my own challenges, I was amazed at the overwhelming response I received.

As it turns out, so many freelancers and business owners share my dilemma. Better yet, many of them began sharing their own amazing stories, encouragement, and their answers to the solopreneur struggle. I wouldn't dream of keeping this wisdom to myself, so without further ado, I'm excited to share our answers with you!