You may well have wanted to be your own boss for as long as you can remember, or realised that you could make money from a life-passion – whatever the reason the time has come for you to step out from under the title “employed” and get cosy with the job description of “self-employed”. For many, it can be a tough transition as it lets go of a lot of stability that you have probably grown used to over the years of employment. However, very few people who become their own boss regret it, and many vow to never step back into the 9 till 5 employment world ever again. Here are some things to consider when making the transition over to self-employed that will help you to confirm whether it is the right choice for you or not.
Confidence and Self Belief
It may seem obvious, but to go it alone you really have to believe in yourself and have a lot of confidence in the service or product you are going to be selling. If you can’t look in the mirror and say “I can do this” and believe it, you may not be ready to step out from under that employed title just yet. It really is a dog eat dog world when it comes to business. You are most definitely going to have competition and people close to you that think you’ve made a terrible decision – that’s life. But if you have the confidence and knowledge that you are going to succeed no matter what – you and your business will go the distance.
Budget
You will need to have a budget for both leaving employment and the first couple of months of starting your business. It is highly unlikely that you won’t take a significant pay cut when first starting out – so you need to make sure you have enough money to cover a few months of bills and rent/mortgage payments. You will need a decent amount of capital for your initial startup, and you could always use one of the many merchant loans available to you for further expansion. It is important to plan well ahead and have a clear objective in mind so that you can build your budget around it. You don’t want to start building a dream idea and be unable to finish it due to lack of funds. You should also be fairly conservative in your projected profits so that if business is a little slow to begin with, it does not spell disaster for you or the roof over your head.
Fool-Proof Business Plan
To follow on from being conservative with your profit estimations, you are going to need a well researched and in-depth business plan outlining how you are going to make that profit. What is it about your business, or service, that will stand out from your competitors and draw customers in? How are you going to market your unique standpoints, and reach as many customers as possible? Most importantly – how are you going to turn those first-time buyers into loyal, returning customers? You should be as thorough as possible and leave no aspect of your business without a comprehensive plan, and backup plan.
This is a great starting point if you have been planning to leave your current employment for several years, but apprehension has always held you back. If you can read through this entire blog and answer every question with either a “yes I can” or an in-depth explanation, then you are definitely on the right path.
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