Millions of people every day decide that they want to get out of the 9-5 grind, they want to wake up when they like, work when they like and stop when they wish. It sounds a bit like a dream, but in reality, it is a lot of hard work, using some tried and tested methods of others success and carving out something of your own. You also need to balance getting your new business off the ground and keeping a roof over your head. Balance is a crucial ingredient to giving your dream some wings.
Things to consider:
When you first start your business, try not to pile the expenses on. While it might be tempting to order brand new everything, flights to expos and all of the latest software – unless you are making a steady income that stuff all becomes an expense you can’t cover. Your office can be a corner in your living room, your kitchen table or even your bed if you are light on space.
Check what your household insurance covers in regards to having a home business.
Set up a separate business bank account from the start. Even if for the first few weeks or months it gets a little sad looking at the zeros. It is better than it coming to tax time and being completely confused by it all. You don’t need to open a business account that comes with all the bells and whistles, you can simply open a different personal account. As long as it is easy to see what is going in and coming out each month.
When you have your first few clients, you might be super excited, and do the work with haste, only to find they don’t pay on time. This seems to be a common trend with people hiring freelancers for specific work. So, you need to protect yourself from the offset, make sure that you have a contract that states your payment terms and that it is signed. Be clear and say in the agreement, and subsequent invoices that you will charge a late payment after a specific time (oddly enough, advantageous at getting the agreed amount on time). Never, ever spend money that you think you’re going to be getting in soon, this can be a very costly mistake.
If you can try to have more than one income stream, either a job alongside your new venture, or a few strings to your freelance bow and use sites like Upwork, Freelancer, People Per Hour to top yourself up.
Even if you are setting up as a freelancer rather than a whole business you need to have a plan. What do you see yourself doing in a few years, how do you plan to progress in the field you are in? Whichever of the above you are choosing, try to make a 12-month plan and a five year one too. Write down things like how much money you’d like to make a day if you will be taking any online courses, how you’ll gain new customers.
If you are having any branded products made, make sure you get the right packaging. It will be one of your most potent marketing tools, so get this nailed early.
Network to get work. Sound cheesy? Well, yes but memorable and it works. Head out to free or cheap networking events, not only in your new sector but things closely related to it too. Use Twitter for some of the evening chats; they have specific hashtags for networking with people globally – always handy when you are looking for more clients or great contacts. Although networking is about getting your name out there, it is also about you meeting other people and taking their card too. Who knows, you might pick up the card for a great bookkeeper, accountant and graphic designer – all of which might (probably will) be useful in the future. Also, freelancing can be a lonely place from time to time, so knowing other people who work from home might mean you can get out of the office space for a coffee with someone who knows what you are going through.
This one goes without saying – make your online presence powerful and branded. There is tiny point setting up all of the social media channels only to ignore them all. If you spend some time on each platform, you’ll find plenty of customers for your products or services. Provide useful content, and people will share, read and ask for more.
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