Thinking of quitting your 9-5 pm job but worried stiff about the future? Make no mistake about it, starting off anything on your own takes courage and guts. You must be ready to work harder but be assured that at the end of the day, it is hugely rewarding. To be successful in that business start-up or your freelancing career, there are a few things to know about.
Get rid of that fear, It is very easy to start:
You do not need a credit facility to jumpstart. I mean you needn’t bother with business credit. Set up your PC in a work area at home and begin. Choose a business name carefully that resonates with the services you plan to give. If you cannot afford a graphic artist, there are lots of logo making applications. Search for and use the one you are comfortable with.
As you continue and when you can, you can get a visualizer to design a logo for you However, when you’re simply beginning, downplay costs and don’t accept you need everything arranged immediately, on the grounds that you don’t.
You don’t require a costly office space:
As long as you deliver quality and premium service, your customers or clients will worry less bout where you operate from. However business is also about image and you should be wary of clients not taking you seriously if you have nowhere to work from. With this in mind, you can perfectly utilize virtual office space providers or consider joining a collaborating space. Just if you are asked by a client where your office premise is situated, be honest, straightforward forward and upfront as much as you can. But always let them know that you have plans of securing an office workspace
There will be difficult and easy times:
Freelancing does not provide consistent pay, there will be quiet and busy days. You might even have long downtimes where you don’t have anything to do. To plan for these days, make sure to have a support system as per investment funds. Set aside at least expenses for 3 months to ensure you can still provide service to a reasonable extent. However, periods like this calls for great creativity. Utilize your time carefully, improve your marketing game, and attract new clients. Get out and network however much as could reasonably be expected and remain positive and pro-active.
Your Clients will never pay on schedule:
You need to expect that most customers won’t pay on schedule. So ensure you have other alternatives ready.
On your invoice, add payment terms, milestone payments work well for long durations. When there are large projects that require a substantial amount of investment, ask for a deposit upfront as this will help with your cash flow. Read here
Separate Self from business:
For your business to grow, you must constructively criticize your products and services. Put yourself in your client’s shoes, and critically analyze if you as a client be willing to do business with you. Your business financial records must be separate from your personal finances. Avoid re-directing office funds to personal uses.
You don’t need a huge portfolio to begin:
If you think you are not good enough to start up, because of your present CV or Portfolio, you may want to give it another thought. All you need do is to invest in time at intervals developing yourself with short courses or personal training as is required to beef up your portfolio. You can build your portfolio on the go. Once you are always striving to improve, you will definitely succeed.
More importantly, please realize that whatever skills or talents you have is in high demand and there are clients out there who will pay for them. So if you do not trust in your skills or talents nobody else will and you may just have already set up yourself for failure. Always remember that Rome was not built in a day, you may have to take baby steps to get to your destination. Just be confident in yourself and your abilities and strive to improve every day.
A few Clients will attempt to exploit you/Your business:
This is normal and to be expected. Your preparedness will help you avoid these pitfalls. You want to start by recording everything in documents and getting the necessary sign-offs.
The most frequent challenge experienced here is that your customers/clients attempting to get more for their cash without paying extra. So before any task, record accurately what you’ll be delivering and clarify what the customer will and won’t get. You can read here the warning signs of difficult clients here
Expect to miss the security of a full-time and regular paying job:
You will definitely find yourself at times missing the comfort that an all-day job brings. And just when you are daydreaming about your monthly salary and your perceived job security, you may want to pinch yourself and remind yourself that no job is ever secure. It may be suddenly gone before you know it. If you are not ready( never considered being on your own) then you may be thrown into a state of initial depression and confusion.
Starting your business can be tough but it brings a whole lot of benefits:
When you decide to freelance, your hours are more flexible and you avoid long commuting hours. You can fit work all the more effectively around family life and when others receive their monthly salaries, you are actually getting a much higher earning. When you are hard-working and there are returns on investment, you are increasing your net worth and not lining any other’s pocket but yours.
Freelancing is fun and massively fulfilling:
Oh yes, we know that freelancing is difficult work. There are times when you’re pulling your hair out. However, generally speaking, freelancing is loads of fun, very rewarding, and not routine. It not only brings flexibility but boosts your earning capabilities.
Trust me, once you do go independent, you’ll give it your best shot to never return to a restricting full-time job. Freelancing gives the opportunity to work with many clients as you have the capacity for so long as you do not sacrifice the quality of offerings or miss deadlines.
I will however end this article by saying that NOT EVERYONE has the entrepreneurial steak. So you may do well to remain in your 9-5 paid job while also exploring other opportunities for multiple sources of income.
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