Being your boss and leading your own business is something that a lot of people want to work towards. Whether you are doing this at the start of your career or looking for a fresh start after spending years working for someone else, being a self-employed business owner can be an exciting career move. With the freelance market seeing increasing growth over the past few years within a booming housing market, there are new opportunities available everywhere.
But while there are a lot of benefits to being the boss, there are also plenty of challenges that you have to face. Being your own boss means that you, and you alone, are in charge of your employment, and you are solely responsible for your success. Even though this might sound ideal, it’s not always easy to go it alone.
There is more responsibility than ever resting on your shoulders when you’re self-employed, which can put you under an incredible amount of pressure. When things go wrong, you can’t pass along the issue to someone else. When customers don’t pay on time, you need to be the one to track down the money. If you’ve got a family depending on the success of your business, it can all get a little overwhelming.
If you are thinking of running a small business of your own, or want to be a freelance contractor, here are some of the things that you should take into consideration before you make the leap.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
One of the most important things to consider is whether or not you are sure that you want to be a contractor. Even though you may think that working for ‘the man’ may not be your ideal scenario, it can be easier than running your own business. To some extent, there can be strength in numbers, which means a bigger company might be able to offer you better benefits like insurance, guaranteed time off, etc. When you go out on your own, those things can be harder to come by.Another benefit to working for an established company is that they likely have the resources to handle seasonal work and scale their team as necessary. Many people who start small businesses lack the resources to survive seasonal slowdowns or they will miss opportunities because they can’t ramp up by quickly by adding new staff when they get busy. If you want to go into business for yourself, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got a network of workers you can use when you get slammed with new business and enough cash saved up and/or a contingency plan for dealing with a few down months.
Do You Have the Financial Backing?
Businesses, even ones where you are a personal contractor, require a certain amount of capital to get up and running. If you are looking to become a self-employed contractor, you need to have some amount of financial backing to help you get the equipment you need and help market your business. If you are thinking of seeking a loan, you will need to have a certain amount of assets before a bank will even think of approving you for a substantial loan.Moreover, you will also need to determine how much you will need over the next five to ten years of your business and plan accordingly. It is also important to remember that different banks tend to offer different rates for business loans, which is why you need to do your homework and check out the rates of all your options before you settle on one.
Do You Have A Strong Business Plan?
Most great businesses start out with a great plan, which is why it is important to formulate a good plan of action that you can stick to as you begin your journey of self-employment. The plan that you formulate must be based on a healthy amount of information and research about your market and the potential customer base that you are looking to serve. You should look at the potential size of your customer base, the number of competitors in your market and how your business will position itself against your competitors. Performing a SWOT analysis can help you evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to determine the viability of your business.How Will You Handle Your Business?
Yes, you will be your own boss once you start your own company, but even successful contractors need additional help with things that they aren’t proficient with. For example, if you are unfamiliar with finances, you may need to hire an accountant. If you need to handle on-site work, you may need an assistant to help with scheduling. At the end of the day, there’s only one you and as your business grows you won’t be able to handle everything.You can improve your chances of success by finding tools that can help you manage your operations. Many new business owners struggle with managing paperwork, which is where a tool like JobFLEX comes in handy. JobFLEX is an invoice app that lets contractors create and manage invoices and estimates right from their smart phone. A small investment into the right technology like JobFLEX can be a big time saver and help your new company look professional with perfectly formatted quotes and invoices for your customers.
If you are planning to hire someone, you’ll need to think about the hiring process and the details of the work that you want them to perform. You will also need to think about how to budget their salary and any additional expenses within your long-term business plan and financial forecast.
Running your own business comes with a unique set of challenges but asking yourself the right questions beforehand can go a long way into improving your chances of success.
