At one point or another, the thought has crossed your mind about how amazing it would be to work for yourself. Oftentimes these thoughts are dismissed as fleeting or an impossibility. If you’re serious about having your own small business, the first thing you have to do is put these thoughts to rest!
Starting your own business can be a scary endeavor. Instead of focusing on the hurdles, figure out how to overcome them. You have to have the right mindset and attitude in order to be successful. If you give into your fear and doubts, you’ve failed before you even tried.
Know the Rules
Whereas working for yourself means you don’t report to a boss, it doesn’t mean you don’t answer to anyone. The less exciting side of being self employed is knowing and following the laws that govern small businesses. Do you know if you need or can benefit from an Employee Identification Number? If you know you need one, do you know how to find an EIN number? Not understanding all aspects of how to get your start-up running is normal. You can hire an accountant that can help you to get your business set up.
Getting Started
Decide what type of business you’re going to have. The most successful start-ups are centered around solving a problem. Research the market and take advantage of a gap in a niche market and capitalize on it. Once you decide what kind of business you want to start, then you create your business plan that outlines how your business will run.
With the wide-eyed excitement of starting your business, don’t let yourself get carried away with elaborate offerings. Instead, keep your sights quite narrow and offer the best service you can provide. Your customers won’t be as interested in all the fluff and extras as they are in your attention to detail and following through on the promises you made them. Word of mouth from your customers will either make or break your business. Start small and steady, you will have opportunities down the road to grow your offerings as you establish your customer base.
Safety Net
Unfortunately, over half of new businesses fail within 5 years. Whereas you don’t want to set yourself up for failure by expecting to fail, you have to be realistic about the potential. What is the state of your financial affairs? Do you have enough of a savings account that will continue to support you should your business go belly up? These are very serious considerations you have to think about.
One way to safeguard yourself is to keep your day job. As much as you are looking forward to working for yourself, you should take your time, while still working, to get all of your details in order. The hardest part of starting your business is getting it up and running. While you are still building your customer base and getting the word out there about what you offer, continue to work your day job. Early days of a new start-up are turbulent at best. By weathering these tough times outside your normal working hours will help you shift from employee to entrepreneur. You’ll know when it’s time to take that leap because you’ll have a steady inflow of cash.
Passion
The single most important trait of those who run successful businesses is passion. Find a balance between both wisdom and passion. The former will allow you to make informed decisions whereas the latter will spur you on. Never lose sight of what inspired you to become an entrepreneur.