9 Recommended Tips for your Self-employment Endeavour in 2020
2020, to be frank, is the craziest year I’ve ever walked through. From forest fires to pandemic leading to a complete lockdown; things have gone terribly wrong on so many levels. Talking of the pandemic, well, it has brought a direct impact on the world economy. This has caused many private organisations to resort to pay-cuts, sacking and temporary closure of the business. As a result, it has instilled the fear of losing a job among salaried individuals. Most salaried people are now planning to embrace self-employment by setting up their own trades.
While the plan appears to be brilliant, things might go topsy-turvy if you are not on the right track. No matter if you plan to design and develop a bibliography maker or launch your own food delivery chain, never go solo without proper mind mapping.
So, read this blog and get introduced to the nine incredibly effective tips to back you up in the right manner.
Here you go.
1. Plan before you move out
Moving out of the office and venturing solo is easy. But, make sure you don’t regret making the decision. This is the reason why you should plan and make a move.
Take note of the following suggestions to go ahead in an organised manner.
- Take at least 2-3 months time to settle and research across your market niches.
- If you have a notice period to serve, do the needful and utilise that time to formulate your business moves.
- For example, if you plan to fly solo with a start-up, then visit sites such as Smarta, Entrepreneur.com and Reddit: startups.
- These platforms will help you develop insights into the nitty-gritty of start-up establishments prior to making capital investments.
- Take note of your core competitors. Keep track of their business strategies.
- Plan to come up with a unique advertising strategy that will help your brand stand out of the crowd.
2. Stay positive, but prepare for the worst
Going solo isn’t as cool as it sounds. There are too many risk factors associated. If you are ready to take up those challenges, then the world awaits you. But, you must understand that mere willingness to overcome business hurdles isn’t enough. You must actually know how to keep up with it.
Take note of the following strategies to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
- Start saving enough to create a contingency fund. Use money-saving apps likeChime Banking, Qapital and Rize for guided assistance in this matter.
- Make a list of the probable downturns you could face in your venture.
- Once you are done creating the list, enlist all prospective monetary expenses associated with each of the predicted setbacks.
- If you plan to apply for a loan, take care of certain factors such as the rate of interest, reputation of the bank individual money lender.
- Avoid launching a massive corporate structure right away. Think big and take smaller steps.
- Starting with lots of expenses will only add up to your capital expenditure.
- Instead, stay cautious of the pitfalls and market your products without investing in premium advertisements.
- Use free ad post sites like Findermaster, Trovit and Classifieds factor to communicate your brand’s voice.
3. Read enough business journals and articles
There’s no substitute for reading. Unless you read enough book and business blogs, you will not be able to hone all the required skills to be on the profitable side of the table.
Here are some recommendations for you.
- The International Small Business Journal
- Journal of Business Research
- The Mashable Business Blog
- The Business Blog of TechCrunch
- Duct Tape Markering Blog
4. Never turn down a client
Never in your life ever, turn down a client who’s interested in your business. No matter how small or limited the project is, never reject any work in your initial days. Remember, if you turn down a client, then he/she may not come back to you with a second offer.
As a result, you are the one who’s going to incur loss down the road. Chances are, you will not get the perfect project to kick start your venture. But, at least, you should start off with something instead of sitting back, being overly choosy.
5. Gear up to work beyond fixed office timings
When you go solo, remember, you are no more an employee who is supposed to serve a nine to five shift. You got to tread beyond it and take up extra responsibilities to establish your venture.
So, follow these suggestions for a smooth ride ahead.
- Train your mind to attain the right work-life balance.
- Utilise your time spent in commuting from home to office. Start early, and achieve your day’s target without dragging it till late in the night.
- Prepare your mind to stay calm and work peacefully under circumstances where you are required to stay up till late in the night and work on clients’ projects.
- Look after your mental health. Take a break from work if you find yourself going too hard.
6. Seek professional assistance under tricky situations
Even though you are going solo, there’s no harm in resorting to a second opinion in times of trouble. You can always seek assistance from peers, acquaintances and ex-colleagues in case you face difficulties in your solo venture.
There are several apps one can use for easy business consultations on the go. To name a few, FollowUp, PipeDrive and Teamgate get a special mention.
7. Do not miss out on social media networking
There’s nothing better than having a virtual community of likeminded young entrepreneurs to back up your plans and start-up endeavours. This is where the significance of social media networking steps in. You can always leverage its potential and help your business network grow in the following ways.
- Connect with likeminded business professionals on platforms such LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter.
- Create your business community on Facebook and ask your friends and acquaintances to be a part of it.
- You can encourage them to share business expansion ideas and tricks of the trade.
- Also, you can always advertise your products or services on Facebook and help your brand’s voice reach millions of potential consumers.
8. Work on creating your own value in market
This is important when you are planning to become self-employed in 2020. With a worldwide dip in the economy forecasted, value-driven businesses will be prioritised more. People will be more interested in consuming what is necessary. They will leave aside all forms of add-ons or products that won’t add up to their daily life essentials.
Here are some suggestions you may like to consider.
- Start a blog. Start informing people about your services, introduce or highlight consumer pain points and explain how availing your service can help them.
- Include as much information as you can. Most importantly, make your blogs available for free.
- Give your audience more of such free takeaways and create that demand among them.
- Once the demand is created, you can easily game up your supply chain management strategies accordingly.
9. Set the right price for your service
Lastly, you must set the right price for the services or products you would offer. Here are some tips that will come into play.
- Conduct a thorough market survey prior to setting the price.
- Never set the price too high or too low for your job. Always maintain a balance.
- Also, establish secure payment gateways for your customers. It is recommended to use PayPal, Google Pay or Payoneer.
Parting Thoughts,
Before wrapping up, let me share the key takeaways of this blog for you to refer or revisit on the go.
- Plan your moves properly before flying solo.
- Stay optimistic but prepare for the worst-case scenario.
- Read ample business journals and informative articles.
- Never reject projects or turn down a client.
- Prepare to work beyond normal office hours.
- Resort to professional assistance during critical situations.
- Harness the potential of social media marketing.
- Creating your own value in the market is equally crucial.
- Work on setting the right industry price for your service.
Cheers!
Author Bio: Andy Alvin is an experienced software developer, associated with a leading agency in Glasgow, the United Kingdom. He has recently designed and built an advanced Grammar checker and plagiarism detector. Apart from that, Andy is a dedicated academic writer, working on behalf of the platform MyAssignmenthelp.com
nice article , very useful tips , thanks
wonderful article also awesome tips for everyone ..this tips helpful for our business thanks you..