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Is it Time For You To Become Your Own Boss?

Is it Time For You To Become Your Own Boss
Some people are born to be followers; others are born to be leaders. People usually have a pretty intuitive sense of which camp they fall into, which is useful for 'the followers' because that’s the default position: it’s much easier to work under someone that it is to stride out into the world on your own. If you know that you weren’t born to follow, then it’s more a matter of how rather than if you’ll do it. Below, we take a look at some of the considerations for those who want to strike it alone - who knows, maybe by the end of the article you’ll be your own boss! 
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Source: Pexels.com

Finding the Idea

Having the will to be your own boss isn’t the difficult part. Most people want to be their own boss but lack the required character and mindset to make it a reality. You can have the character and mindset, but you’ll still need to have an idea to bring it to fruition. Some people jump from idea to idea, but if you’re in paid employment, then it’s worth biding your time to wait for the right idea. Once you’ve figured out a gap in the market or a product or service you’re passionate about, you’ll be in a position to begin your journey in any small way. 

Establishing The Dream

Just as there are people who were born to be followers and those born to be leaders, there are two types of mindset when it becomes to business owners: those who think small and those who think big. Undoubtedly, if you want to have the levels of success you dream of, you need to get rid of your small mentality as soon as possible. Don’t aim to be the biggest fish in your hometown; aim to compete with the very best companies. Only those who aim so high that they can’t even see the end game when they begin, are the ones who have true success. 

Knowing When You’re Ready

There are some practical matters when it comes to going it alone, and most have to do with money. Do you have enough saved up to start your new company and also enough to maintain your present standard of living? Being your own boss can bring great rewards, but only because it’s risky, to begin with, and you’ll need a lot of start-up cash to give you the breathing room you’ll need to get established. Also, don’t underestimate the power of knowledge - if you’re learning a lot in your current role, it might be worth sticking around until you think you have the business know how to hit the ground running.

 HB Starting Small

Instead of quitting your day job one day and starting your own project the next, you should slowly make the transition, working full day at your job and part-time on your business. You can have a lot of factors taken care of so that you’re able to launch your new business without taking care of the small details when you finally make it your full-time work. Register the business and start trading. Build a website using wizzhosting.co.uk/website-builder/ and get your social media pages set up and curated with your branding in mind. And talking of branding, make sure it’s established before you launch full-time. If you do all these things you’ll have the look and feel of a real company before you’ve even got properly underway. 

Networking and Marketing

You’re going to find that you don’t have the same resources as you had when you were an employee in a company. So you’re going to have to get used to something that will be a crucial aspect in determining the success of your company: networking. You’ll need to look at any and all options you have to network your fledgeling business and have the courage to follow up any leads, however small. You’re also going to have to become pretty marketing savvy if you’re to compete with the companies who have more staff and larger budgets. Take a look at https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2015/11/23/7-cost-effective-marketing-strategies-for-growing-a-new-brand/ for some ideas about how you can make your marketing budget go as far as possible. 
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Source: Pexels.com

Knowing When To Grow

You’ll be pleased when it’s been shown that your business won’t be a complete failure. But realistically, you’ve got much bigger plans than just surviving. As such, you’ll have to know when to grow your business. Things will have started small, but they’ll also grow pretty quickly. If anything, the key is to make sure you don’t grow too quickly, as this can actually derail a new company more than starting too slow. Be cautious. 

Outsourcing and Staff

Pretty early on you’ll realise that you can’t do everything by yourself and that you need to bring in help from the outside. You’ll want to make this a mix of permanent staff and outsourced help. When hiring staff, make sure you know what you’re looking for - the cost of getting it wrong can be high. For more technical or repetitive tasks, you’ll be better outsourcing in the beginning. Things like accounting and tax can get tricky, and by outsourcing rather than hiring you’ll get access to the best talent without having to pay a correspondingly high price. 

Conclusion 

Of course, like all risky moves, it’s not all plain sailing to leave the security of a salaried position and become your own boss. There will be doubts and errors, not to mention a lack of a reliable income for the first few months while you’re getting set up. But remember, nothing that is ever really worth having comes easy. You can stay in the steady, safe lane, or you can take a chance and see what kind of adventurous life in business you can carve out for yourself. It’s normal to be nervous, but years down the line when you’re looking back, you won’t regret your decision to dream big and go it alone. 

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