What does it take to succeed in Self-Employment?

Most people starting out in business do so because they want the freedom and the financial rewards working for themselves bring, but have you considered the challenges, which by the way may far outweigh the benefits, at least in the beginning.

So, what are some of the challenges you may face when you start out on your own?

Time: Being successful at business can take months, sometimes years, which means you need to be determined and be doing it for the right reasons. A lot of start-up businesses fail because the owners did not have the patience to carry on when the success they are sought does not happen immediately.

Unstable Income: For most people, the main cause of stress when they go self-employed is money. Which sometimes is the main reason they go into it in the first place. It is important to bear in mind that your income will not be as stable as when you were employed and this instability can impact you mentally. This unstable income is an unavoidable part of being a freelancer or a new business owner or a new self-employed person so it is crucial you learn to manage it instead.

On the other hand, if you don’t have any financial worries and going self-employed is about following a passion then you are in a very lucky position and should definitely embrace it.

Isolating: Another source of stress is loneliness as working for yourself can be isolating, depending on your type of work. This can also take a mental toll. This can easily be solved by planning more activities with friends and family, working from public spaces etc. but it is worth bearing in mind as shifting from working in an open plan office with 15 work colleagues feels very different p working on your own from home day in day out.

Boundaries: Establishing clear boundaries between work and other areas of your life: Starting as in business as a self-employed person often means working long hours especially at the start to get the business off ground. This is one of the key advantages of being self-employed, your ability to set your own hours but it will be key to establish clear working hours, so you have enough energy from day to day to keep showing up for your business.

Managing the workload: Not having enough work or having too much is another challenge you can face when starting out on your own. If you find yourself with a lot of free time during your working hours then it is time to work on marketing your business and your services. Having too much work (especially if you don’t have any employees) can mean long hours and overwhelm and needs to be managed.

What are some of the steps you can take to manage these challenges?

Start the business as a side gig while you still have another source of income such as a full or part time job, while you establish your business knowing that this can take months, sometimes years before you start to reap a lot of the rewards of working for yourself. This is how most people win in business.

Write a business plan: The ideal scenario will be to have a business plan or at the very least address some basic questions depending on the type of business you are setting up. Writing a business plan will also force you to think through most of the tough questions that will ensure you succeed in the long run.

• Funding (How much are you going to need to get started) ? This will depend on your type of business. For example, if you are a self-employed construction worker, carer or freelancer where you provide a service and sell your time, then you will not need a lot of capital start; maybe a good laptop, cost of having a website, insurances, licences and you are good to go. If on the other hand you are thinking of setting up a café or selling products you have developed then you will need more funds to get started. Do you have savings you can use or are you going to need funding? Where are you hoping this money will come from? A bank loan? Friends and Family?

• Marketing (finding clients and customers ): How are you going to sell your products and services? How are you to get your message out there? How much is this going to cost you?

• Finances and Business Record Keeping: How are you going to manage your business finances? Are you going to open a business account. You can read more on self employed business accounts here. How are you going to manage your cashflow? Are you going to employ a professional such as a bookkeeper or an accountant or do it yourself. Which accounting software are you going to use? How are you going to keep your business records such as invoices receipts and other business-related information?

• Tax and Regulatory compliance: How are you going to do manage your tax compliance such as filing self-assessment tax return, Are you going to need to become VAT registered?

• Resources Required: are you going to need equipment, software, stock, premises, and employ people straight away?

• What are your long-term goals? What is your end goal for the business? Is it to sell it and retire at some point in the future or keep it in the family and hand it down?

Taking the time to write and document your thought process and come up with ansers and solutions to some of these questions when starting out in business, shows you have the kind of personality to be successful as a self employed business owner and will set you apart from other start up businesses.