Looking to become your own boss? You’re not alone. In the past, working for yourself was relatively uncommon. The majority of people were employed and worked for small businesses, major corporations and everything in between. But the pandemic has switched many people’s attitude towards work and generating an income. Many were let down by companies that were supposed to support them. A lot of people lost work, as companies collapsed. Others were made redundant. It’s not all too surprising, then, that more and more people are looking to take more control over their careers and income. Here are a couple of options that you can take to achieve this.
Investing in a Business
Not ready to set up a whole business yourself? You could always invest in a business that is already up and running. It could be that a company selling investments asks you to take a look at all our locations or you gain interest in a franchise. Investing in a business is a good way to earn money without having the huge commitment and costs of setting up entirely by yourself.
Freelancing
The first, and perhaps easier, option that you have when it comes to working for yourself is freelancing. When you freelance, you will work for yourself. Rather than heading into work and being given set tasks to undertake, you will, instead, build your own relationships with different clients and you will complete projects on their behalf. There are countless perks to this. Because you’re not permanently committed to one company, you get to choose who you work with, what projects you will take on, how much you charge for them, when you want to take time off, what hours you want to work and where you want to work from. Flexibility and more freedom over your life can prove highly beneficial all round. Steps you will need to take to become a freelancer include:
Registering as self-employed - this will let the government know that you will be working for yourself, collecting your own taxes and filing your own self assessment at the end of the fiscal year.
Finding clients - advertise your services well. You may want to create your own website to achieve this. You might want to browse jobs boards for freelance positions. You can post on platforms such as LinkedIn.
Managing your time - one of the key challenges of being self-employed is managing yourself well. You can’t afford to procrastinate or be lazy. You need to be driven to get your work done, as your income will rely entirely on completing projects, getting good reviews and feedback and encouraging repeat orders from happy clients.
Set Up Your Own Business
Then, we have the option of setting up your own business. This will take a lot of hard work, determination and investment. But it could all pay off massively. Some key areas to focus on when attempting this include:
Product or service development
Market research
Manufacturing
Pricing
Packaging
Branding
Advertising
Marketing
As you can see, there are a few different options when it comes to becoming your own boss. Hopefully, some of those outlined above will come in useful for you and suit you well!