It’s certainly tempting to contemplate the idea of being your own boss. It’s likely you’ve also given it some thought from time to time. There’s a certain liberation in not having to suck up to superiors or annoying co-workers, a freedom to call the shots knowing your future rests squarely on your own shoulders. It’s exciting, but it can also be daunting, even terrifying, in the wee small hours before dawn wondering if you’ve got what it takes. Below are several success factors that if followed can help you begin your small business venture with better odds of achieving something of real and lasting value.
Make Sure You Are Not Undercapitalised
Starting out on your own can be an expensive proposition. Not just investing in whatever tools are required for your particular trade or profession but making sure you have enough to cover all the other expenses that are part and parcel of running a business, even if it is only a one-man band to start with. Then of course there’s the fact that when you are running your own enterprise there will be busy periods and not so busy periods and you need to make sure the money that flows in when times are good can be stretched to cover any lean periods that may happen. This is quite a task, especially when you are used to relying on a regular payment. To give yourself the best chance of building a financially sustainable business it’s worth having a good amount of savings you can draw on if needed as backup, while you are developing both your customer base and a solid reputation for what you deliver. Or consider whether you can build this up part-time while still working a regular full or part-time position. There are too many small businesses that fail or have to be sidelined because they simply don’t have enough cash reserves to get them through until they can become more stable.
See To It Your Household is Onboard
Before proceeding with your own business, you will want to have your family agreeable to the idea. Getting any new enterprise up off the ground usually involves long hours, big learning curves and frequently some expensive mistakes along the way. It can be one of the most stressful times you will go through with your family and businesses that are not delivering on their owners hopes quite often put pressures on family relationships. But, that doesn’t mean they can’t offer a lot to families though. There’s a lot that can be gained in running a small business that can be shared with the family, sometimes it offers the opportunity for training and hands on experience and other times it may simple demonstrate that you can follow your own dreams and what it takes to take an idea and turn it into a success. At any rate the more your family members are aware of and are given a sense of choice and ownership in the matter the more they will enjoy the successes when they come and help ride out the challenges too. If you are going to be working from your home you may want to read this article for more tips.
Manage Your Time & Productivity
Depending on what the skill and the value proposition are that you are offering will largely dictate the hours your potential customers will expect you to be available. For example, a plumber would be expected to be available during normal work hours, but an emergency plumber would be expected to be available out of hours as well. Having a clear idea of what needs to get done and by when is crucial to effectively managing your time in your business but also in managing your time for your other commitments like spending quality time with family. Determine daily targets that you want to obtain every day. You’re no longer doing work in a firm with supervisors and head honchos scrutinizing you to ensure that you are being useful, when you work for yourself you need to keep yourself motivated and on track. A lot of small businesses are using apps to help deal with work time together with family time.