Being a self-employed professional can be a great idea in today’s job market, but it’s not as easy as it seems. First of all, when you start your adventure as a self-employed businessperson, you are your boss. You have given up the option of a “safe” payroll at the end of the month because of the possibility of generating more income on your own and shaping your personal skill set. You have entered the business world on your own terms.
Therefore, you must be very clear that you are really an entrepreneur, whether you call yourself a freelancer, a self-employed individual, or an independent professional. The question is whether you do it full-time or part-time? How Can First-Time Freelancers Save Taxes?
To help ease the way for you, here are some pro-business tips when embarking on the journey of becoming a self-employed businessperson!
1. Treat your work like a business
For all intents and purposes, you are an image, a brand, and a business. That is why you must be committed to quality at all times. This becomes even more crucial if it is a personal project that you would like to turn into a full-time business. Have good communication with customers, produce high-level work, and meet deadlines just as you would in a third-party job. Whatever you do, if you go for this option, do it with the highest quality. We insist on quality because quality will be your hallmark of success.
2. Focus on expanding your network of contacts or customers
Working independently can be slow at first to attract customers, but if you do things the right way, and you are persistent in the search for customers, they will arrive. In fact, your maximum focus at the beginning should be the active search of customers by all means. Do not expect customers to enter through the door or call you. Hunt them! Today, it is easier than ever to reach potential customers, thanks to all the advertising tools we have on the internet, from Google Adwords to Facebook Ads. Having a good landing page with a great presentation and job references will help you build trust. It is very likely that at the beginning, you might have to take jobs at lower prices or go for less attractive jobs. Take them as an economical fuel while continuing the search for better potential customers. You will have time to be more selective in the type of customers, in prices or in letting go of the current customers.
3. Automate everything you can
As mentioned above, even if you are just starting as a freelancer or a self-employed person, you really have a business. So, you have become an executive director, secretary, custodian, administrator, and any other name that comes from working in your new business. To stay focused on the part of the business that generates the most revenue (customer search and the work itself), try to automate everything you can. If you are not able to automate the less important parts of the business, you will not be able to focus on the parts that do generate income properly.
4. Take advantage of your daily work
Although many people are willing to quit their job as an employee to work for themselves, sometimes, we don’t have to hurry to leave work until we are sure that we have a stable income base in the activity to which we want to dedicate ourselves. Therefore, it is sometimes best to take part-time steps while maintaining our income from the current job.
5. Be a tax expert
Self-employed people should think about taxes from the first day, or else, they may have problems with the increase in income. Of course, in many cases, it is best to hire a person or take expert advice to stay updated on this issue. Frequently, after the joy of having increased our income from our independent work also comes the sadness attached to managing your accounts. Hence, record each money transaction and save all your receipts and invoices. Use a separate bank account from your personal account for your business. And if you absolutely suck at handling finances, hire a professional because this is an integral part of being self-employed.
6. Specialise
Many agree that their earnings from their independent work income did not take off until they decided to specialize in something concrete. While you can do a little of everything, the truth is that today, it is better to attack a specific need that you can solve. Being an expert in something specific generates many more customers, and therefore, much more money. For example, we could find writing professionals, but a man who has been making a living as a copywriter for 15 years is bound to catch our attention more. In other words, it helps find you. And that is your business!
Final Words
It can definitely be challenging to start on your own at first without any guarantee of success. But with these few strategic moves and more, you can slowly build a niche for yourself in the industry.