Considering self-employment? Things to think about

After many years as a government employee, I became self-employed as a freelance writer in 2000. This ultimately turned into a decent business which I enjoy.


Sometimes when people ask what I do, they respond by saying, "That sounds like fun. How can I do that?" In the early days, I was taken aback and did not know what to say. No one helped me get started. Everything I knew about my work was something I had developed on my own without a mentor, coach, or field specific education. Not wanting to be as rude as I thought their question was, I would say something lame like, "It's too complicated to explain."


But then I came up with the real answer which I now gladly share with them and anyone else who is thinking of any type of self-employment. You may not like the answer, but it's an honest assessment.


1. Before you quit your safe, every two week paycheck job to launch your business, get completely out of debt. Having a mortgage, rent, car payments, student loans, or credit card bills will force you to make bad choices just to get money. Once that financial burden is lifted, you can make better decisions about the clients and types of work to pursue.


2. Have enough money on hand to live for at least two years without taking any money out of the business. This is true even for low overhead businesses like mine. People whose businesses require large investments in equipment and inventory will need an even bigger cash cushion. Oh, so you're going to get a loan for that? See rule 1.


3. Get business cards printed. Never go anywhere without them. You never know when you might encounter someone who could use your product or service or knows someone who does.


4. Take advantage of free online educational resources. Webinars and marketing e-zines barely existed when I started out. While many try to sell you an expensive advanced course after giving a free taste of what they know, that free info is often worthwhile.


5. Network, online and in person. People do business with people they like. How can they like you if they don't know you? LinkedIn is a great place for business networking. Join groups. Contribute to discussions. Offline, find local networking groups or join the Chamber of Commerce. Sharing useful information without any expectation of making a sale is a way of establishing yourself as an expert and developing rapport with potential clients. It may take numerous contacts (more than a dozen is typical) before this results in a direct financial benefit to you.


6. Get help. You're an expert in what you do but not in every aspect of running a business. If you don't know how, hire people for IT, website development, bookkeeping and tax preparation, graphic design, copywriting, and other tasks. Maybe you can barter for these services. SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) may be able to help. That is also a good source for finding a mentor or setting up a mastermind group to help you stay focused.


Did I do all of these things? No because I was not aware of how important they were or they were not available then. If this information has convinced you it's not time yet for you to take the leap away from job security, maybe you can start part-time. If that's not an option, you can begin building toward self-employment by reducing debt, increasing savings, gathering free business information, and building your network. Whether or not you ever become self-employed, doing those things will still benefit your life and career.

Excerpts from LinkedIn.