Self-employment is not as easy to do these days, banks and building societies are not standing outside their establishments encouraging you to come in and apply for money. Any financial institution will ask to see your business plan and financial forecast. If you don’t have this, do not make an appointment to speak with them. If you want to be taken seriously, have all this information prepared.
Our recommendation is to have a rock-solid business plan with lots of research to back it up. Fact is, you need to be able to payroll yourself and the business for at least a few months, before the money starts to come in.
Here are a few points you need to take into consideration:
- Can you do everything yourself?
- If bringing on staff (full-time or casual) can you pay the overheads?
- From opening, when do you need to sell your first item / raise your first invoice?
- What are your payment terms going to be?
- How often will clients / customers typically purchase from you?
- How many clients / customers do you need in a month / quarter / year?
- What costs are essential and desirable?
- How are you going to promote the new business?
- Can you get any funding from the Government?
- Who can help you?
Many individuals have a dream; they have a full-time job and work on this dream in their spare time. The cautious individuals will build up the part-time income until it can justify and sustain their standard of living. But the stress is just starting.
Companies now are asking for pre-payment for services, this is becoming the norm. If you pay for a service, then wait for your customers to pay you, this could take 30 or 60 days. Can you afford this? Some companies offer invoice finance, so when you raise the invoice they will pay you a high % of the value, this can be a godsend if you are a recruitment business or suchlike, however the companies take a % of the value.
Our point is when you set-up you need to take note of absolutely everything. It can be terrifying, but could be the best thing you have ever done in your life. What you must have is belief in yourself and resilience. If your nerves get the better of you, it will fail.
You can never give up when self-employed, make sure your business idea has research to back it up and stick with the plan. Rome wasn’t built in a day, your business won’t be either, but it does take time. When in doubt, always go back to the dream, what made you want to set-up in business by yourself and be self-employed? The answer should help you stay focused, deliver an outstanding service to your clients / customers and above all create and build a sustainable business.
