The number ONE reason cited by most people unwilling to take the plunge into self-employment is this- “Doing your own business is risky”
Well, so is swimming in your backyard pool, if you jumped in without learning how to swim first!
Employment comes in a package.
Yes, you get the relative stability of a JOB and regular monthly income, but you run the risk of having to depend on only one main stream of income. You are also working with obvious salary ceilings, so more often than not, you find yourself living paycheck to paycheck.
The fact of the matter is that the global economy isn’t what it used to be. Millions of people have learned the hard way that they cannot count on anyone but themselves to ensure their financial security. Even people who have spent a lifetime building a successful career have found themselves unemployed with no notice and no real prospects in these uncertain economic times.
Because of this, many people have wondered where they should begin when creating a new business to ensure their future financial security. The fact is that there is no specific blueprint for a successful new business; however, there are some tips to give your fledgling new business an edge.
First Steps
First of all, when creating a new business it is important to rely on the skills you have, the things you know, and your personal talents. This way you can capitalize on something you are already familiar with as opposed to trying to both start a new business and learn a new skill or trade at the same time.
In order to determine the direction of your business, you should carefully consider your strengths, which ones are marketable, and which ones you have the capital to get off the ground.
If you have little or no startup capital, you may want to create a new business that is going to have little or no overhead. Among the most feasible are those that are related to providing outsourcing services for other business. Such services could include IT, content writing, manning a phone, becoming a virtual assistant, doing accounting work or other specialized clerical work. Starting up a business along these lines will cost you very little and has the potential to bring in a very high level of income.
Business Idea
I have a best friend studying law in Queensland University in Brisbane. When i introduced my best friend to the concept of outsourcing, he immediately sat up and said “This is something i can offer to Australian companies!”
Well, he is right! Thousands of companies in Australia are not aware of the fact that much of their mundane, non-revenue generating daily tasks can be outsourced cheaply and efficiently to other countries’ workers. His plan in 2010 is to bring this awareness to the market and pitch to the individual companies in Australia.
Get Your Name Out There
Once you have determined what your new business is going to entail, the next most crucial aspect to success is getting your name out there. A good advertising/marketing campaign is absolutely critical. No matter how skilled you are or how well your new business is organized, if you can’t reach your customer base then you won’t be successful.
Fortunately, marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. It can be based on simple networking, and social networking sites have made that a snap. You can even do your marketing yourself if you have the time, but in order for your newly created business to be truly successful, you are going to have to dedicate a lot of time to your marketing, which can (in turn) detract from the actual operation of your business. For this reason, your best bet is probably to outsource your marketing to a business or individual with a proven track record of getting results.
If you absolutely insist on doing all marketing work on your own, please don’t forget to read Jay Conrad Levinson’s classic book titled “Guerilla Marketing”
This book really helped me craft my own low-cost marketing campaigns. Heck, even the big companies could use this book! Really worth every cent.
Employment is good, but each work day is 9 to 5. What do you do after 5? Kiyosaki of Rich Dad Poor Dad fame advises us to get a home study financial education. My own preference is for anyone who is currently employed to learn as much as they can about entrepreneurship and then plunge headfirst into a low or no-capital business. Its ok to jump into business, and ok too to make mistakes at first because we all do.Of course, you can do all this while still being employed in the day time.
The only risk is if you never ever take that plunge and forever be shrouded in the “entrepreneurship fear syndrome”
What do you have to lose? Having your own little business is fun! I hope I have inspired you enough to take action and create your own sideline business today.
P.S: For you who are still unsure about this decision and need someone to talk to, I will always be free to chat with you via email. Do send me one, I look forward to reading your mails and comments.