As we have already discussed in previous articles, the trend of freelancing and startups in Pakistan is increasing. Apart from the IT sectors, we can find sprouting business entities who are looking to implement their unique business ideas. This entire situation has led to where we are not unknown to the word “entrepreneurship.” Today we will be discussing something that can help you become an entrepreneur by preparing yourself for a business venture and working for your future securely.
Understanding the Concept of Self-Employed
Self-employment means a situation where any person is working for himself rather than working for any other person on a fixed amount. A self-employed person earns by performing profitable operations from a business or trade activities. Self-employed people are generally independent contractors and individual proprietor of a business. In some cases, they might work in partnership with others.
If you are thinking to become a self-employed person and run your own business, you need to keep the following patterns in your mind before leaving your job and working on your own setup.
Doing Your Homework:
Self-employment is a tough thing, you need to be a strong person with patience and keep the long-term commitment in your mind if you are looking to run your own business. you need to be committed to dealing with all the profits and losses of the business. if you are ready to leave your job, do make your mind for added stress that you will be dealing with during the operations of the company. You will be facing financial challenges to pay your monthly bills and you have to struggle even more. At the same time, if you are hiring a team, you will have to be concerned about their salaries and other relevant expenses.
Networking:
Tapping into the relevant network is another essential part of a successful business venture. You need to start making a social circle that is relevant to your business model, far before starting the business. You need to look for the patterns that can get your business needs, and can offer you better business opportunities while at the same time you need to get connected with the circle of skilled people who can be an asset for your business operations.
Organized Operations:
Operating an entire business is a hectic task. It involves a lot of major and minor activities and being a boss you need to keep an eye on every section of it. Also, keep in mind that you will be facing a lot of challenges that were not a part of the plan. You need to stay prepared for the surprises. Before leaving your job and getting into self-employment, you need to start settling down the pieces of puzzles of these operations in place. For instance, find and have a detailed meeting with the lawyer and make sure that he will be dealing with the business documentation without any hassle. Next thing you can do is having an official business bank account and credit card etc. You can also set up a quick book and payroll system that will later be helping you in performing certain tasks efficiently.
Financial Planning:
Before you head towards self-employment, you have to accept that you will not be getting a paycheque as the new month will arrive. This means that you have to be financially prepared for the upcoming ventures. Apart from the official expenses, you will have to manage your personal expenses as well. For this reason, you will have to be ready for all these scenarios in advance and make sure you have sufficient amount as a backup for at least 6 months.
Long-Term Thinking:
When you start working on your own setup, you will initially need to say a yes to any rates and any job offered by any client. But once you have done some projects, you will start getting a clear picture of what things you must take into account your operational services and what not. Here comes the perk of having your own setup, you can say a NO to whatever you feel is not relevant to your goal or expertise or what set of services you are offering. However, recommended is to keep your long run goals in mind rather than focusing on working on any project just to pay your monthly bills. You can spare some time and look for the projects that can offer you better results in future, rather than wasting/booking your time for the projects that you may not be willing to pursue in future.
