Being self-employed is very different than being an employee and can be a difficult transition. Here are three more traits you must have if you're going to move from being an employee to being successfully self-employed.
4) When you're self-employed, you have to be able to plan ahead.
Your last job may have involved no planning at all, as that was someone else's job. Or perhaps your job involved planning on a localized level, such as planning a particular project. If you want to start a business, you need to develop expertise in both short-term and long-range planning; it's about to become a big part of your life.
When you start a business, one of your first tasks will be to work through a business plan. As your business becomes operational, you'll find that this plan (however detailed) needs to be revised and that other plans need to be created, as you work towards the long-range goals that you've set for your business. From following someone else's plan as an employee, you have to learn how to create the plans yourself - and adapt the plans to changing circumstances.
5) You need to be prepared to put in a constant and consistent effort.
We've all seen employees who are just going through the motions, or who were just "putting in the time" until retirement. You don't need to be a co-worker to know who these people are. As a customer or client you can tell, too. Bluntly, starting a business takes energy, and you need to be able to give it 100 percent. You can't afford to just coast along, or go through the motions, if you're running a business. Your customer and/or clients need to know that you are devoting 100 percent of your talent or skill or attention to them - and will go elsewhere if they don't feel this is the case.
Worse, you need to deliver this constant and consistent effort without the employee safety net. Many employees are used to being able to "call in sick" and have someone else cover their job, for instance. As a self-employed business owner, you'll have to go in and give it your best effort no matter how you feel or close up shop if you don't have employees who can fill in. You can also say goodbye to the holidays that many employees enjoy, both the annual x number of weeks and the statutory holidays, at least until your business is established to the point that you can manage your own time.
6) You have to be able to deal with uncertainty.
As a self-employed entrepreneur, there's no guarantee that the products or services you offer will be in demand six months from now. There's no guarantee that your customers will pay their bills on time or even pay them at all. There's no guarantee that your current big client, who seems to be perfectly happy with your work, won't drop you next week. There's actually no guarantee that you will make any income this month or the month after. For many ex-employees who are used to having a pay cheque arrive regularly every two weeks, the uncertainty of being self-employed is very difficult to deal with.
Are you still asking, "How do I start a business?" Good! Because the point of this article is not to scare you off, but to make you aware of how you have to readjust your thinking to make the transition from employee to self-employed business owner. Hopefully as you read through this list of traits you need to become successfully self-employed, you were saying to yourself, "I can do this". Because every one of the traits I've listed here is an attitude or behavior that can be learned, and when it comes to being self-employed, awareness is more than half the battle.
Now that you know that you're the kind of person who can start a business and run it successfully, where do you go from here?
If you're still wondering whether or not starting a business is right for you, these articles will help:
Thinking of Starting A Small Business?
5 Resources You Need To Succeed
If you're ready to start thinking about what type of business you should start, these articles will kickstart your thinking:
What Type of Business Should You Start?
The Two Paths To Starting A Business
Best Business Opportunities 2007
If you already have an idea and are ready to plunge into preparing your business plan, see The Business Plan Outline, an introduction to the Writing a Business Plan series
And when you're ready to actually start a business, the Starting a Business in Canada Course will lead you through the process.
Some self-examination, some determination and some planning - and you too can be successfully self-employed.
