Starting a business

How do I set up my own business?

November 15, 2020 By // by Rachel Brushfield

Setting up a business is a dream come true for some people and something that others wouldn’t touch with a barge pole. A high proportion of businesses fail but you don’t need to be one of this statistic with careful planning and research.

There are many catalysts to setting up a business; spotting a gap in the market; taking on a franchise, commercial demand for something you do as a hobby; the opportunity to buy an existing business, being made redundant and having a cash sum; wanting more freedom or money etc.

So how can you set up your own business with minimum stress, expediently to create ease in future?

Below are some tips to maximise your chances of success:

Do thorough research into the demand for your product or service including the market, pricing and competitors and especially find out what your customers’ needs and desires are
Ensure that your product or service is different or better in a way that is relevant to the needs of your target audience, not simply something that you like
Buy a book and/or do an on-line course in setting up a business
Take advantage of any cheap or free training available from the local council, Chamber of commerce or other government initiatives etc
Create a thorough yet simple business plan that is user-friendly for ongoing monthly use
Have some savings to take the pressure off in the first few months and work out your break-even costs to cover key expenses. Ensure you don’t overstretch yourself financially and have a proactive business banker and accountant to give you expert advice
Set up I.T. and efficient filing systems and templates that will save you time in the long run when you get even busier
Plan time in your diary to network and do marketing and also to review progress and plan next steps. It is easy to put off things that aren’t urgent but vital to invest time in important not urgent activities.
Network face to face or on-line with other self-employed people through organisations such as BNI or Linked in. Not only can they generate business for you, they’ll also give you support and advice
Think carefully about the environment in which you’ll work – this can really affect both your productivity and how you feel
Get a business coach or mentor to help you to minimise mistakes and fast track success
Ensure that you get key people in your life on board; partner, kids etc so that their support helps rather than hinders you

More

Read how we help our clients

Hobby becoming a business

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/hobby-becoming-a-business/

Turning a passion into a business

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/turning-a-passion-into-a-business/

Turning a strength into a business

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/turning-a-strength-into-a-business/

10 tips for happy self-employment: part 1

September 14, 2012 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Official stats out this week show that more and more people are choosing self-employment. I have been self-employed for over 14 years – here is part 1 of 3: tips for happy self-employment:

Design it around your values – what is important to you
Delegate the bits you hate/aren’t good at
Make time to think, reflect and plan
Invest in your skills
Make time for breaks
Have a separate work space
Maintain clear boundaries, time and space, if you work from home
Switch off your Blackberry/Ipad/Iphone
Invest in your knowledge
Get a coach/mentor

Part 2 next week will share 10 more tips for happy self-employment.

Have you read our Career Strategies bulletins? Follow this link for more useful advice:. Topics include work of passion, career vision, flexible working.

http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=106

Are you completely unemployable?

May 1, 2012 By // by DigitalJenIPC

I am completely unemployable. I have been self employed for over 14 years. When I left employment, the only thing I missed was the IT helpline, my company car and the salary. I still remember the excitement of getting my first invoice paid! My Mum designed my first logo, my office was my bedroom and I didn’t have any business cards for the first 2 years, just a freelance-focused CV.

Are you considering self employment or do you know someone who is? Perhaps you are finding the current jobs market frustrating and challenging.

Employment no longer provides the security or certainty it once did. The world of work is never going to return to what it was, pre-credit crunch, and many mature workers will need/want to earn for longer before retiring. Many people have misperceptions about self employment, so don’t consider it as an option. In the UK, over million people are now self employed (Source ONS).

Self employment isn’t for everyone, and if structure, hierarchy, belonging, financial security and teamwork are important to you, it may be your idea of hell! For many, redundancy provides a push and financial cushion to try self employment.

What are the pros & cons?

Pros: what you put in you get out; design to suit you; freedom, choice & flexibility; no politics; tailor to your values, needs, wants and strengths.

Cons: less certainty of income; need to market yourself which many hate; multi tasking – being cleaner, project manager, new business person all yourself; funding your own training, holidays, sickness and pension; long hours especially at the beginning.

What types are there?

There are lots of different types with varying degrees of security/need to market yourself, including; freelance; contracting; interim; creating a business & building a brand by yourself or with others; buying a franchise; a home based internet business; part of a portfolio career; information marketing and being an associate for someone else’s business.

We have made sure we have updated our skills, experience and knowledge to be useful to help our clients in the fast changing world of work. In the self employment sector, we help our clients:

Set up a business for the first time
Reposition an existing business
Existing business owner changing direction
Become a freelance/contractor, define a personal brand and market themselves

We LOVE helping people become self employed because it utilises all of our skills. It is really satisfying helping people to believe in their talents, increase in confidence and overcome blocks they have about marketing themselves, especially in a downturn.

5 Common mistakes

Mistake 1): You don’t check whether it fits your values, needs and wants and make a hasty decision e.g. setting up a business with the wrong people for you. Solution: evaluate your options with a career coach and ensure your decision fits you and will give you what you want/need.

Mistake 2): You try to do everything yourself rather than playing to your strengths. Solution: Be realistic; get good support – people you trust e.g. a virtual PA; do skill swaps to save money.

Mistake 3): You focus too much on earning rather than creating and evolving your strategy and plan. Solution; block out time in your diary and do planning away from your usual work base and get a business mentor as a sounding board to help you get your niche right and stay on track.

Mistake 4): You dislike marketing yourself and don’t continually evolve your strategy, so sabotage your own success. Solution: Get a marketing mentor and explore your blocks about marketing. This is one of our specialisms – we do talks and articles about ‘blowing your own trumpet’ as well as coaching.

Mistake 5): You focus on the short term instead of longer term to create a sustainable success. Solution: Save a fixed amount of your income to fund training, holidays, pensions, sickness and quiet periods; get a coach/mentor and block out time regularly to review, reflect, plan and refocus.

If you are considering self employment or know someone who is, you might like to read about some of the clients we have helped to change career and become self employed. Click on this link:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106786138562.html

If you are pondering self employment, why not get in touch? Rachel@liberateyourtalent.com

What’s Your ‘Aha Moment?’

April 13, 2011 By // by DigitalJenIPC

I love those moments when the light goes on.‘Aha’ moments as I call them. I had a client last week who had a blinding insight. I love it when that happens because it represents new clarity and the beginning of their new improved future. Seeing them go on to make it happen is the golden icing on the insight cake.

I remember well the first time I spoke with this client. They said “I’ve got a business idea in me” and in our session out it popped, like a newborn baby, which is soooo exciting. Often people are so close to themselves that they can’t see insights, or they have such busy lives , they don’t have the time and space to notice them, make sense of them and work out what to do with them.

I am a bit like a midwife of people’s insights, future careers, hopes and dreams. Love it! Often people have intuitions and instincts about what they want but allow others, or themselves, through their fears or agendas, to sabotage them. People are really creative at stopping themselves from doing what they want!

If this blog post resonates with you, click on this link:

http://www.careerstrategies.co.uk/telegraph/

For a free article about ‘Insight Mining’, e mail me rachel@liberateyourtalent.com