5 Steps to Take When You’re Ready to Be Your Own Boss

Most of us love the idea of being our own boss. After all, one of the most frustrating parts of the working world is having to run around after someone else who makes all of the decisions. Even as a manager in a company, you’re not responsible for the major choices which dictate where the company is going to end up. Becoming your own boss is the ultimate way to pursue a career in something you care about, with complete control over your future.

Tony Robbins

You can choose which clients you work with, what kind of products and services you’re going to sell, how you’re going to pick your prices and more. You can even decide on your own hours. Of course, being your own boss isn’t all excitement and sipping cocktails on a beach while you watch your company’s share prices go up. There are steps you need to take to improve your chances of success.

Ask Why

First, this might seem like an odd step, but you’ll need to decide exactly why you’re making this decision to be your own boss. While you might argue that being your own boss only makes sense when you consider the ability to earn more money and create schedule freedoms, the exact motivation behind your decision is crucial. For instance, if you want to be your own boss because you want to earn more money and have a more flexible work schedule, you’ll need to recognize you may not earn the exact amount of cash you’d like from day one.

In fact, many people who choose to become their own boss struggle with their money initially, and they don’t always have a consistent income. Additionally, while work/life flexibility is possible, it takes a while before you’re ready to stop working every hour of the day to make your company or freelancer lifestyle a success. Make sure your vision of being your own boss is realistic before you dive in. If your ‘why’ isn’t strong enough, you won’t have enough motivation to get you through the tough spots.

Evaluate Your Skills

Once you know why you’re going to be your own boss, the next step is figuring out how you’re going to get there. This means carefully assessing your skills, and areas of experience, so you know where you can begin to make an income. If you’re an expert in video games, and you know a lot about technology, you could look into building your own gaming empire. If you’re great at motivating people, you could become a motivational speaker.

In many cases, you’ll need to build on your skills and natural talents with certifications and degrees which prove your value to other people. Taking out private student loans so you can get a degree in your chosen field, or in business in general should make it easier to make your dream of entrepreneurship or being self-employed a success. Just make sure you know exactly what you want to learn about first.

Create a Business Idea

Once you know your skills, the next step is turning those talents into a viable business idea. You’ll need to be able to research a potential target market for your company, which means looking for people who realistically need whatever service or product you’re planning on selling. Remember, regardless if you are trying to make money blogging or open up a pet day care, your business idea needs to be proven enough that you know you can make an income from whatever you want to do.

At the same time, you need to ensure the market isn’t already saturated with people offering similar services or products. Do your research to determine whether there’s a gap in the market for your company. If there are already other companies offering similar services or products to yours in the marketplace, you can still create a reliable business by finding a unique selling proposition that makes your business stand out. For instance, you might sell luxury watches for people on a budget.

Plan a Transition

Most people won’t be able to go from working for a standard employer to being their own boss overnight – no matter how much they might like to. Ultimately, you’re going to need at least some kind of buffer in place to protect yourself. This means saving at least 6 months of expenses, so you can quit your job without panicking about being able to pay the bills.

While you’re building up your savings, you might decide to start your company as a side hustle, so you can begin developing your brand, experimenting with product or service ideas, or even collecting potential clients. This can be an excellent way to get off to a running start with your new company. If you’re going to be using a side hustle strategy, ask yourself what your current business model is going to be. For instance, are you going to be freelancing, consulting, or setting up a new business, like starting an online store? Is your current business model going to stay the same when you transition fully into being self-employed?

Design Your Business Plan

Finally, before you begin setting up your business, seeking out potential sources of funding, and looking for new opportunities to connect with clients, you’re going to need to develop a business plan. Your business plan is the thing that’s going to outline exactly who your target audience is, who your competitors are and what kind of business model you’re going to be using. You can even use your business model to determine how you’re going to solve consumer problems.

A business plan will help to give you direction as you build your new business. At the same time, it’s an opportunity to start showing other investors and stakeholders that you’ve done the research required to ensure your company is a success. Most investors will ask to see a business plan before they consider spending any money on your company. Once you have completed all of these steps, you can begin to set up and grow your company.