Hajra Naz
It can appear to be a dream to leave the comforts of an office and go out on your own to freelance or start your own business to make money. However, the business venture may before long transform into a bad dream if the essential mindset, a solid feeling of devotion, and self-discipline are absent.
Therefore, make sure you don’t exhibit any of these eight alert signs before going into your boss’s office and having a “Braveheart” moment.
You’re Not Ready to Freelance or Start Your Business: 8 Signs
1. You Prefer a Consistent Income
If the conviction of consistent pay is your comfort zone, wandering into a business venture could appear to be overwhelming. The days of relying on a steady monthly income and employer-provided benefits like healthcare are over for freelancers and business owners.
All things being equal, you’ll bear an entirely different arrangement of monetary obligations, from buying office supplies to orchestrating your health care coverage inclusion. Your FICA payments, which were previously split with your employer, must also be paid in full by you. Before jumping, it’s urgent to consider these additional costs and calculate them in your monetary arrangement completely.
2. You are not ready to take risks
Risk-taking ability and business sense usually go hand in hand. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 20% of newly established businesses fail during the first year, and only 35% remain in operation after ten years.
These chances could appear to be preferable over a bet, yet when your whole job is on the line, they don’t precisely give you the peace of mind you could need. Looking at your risk tolerance is vital before deciding if going into business is the right move for you.
3. You Haven’t Researched the Market
If you haven’t delved into researching the market, even the most revolutionary idea could fall flat. It’s like having invented the wheel in a world where everyone flies—it might be brilliant, but if nobody needs it, it won’t get you far. Understanding your target market and how to connect with it is crucial.
As Forbes Advisor points out, a staggering 4% of new businesses meet their demise within five years due to a lack of demand in the market. So, before launching your venture, invest ample time and effort into market research to ensure there’s a genuine need or desire for what you’re offering.
4. You Have No Business Plan
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,” as Benjamin Franklin once expressed. This is particularly obvious while sending off an organization or putting out your shingle as a freelancer. Although a 900-page business plan with graphs and projections up to 2080 may not be required, you should ensure that you have thoroughly investigated every aspect of your proposed venture, including costs, time requirements, and issues, as well as realistic estimates of market demand, potential revenue, and profitability.
5. You Hate Marketing Yourself
It’s not an opportunity to be timid while launching another endeavour or offering freelance services. Anything that you might say about Steve Jobs, Martha Stewart, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sir Richard Branson, these are not disappearing. They never missed a chance to market their goods and services, and they perhaps had an unhealthy amount of faith in themselves. So, this is one instance where leaving your humility at the door might be appropriate.
6. You Don’t Want To Put In Long Hours of Work
You might want to hold onto your day job if you’re launching a small business with the intention of having less work and more freedom. 75% of small business owners work more than forty hours a week, and 19% work more than sixty, according to Fundera research, a small business information resource. Yes, work is still involved.
7. You’re Not Aware of Business Finances
Again, we’re not suggesting you have to have an MBA, but it might be disastrous if you don’t know at least the fundamentals of managing the financial side of your company. Cash flow issues caused 82% of failing firms to collapse, according to SmallBizGenius.net. During the initial months of freelancing or starting a new firm, finances are generally limited, so each choice you make can have a significant effect on your revenue.
8. You Lack Self-Discipline
When you work for “the man,” he assigns tasks to you and specifies when they must be completed. When it comes to taking a vacation or playing hooky, everything is quite clear-cut. Not in the case of becoming your own boss. The “boss” will out of nowhere be far more obliging about deadlines and plans for getting work done if you don’t have adequate self-discipline. That’s also a recipe for disaster in the world of entrepreneurship and freelance work.
You may also like: Freelancer Challenges Series: How to Balance Work and Life as a Freelancer
Conclusion
In conclusion, even though working independently or freelancing may appear to be engaging, it’s critical to survey your availability by considering significant perspectives like your capacity to deal with irregular pay, risk tolerance, market research, business planning, marketing expertise, ability to place in extended periods, monetary shrewdness, and self-control.
If these issues are not resolved, starting a business could easily become too much to handle. By taking the time to evaluate these red flags, you may improve your readiness for the demands and obligations of working for yourself, which will eventually increase your chances of success.
