Well done if you have escaped the tyranny of working for someone else and have been freelancing. You must feel very proud and exhilarated. So now you want to expand beyond freelancing and grow into a small business. You may not know this but the transition from one wo/man band to a small business requires different skills and preparation. It’s not all about you now! The Kudos PA team have brainstormed some tips to help you plan your transition and growth. Good luck, and if you have more ideas to add, please tell us.
- Do you have the right mindset of a business owner? This means are you able to hire people, train and delegate work to them?
- Are you comfortable delegating to others or do you prefer to do everything yourself? Don’t forget, to grow a business you need good a team (whether full time or outsource) and you must delegate
- Are you comfortable dealing with problems or are you stressed easily? Running a small business with more people involved, there will inevitably be problems, so you need to learn to deal and sort them out
- You need to write a business plan and include a sales and marketing plan as well. This is vital for you to plan through your vision, and how to achieve your goals practically
- Will you have enough work coming through for you and your team? No work=No money to pay wagers
- Do you understand cashflow? This is really important for any business, as you may win business, but payment from your clients could be slow in getting to you, but you still need money to pay your costs. You need to keep the cash flowing! Cashflow is like the blood flowing through the business, blood stops = no business
- Moving from being a freelancer to a business owner means needing a business name/brand
- You will need an accountant who can help you set up and structure your limited company accountant can also file your company accounts and advise you on many other business related topics
- Will you do your own bookkeeping or outsource? Keeping your financial transactions in tip top shape is crucial, otherwise you won’t know the financial health of your business at any given time
- Do you have a good relationship with your bank? As you may need some injection of cash from them due to cashflow problems at some point
- Do you have a lawyer to advise you on the legal aspect of running a small business? You need to be aware of laws regarding employing staff full time, health and safety, employers responsibility such as holiday, maternity pay, sick pay etc
- Be prepared to hard work and long hours, the lot of the business owner.
The Great Bits
Starting your own business is a massive achievement, and only a pipe dream of some people. It is rewarding emotionally and eventually also financially. You will feel a sense of freedom unlike anything you may have ever experienced. Planning and preparation is key to success. Don’t forget that you can expand your business in many ways, you can either hire full time staff, or outsource parts of the work to keep costs down as well. Be creative in your thinking and try different ways of doing things, if it doesn’t work, try another way.
Are you persuaded yet? Go on, take the plunge and move from freelance to being the boss. Our team at Kudos PA offers virtual assistance in secretarial services, administration, marketing, blogging, research and so much more. We love business, and want to support you to be an entrepreneur! Give us a call if you need any help or just want to chat on 07875108255.
