Last Updated on September 26, 2018 by Jessica Adams
Working for yourself can be “the dream” for many and while I’ve been fortunate enough to build my own business, I can tell you that there are even more amazing benefits. Being around for your children’s’ after-school pick-ups and helping with homework, while still being able to bring an income into the family is a great feeling. It takes a lot of work and dedication, and the ability to sometimes merge the work/life balance. After all, your home is where your office is and at times it’s difficult to feel fully “off the clock”. Still, hundreds of people make the choice every single day, to start working for themselves. So I thought this would be a good time to share some tips with you on how to get started when you work for yourself.
Mompreneur Life: How To Get Started
When You Work For Yourself
Make Sure You Know What You Want To Do
For some people, they just want to work from home, not caring about what they do there. You might just like the idea of working in the digital world and freelancing for things like writing or handling a company’s social media. But of course, you need to have an idea of what you want to do if you’d like to start your own profitable and successful business. Perhaps you already have a product that you wish to produce and sell. Thankfully websites like Etsy offer a great platform for when you are starting out.
You can even start your own business as a Virtual Assistant which is a broad title and very popular work-from-home position these days. You can help someone virtually, from home, as an administrative assistant or as a company’s graphic designer, chief editor, etc. The most important thing is to know what you want to do and have a plan.
Keeping That Professional Look While Working From Home
Understandably, people often don’t want to use their personal address on their letterhead or email account. Also, meeting clients from your home for face to face business meetings isn’t exactly professional or a safe idea. So you may want to consider using a registered office address instead. This can give you a professional look and allows you to leave the option open to move on with your home business.
Repair Your Credit and Financial History
Working for yourself could mean that you consider opening a business account. You might even be looking into opening lines of credit with the bank. So you may want to look into making sure that your credit is in tip-top shape. We all have financial difficulties at some point in our lives. But if you know your credit history looks less than great, consider looking at ways to repair your credit. Often the smallest changes and a payoff here or there can make a huge difference to fixing your credit history and overall score. Credit Karma is an excellent option for checking your score and getting notifications about updates throughout your credit cleaning process.
Have a Designated Office or Workspace
It can be hard to differentiate yourself from being at work and being a member of your household. This is why having a designated office or workspace can help you separate the two. If you don’t have room for an entirely separate office, you can still set up space in the living room to work. Pinterest is literally THE place to help you to find ideas on how to make use of even the smallest of spaces. I’m writing to you right now from my family’s would-be dining room!
I had an office at our old house but when we recently moved into an apartment, albeit a large one, the dining room was the best place for me to set up my business. The dining table fits perfectly in this area underneath the living room window, between the dining and living room. I use a screen as a room divider for extra privacy and a mental barrier from the rest of my apartment.
Finally, make sure that you are careful with the time you have and motivate yourself to work when you want to work. It can be hard to not be distracted at home, so discipline yourself in time management. I hope this helps you take that leap for a future of working for yourself. Of course, you’ve got a long way to go before you’ll officially launch your new business venture. But if you can check these tips off your list, you’ll be off to building a solid foundation for your business.
Jessica Rose Adams
No Comments