Are you thinking of getting out of the rat race and being your own boss? It’s a big decision and surely not the easiest path to take on, at least for the initial part. I have been very keen to be a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) since my little boy was born a year ago, and have been reading and finding means to be able to still make an income as a SAHM instead of sticking to my full time job.
This article is written to share some of the tips I’ve learned and found useful. I’m not going to talk about how to make it on your own since it is a very large and deep topic, and because every success story of a business differs from one to another. What will be shared specifically are tips on what you should invest in to be able to start taking one step at a time towards achieving your goal. And when I say invest, I don’t mean investments in the world of finance. You will see where I’m headed as you read along.
Top 5 investments to make it on your own.
1) Time
If you don’t put in time to think, plan, execute, analyse and learn about your new business venture, you’re not going to make it very far on your own. You need to know exactly what your focus and line of business are, and you at least need to take some time to research the market to understand what you are up against, and what the market wants and needs. It’s only through time invested to learn all you can about what you are going into will you stand a better chance at staying in business long enough to taste success. However, this is not to say that you need to spend too much time to know everything you have to know before you start out. If you do this, you will likely end up not doing anything at all because you can never learn all there is to a business environment.
2) Knowledge
To gain market knowledge, most of the time you can do smart searches on the internet and find some answers. Apart from this source of information, read up on related books and journals/magazines. These are still invalueable although you may think that the internet will give you enough. It never hurts to know more, and if you come across recommended books by experts in the area you’re going into, by all means invest into this wealth of knowledge. If you have ended up spending too much on books which you find are no longer useful, you can always sell them as used books and there are plenty of avenues like eBay and Amazon for this purpose. Not a bad investment, if you ask me.
3) Skill
Whilst you may have read all the useful books and articles about your business, you also need some skills to be able to pull it off. Be it some softskills (for example, the art of persuasion, selling, staying motivated, etc) or technical know-how (accounting, computer programming, etc), you need to equip yourself from time to time so that you can stay at par if not ahead of the industry you are entering into. You can’t be lame and seem to not understand the circumstances around you. Therefore, it is also necessary that you invest in attending some very good workshops or seminars to help you get ahead. Even the pros do this, just to keep themselves updated and relevant. So why not for an amateur? Many good workshops don’t come cheap, but if you are learning first-hand from some professionals, then it is worth the money invested.
4) Grooming
Once you have set up your business and are ready to go out there to meet with people to talk about your business, you should invest in looking professional. You are your best sales tool and since you are new and unheard of in the business, you need a good first impression to gain some confidence of people you meet. Dress appropriately and neatly and if it need be, invest in a decent wardrobe. Try to be as well groomed as you can from top to toe, paying attention to the small details of your dressing. Learn to be a great dresser, and you will not need to invest a lot in new clothes all the time. Just play around with what you have, mixing and matching them cleverly and you could still look like a million bucks.
5) Workspace
You need not spend a lot of money in setting up a nice office for your new venture. You can even work from home. But set it up nevertheless, even if it’s just a corner of your bedroom or living room. Furnish it with a proper desk and chair, computer, phone and fax machine, and whatever else you need as a condusive workspace.
I hope you have found some of the above tips useful, and if yes, put them into practise. If you can do them today, don’t put them off till tomorrow. Here’s wishing you every success!
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Well, have lots on thing in my mind, but need some cash to execute the plan.. sigh
Take it one at a time and slowly put one by one into action. It might just all work!