Are you sick of your nine to five job, hoping to work remotely, or a stay-at-home-mom itching to get back into the workforce? Don’t worry, we’ve got you. Today we’re going to explore how you can start your own business from the comfort of your home.
Getting started – Determine Your Why
The first part of starting a business is determining your why. Why do you want to start a business? Do you want to scale your idea into something that will become your main source of income, are you trying to supplement your existing income, or is it something that you want to do simply because you enjoy it and you want to stay busy? These are the questions you have to ask yourself first.
Pro Tip: It’s a great idea to build a business off of something that you’re already passionate about. Don’t start a business based on what will make you the most money. Find something that aligns with your interests, your existing skillset, and has money making potential.
How Do Your Skills Align with Your Business Goals?
When thinking about starting a business, think about your existing skills. What skills do you already have? And what skills will you need to develop to be successful? Don’t just jump into something because someone says you would be good at it. We recommend doing a brain dump of all of the skills you already have and all of the tools and software you already own that could help with start up costs.
When you start a business, you’ll quickly discover there are a lot of things you know nothing about. That’s not to say if you don’t know everything about running a business (we’re still not experts) that you shouldn’t do it – but do your research, be prepared, and find resources to help fill the gaps where you’re lacking in knowledge.
Set Up a Budget
After determining your why and aligning your skills and tools with your business objectives, it’s time to start a budget. Where we see a lot of companies struggle right away is underestimating their start up costs. Sit down and determine exactly how much you’re willing to spend to get your business off the ground so you can create and follow a budget.
Things to consider when setting up your budget:
- What do you already have? Tools, software, equipment, etc.
- What do you need in order to start your business?
- Where is your business going to exist? Will you need an office space? A home office?
How To Enter the Marketplace – On and Offline
Once you’ve brainstormed (determined your why, reviewed your skillset, and set a budget) it’s time to think strategically. It’s time to ask yourself, how are you planning to enter the market you’re in? Freelancers tend to turn towards the internet for this. Sites like Fiver or Upwork, though designed for freelancers, are difficult to land your first job.
Before you hop online, try your local community and the connections you have around you to try to get your foot in the door. Before you reach out to anyone (online of offline) in attempts to secure your first gig, make sure you’ve built out your online presence.
- Get a company website even if it’s simple. It should include an about section as well as clearly define what you do and what services you offer. If you can avoid it, reserve pricing for face to face conversations.
- Have a complete LinkedIn profile. This may seem like a no-brainer in today’s society, but you’d be surprised how many accounts are still floating around out there without a professional headshot. It’s important to make sure your LinkedIn has your complete work history, education, and any other important tidbits that help build your credibility.
- Establish a unique email address for your business. This is non-negotiable. If you want to start a legitimate business, you need a way for people to connect with you professionally. Yes, you can still use Gmail – just use G-suite!
- Create a Facebook Business page. I know what you’re thinking, do people even use Facebook anymore? The answer is yes. As a business development tool, Facebook is up there with LinkedIn. It is very easy to get a paid job, share content, run ads, and engage with existing and potential customers. Keep your eyes out for our upcoming podcast on how to use Facebook Groups to grow your business!
- Produce content about your work. Whether it’s on your blog, on LinkedIn, or elsewhere online produce content about the work you’re doing, the success your customers are seeing, and how you’re solving a consumer need in some way. This can be in short form, think social media, or even longer form pieces such as blogs or case studies. These types of content help build out your credibility.
Let’s Talk About Business Development
The hardest part you’re going to have to figure out when starting your business is what does my ideal customer look like, who are my customers, and where do I find them. This will vary from business to business. When looking for your potential clients, take advantage of tools like Indeed.com or LinkedIn where people are already searching for talent. This will help you find your customers quickly and efficiently. When you’re ready, and you have the budget available to do so, Google Ads is one of the best lead gen tools out there – use it to your advantage.
Last but not least, don’t forget about word of mouth. It might seem outdated but when trying to get your business off the ground nothing works quite as well as word of mouth – plus it’s free! Send out an email to family and friends letting them know about your new venture and you’ll be surprised how eager people are to help! You can even give them incentives to send referrals your way, however you want to do it, focus on building out your referral network the best you can!
What Are You Waiting For? It’s Go Time!
Jumping back into the workforce doesn’t have to be complicated but it’s important to make sure you’ve set up the right foundation to set yourself on the path to success. There’s a fine line between a well thought out plan and overthinking your business idea. What’s most important is that you get started, don’t hesitate, just go for it!