When you launch your own home-based business or decide to become a freelancer, you can feel overwhelmed pretty quickly with everything you’re now in charge of. And, while in the long run, it is in your benefit to learn to tackle as many of these things as possible, don’t feel you need to do them all at once. Learning new is part and parcel of what makes running your own business so exciting!
Marketing
You will need to be able to actively and efficiently market your products. Before you start pinning flyers up in your local coffee shop (although you should actually consider this), sit down and write up a marketing plan. Think about who you are talking to with your materials? Use your market research to produce something that speaks directly to your audience. Once you have a great plan in place, ensure that you stick closely to it. This is what is going to help you generate sales. You can combine flyers and more traditional marketing with a social media plan. Social media is the top choice for most start-up businesses, it’s free and quick. You can reach a whole world of people in a few characters. If you like to be super organized (and who doesn’t), then you can check out some scheduling platforms like Buffer or Hootsuite.
Accounting
When it comes to getting your finance in good order, you should be looking to implement suitable systems and software as early in your process as possible. Qdosaccounting.com can supply you with exactly what you need to get that running as smoothly as possible. While you might think that taking a client without getting your ducks in order won’t hurt when it comes to tax time, and you can’t find your deductibles receipts or invoices you’ll wish you had handled it from the start. You don’t have to be great with mathematics, you just have to be dedicated and organized.
Time Management
When you work in any other job, you work by someone else’s timetable. You arrive, eat and leave when you are asked to. And, it’s not all bad because in general, you know that between those hours you need to be productive. But, what happens when you are in charge? Well, it’s tempting for the first few weeks just to work when you feel like it. You might be light on clients and feel like it doesn’t matter. Well, actually it does! So take a look at how and when you want to work and create a suitable timetable for yourself to accommodate that. If you don’t really know where to start, you can take a look online for tips about how to have a 3 or 4 day work week – and still get everything done.
When it comes to running your own business, it is a learning curve of the highest order. But, you will come out of it with more transferable skills than you ever thought possible. From social media management to top-notch networking skills.