Freelancing is a huge step for many people. It means transitioning from where you feel very safe at your 8 to 5 job, and all is secured for you, to where it feels more like doing business. You need to secure your living, find your clients, arrange the payment of taxes and social insurance, and keep improving your skills and knowledge so that you can keep up with your market, which is ever-evolving. when you master all these good, you might feel like a superhero!
So Why Transitioning from being a Freelancer to Entrepreneur?
There is one danger when you are good at all these, juggling all the tasks and improving your abilities to secure new contracts, and the clients start flooding your door or mailbox. And that is: to remain permanently at the same level.
Yes, you are a good freelancer and doing great, but freelancing is still another way of selling time for money. You can become more time-efficient and learn to do more jobs in less time, but in the end, there is a limit to the number of clients you can take on as an individual. And this is a fact that you learn with experience.
Increase in your abundance
When freelancing and working as an individual, you can only perform that much work per month and usually have that much money per month. When you own a company, you typically have a team and set systems to work for you. These systems work for you even when you are sleeping or not around. If we take an example of an online shop or course, they can generate income regardless of the time of the day. Sure, it takes some time and effort to set this in place, but the results are great.
A step to your development and growth
When you are transitioning from being a freelancer to being an entrepreneur, you are on a steep learning curve. You are learning and experimenting, and you develop and grow in this process. Being an entrepreneur allows you to develop good qualities such as perseverance, consistency, positivity, generosity, diligence, discipline, and patience. By enduring challenges and never giving up, you learn how to achieve just any goal you set your mind on. And this feels great from the inside. What matters most, you are bringing so much more value.
The Value you are Bringing to the World
If you are already very successful freelancer, it is tempting to remain in your comfort zone. You are financially sound; why bother to do more than that? It seems tempting to stay there. Yet, love can bring you out of this. Just think of the benefit you can get by expanding your activities and sharing your knowledge and skills with the world.
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Being an entrepreneur means having a team you can coach and mentor. You can share with them all the good practices that make you successful so they, too, can benefit. Together with them, you can expand to more individuals through your products and services, which will help hundreds or thousands of individuals, fulfilling their needs and contributing to their lives in a meaningful way.
Regardless of your industry or niche, with few exceptions, all professions bring value to society and individuals. Focus on this great value will bring courage and motivation to take the next step!
How to prepare yourself for transitioning from Freelancer to Entrepreneur?
When transitioning, you must take small steps and prepare yourself well. Here are some points that you need to do before moving to full business ownership.
You’ll find six things to do when moving beyond the freelancer phase to full business ownership.
1. Know your Market
When you want to start a new business, you must thoroughly know the people you will be addressing.
The best is to create a persona or ideal client, representing all your potential clients. What are their age group, sex, and characteristics? What needs do they have that you will be addressing?
What problem or challenge do you want to resolve for this client?
By performing market research, you will know your clients better, and by knowing them, you will be able to deliver better service to them.
2. What is your Value?
Once you know your niche, your clients, and their challenges, you need to brainstorm what solutions you will be bringing to them.
Your product or service should resolve a challenge or improve their lives. Think about what you will focus on. Brainstorm it with your team if you have one. Think in perspective of 5, 10, and 15 years ahead. Will this product and service be beneficial for them in the future?
Some niches which there is a lot of need in this modern Post-COVID world right now:
– Nutrition and health knowledge and awareness
– Sustainability and renewable resources
– Financial Stability and financial health
3. Don`t stop freelancing and keep finances in check
Quitting your freelancing to focus on your business idea is only wise if you have substantial savings or other stable income sources.
You can integrate your freelancing into building your business in the beginning. When the wheels start rolling, and your business can sustain itself, you can diminish freelancing.
But do this gradually and in stages. Statistics show that more than 50% of new businesses fail during the first five years. So build your business, be positive, and be very rational and practical about the cash flow and the sources of income.
You can educate yourself about finances and business management so that you are clear of the tasks and challenges of successful financial planning.
4. Have a Good Financial Runway
When things start moving and your business starts producing revenue, it is essential to move with caution again. You need to be prepared for the bad times.
Even if the sales are doing great and your customers keep buying your products, you must expect it to be different from this.
some months will go without such big sales, and you need to be prepared to be able to pay all the bills, the operations, the employees, and so on. Having savings for at least 6 to 12 months will give you a buffer period and a good foundation for more rocky periods.
A well-documented budget will help you evaluate your monthly expenses and predict future costs.
5. Develop your Networking Skills
Freelancing is something you can do on your own. Still, you need to source for clients, but it is only to a certain extent. Running a business expands a network of partners and clients.
Start with your existing connections – your friends and relatives. Reach out to them and tell them what you are doing. Ask them for suggestions and recommendations or if they would like to contribute to your project in any way. In return, offer your help and assistance.
Another great way of building a solid network is by attending workshops and events with people with similar interests. Make is a routine if you really want to develop a professional edge.
6. Make your systems work for you
When starting in your niche, you need to do everything from scratch. Yet, great business owners focus primarily on building solid systems that will eventually work for you.
Evaluate the things that you are doing daily and which things are not contributing to your success. Focus on those things that are creating value for your company.
Think for the future. How do you imagine your life and the life of your business then? How do you envision it all? Work backward to determine the areas you want to develop and the systems and technology you need to implement.
Be ready to make changes to your systems. Do not get stuck or “married” to one software or program. Sometimes in business, the change is so quick that if you do not move along with the flow of your industry, you can leave behind very fast.
In conclusion,
Being a business owner is a great responsibility and it requires a greater level of initiative than being just a freelancer. You need to educate yourself, grow, and take the courage to act swiftly and with decidedness. You need to improve your level of priority management, as an entrepreneur has a list of things to do that is larger than what he can possibly do.
Sure, it is an effort, but the happiness and satisfaction you would enjoy are far greater than that of remaining on the same level of freelancing. Make your plan, create your vision, mission, and objectives, and put them into action!
