So you have been thinking about becoming an entrepreneur? It is a great job if you want to work from home and spend more time with the kids. However, that doesn’t mean that it will be an easy ride. Quite the contrary, in fact! You will need to have a lot of time and energy to put into your new business venture.
Are you wondering if you are ready to make the move into self-employment? Many women agonize over whether they are ready or not. But making the decision shouldn’t stress you out too much. You can use this blog post to help you out! I’ve come up with a handy checklist that can help you decide whether or not you’re ready to become an entrepreneur. If you can check off all the following points, then you’re good to go!
You’ve Got Childcare Sorted
Just because you’ll be working from home doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to look after the kids at the same time. You will be very busy with your business, so don’t assume that you won’t need childcare. You could even need to arrange more childcare than what you need now! So this is one thing that you need to work into your budget. If you can’t afford childcare right now, maybe it isn’t a good time to become an entrepreneur. However, there are plenty of ways you could get cheap or even free childcare. The best way is to ask your close family and friends to see if someone could look after your kids for a couple of days a week. Even if they only have them for a short period of time, it will still give you chance to get a whole load of work done!
You Definitely Can Afford It
During the first few months, you should expect to experience a significant cut in your income. That is because you will be working on setting up the business, and it can take a significant period of time to build up your client base. Many people try and do all of this initial set-up while they are still in full-time employment so that they are guaranteed a decent wage. However, as you have to juggle a family as well, you may not be able to find the time to do two jobs at once. Instead, try and save up as much as possible before you take the plunge into self-employment. If your partner has a well-paid job, you will find it a lot easier during the first few months of your new business.
You’ve Got The Entrepreneurial Spirit
Most entrepreneurs share the same kind of personality and drive. One thing that you absolutely need during your entrepreneurial ventures is to be completely driven. As you are the driving force behind your whole business, you need to be putting in 100%. Still unsure if you have the spirit needed to set up your own business from scratch? You could read this Five Hundred Stories’ interview of Richard Brasser from rFactr. See if you share the same motivation and values as the successful entrepreneur.
You’re Good With Stress
One thing is for sure; you will certainly experience a lot of stress when you are in charge of your own company. You need to be able to handle this appropriately and not let it affect your work and performance. Entrepreneurs are good at living with very high levels of stress. If this doesn’t sound like something you would be good at handling, it might be best to think of a different career path. But that doesn’t mean that you should completely give up your dream of becoming an entrepreneur. You could start practicing mindfulness and other techniques that are used to combat high levels of stress. Once you are able to live with stress, you’re ready to enter the world of the entrepreneur!
Your Partner Is Also Ready
You aren’t the only person who should be ready for your career change. Your partner also needs to be ready for the move as well. They may not be working with you, but they will still be living with you. So they might have to deal with any fallout! They need to be ready to support you in your venture, no matter how stressed and agitated you may become! They may also have to step into help with things financially. For instance, you may have a reduced income for the first few months of your business’s life. If this is the case, your partner may have to support your family financially. And if your business ever needs bailing out of a tough spot, it may be your partner’s paycheck that does the bailing! Make sure your partner is 100% happy with all this before you make the switch to self-employment.
You’re Very Disciplined
Once you run your own business, everything will be on your head. You won’t be able to blame anyone else for your business’s failures or problems. But think of that on the flip side; you can also take all the praise for its successes! How do you navigate around all the usual problems that many business owners often fall into? The best way to make your business a complete success is to be disciplined. This isn’t the time to start slacking off. You should be extremely organized and get all your work done as soon as it lands on your desk. Getting everything done on time, and to a very high standard, is key for your business to succeed. And being extremely disciplined with yourself if the first step to achieving this.
Is Your Health Up To It?
Being an entrepreneur usually means long days. Your body and mind need to be up to these marathon work hours. And you will also need to find the energy to enjoy time with your family once you are finished work for the day! It’s also important to remember that you won’t be paid for sick days when you are self-employed. So any time you take off for sick health will be doing a disservice to your business and your finances. As you can see, it will certainly pay off to be in peak fitness. You also need to have the mentality to be able to continue working even if you aren’t feeling very well. This may sound like a lot to ask, but it is just one of the many things entrepreneurs have to deal with in exchange for a successful business!
Are You Good With Others?
I may have made it sound like being an entrepreneur is quite an isolated career path. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth! In fact, as an entrepreneur, it is incredibly important to network and keep in touch with clients and customers. This is extremely important once you start your business. You will need to build your client base so that you have a constant stream of work coming in. How you get your business out there to clients is up to you.One of the best ways is to go to local networking events. These kinds of events bring together business professionals. And they also give them a chance to advertise their services and products.
As you can see, there is a lot that you need to consider before diving into life as an entrepreneur. But there are many benefits to doing so. You will be entirely in control of your professional life. And there is nothing better than being your very own boss!