Business Plus Baby

Having a child changes the way your career pans out, and one of the great ways to remain busy is to go freelance. When you’ve got a newborn to deal with, there’s nothing quite like being able to pick and choose the work you undertake. Not only can you choose what interests you and will make the most money, but you can fit it around your newly busy schedule! Still, going freelance isn’t an easy route. It’s going to take a lot of hard work to not only complete paid tasks but find them in the first place, too. To do that, you’re going to need to know the basics of marketing, particularly from an online standpoint.

If you take just one thing away from this article today, I want it to be the importance of branding yourself. You need to stop thinking like a regular employee. There’s no-one above you to blame things on. Everything is now under your control, and it isn’t going to be such an easy ride. That means that you’ve got to put yourself out there. If you don’t, how will anyone ever find you to offer you work? This is what I mean by branding. Having an active presence online will make it more likely that the job offers will come rolling in.

So, how do you do this? Firstly, I suggest you get started on social media. Whether social media will have a big impact on your marketing strategy depends on the type of work you’re looking to obtain. It’s still beneficial in any case, though, so start making a basic page. Form a Facebook and Twitter account, and feel free to keep them separate from any personal pages you may have. The whole point of these accounts is to showcase your talents and try to obtain work. You need to maintain a professional approach and come across as someone who would be a great fit for budding employers.

Another important consideration is to have a portfolio that can be accessed easily. Using a template like carbonmade.com, you can upload your work to be seen by others. This gives you a clean and clear layout, and you can refer employers with a simple click of a link. If you want to go one step further, you could forward your portfolio to a tailored website of your own. Create a domain of your choice that looks particularly professional. SEO services from FireflySearch.co.nz will also help to increase your exposure.

Don’t be afraid to go the extra mile, either. Your competitors are all looking to obtain the same work that you’re after. What separates you from them is the amount of searching you’re willing to do to find opportunities. Upload your CV to a variety of websites that specialize in freelance work. Search Twitter for employers who want freelancers to carry out some work for them. You need to be willing to use search techniques to delve into the deepest corners of the internet. Sometimes, you’ll find high paying gigs that haven’t been discovered by many people.

We wish you the best of luck with your freelance career!

One of the most exciting parts of any business owner’s life is the moment after they have just started their first venture. If this is where you are at the moment, then it is likely that you are excited to get going. This is definitely a good sign. After all, that is the kind of energy which is necessary if you are to enjoy any kind of long-term success. However, there is another side to doing business which you should take into consideration as early as possible. We are talking, of course, about the possibility of something going wrong. The truth is, no business is completely immune from those everyday problems. What’s more, if you want to get ahead, then you need to know about the kind of problems that you can expect to face. Otherwise, you might find yourself in real trouble before you even know what has happened. Keeping your business safe from disaster is not something you want to think about all the time. Yet, you must put some consideration into it if you want to be taken seriously. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how to ensure that your business always stays afloat.

Planning

Far and away, the best way to ensure that nothing untoward happens in your business is to plan ahead. All businesses require dedicated planning anyway, so you should already be familiar with it. You should already have a clear business plan which sets out clearly exactly how your business will function. It should also have a clear idea of what kind of time frame you can expect for certain results to start appearing. If your business plan is not yet this detailed, I highly recommend you go back to the drawing board and take another look. Having a plan in place is easily your best defense against the many possible downfalls which a business can experience.

As well as a generic business plan, you might also like to draw up a protective plan. This is a plan which outlines the potential issues your business may face. It also details any courses of action you might think it necessary to take. If nothing else, having these plans in place will likely make you feel a lot more confident in your business. Starting out in this manner is the best possible way to go about building a business from the ground up securely.

Protection

However, it is not usually enough to have a plan in place detailing what you would do in case of emergency. Don’t get me wrong: it is vital that you do have those plans, but alone they are not enough. Ultimately, you can only do a certain amount of planning. Nothing really changes what is destined to happen to your business. With that in mind, it is important to understand that your business needs to have ways of protecting itself. Knowing what to do if the worst happens is one thing. Reducing the chances of it happening in the first place is quite another, and in many ways much more important and more effective. There are a few different main aspects to protecting your business. Let’s take a look, first of all, at the profit side of things.

Protecting your profits is something which you can’t afford to take lightly. If you are like anyone else, then you want to make as much money with your business as possible. With that in mind, it is important to remember that you need to know exactly how to draw in as much profit as you can. You also need to have ways of minimising your expenditure. In essence, this is just normal business common sense. There is another side to protection, of course, and it is this side which people normally think of when they hear the word. There is the possibility that your business will one day come under attack from outside forces. The reasons might be unclear, but it does happen  -and it might happen to you. That’s why it is vital that you protect your computer systems with the best endpoint security software. Otherwise, there is no way of knowing who might get into your systems and wreak havoc.

Perseverance

Another main issue which many businesses can face is that things slow down at times. To be honest, this is a natural part of running a business. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to stop it from happening. One of the main qualities which you should try to adopt towards that end is perseverance. With enough perseverance, you can achieve anything with your business. Who knows, one day it might become a huge corporation. Remember: all big companies start out small.

If you’re desperately trying to look busy at your desk even though you’re reading this article, you’re not alone. Thousands of people like you are fed up with their jobs right now. We’ve never worked so hard or had to stretch our incomes so far. And lots of us simply don’t get on with the people around us at work. This is why so many people are trying to find ways to free themselves from the drain of a nine-to-five job.

The commute is long, boring, and one of the most unpleasant ways you can think of to spend up to four hours every day. Whether you use public transport, or you sit in long traffic jams each day, this is your valuable time. Couldn’t it be put to better use? Thanks to revolutions in technology, more of us than ever can skip the commute and work from home. This could be the answer for you. But wouldn’t you rather skip the boss part of your job too?

If you’re looking for a way to start working for yourself, there are plenty of ways to do it. However, most of us need an income, and working for yourself won’t necessarily provide one in the first few months. So don’t ditch your job just yet, but do try some of these easy ways to work for yourself:

Franchise Opportunity

More and more big name brands are looking for people like you to open stores on their own terms. It’s one of the easiest ways to become your own boss, while enjoying the support of a huge company. By wearing their brand, you can build up your own customers and profits. If you haven’t heard much about franchising before, click here for a detailed article about how it could work for you.

Blogging

If you have something interesting to say and know a few people who wouldn’t mind sharing it with their friends, you’re on your way to success. Bloggers that have been writing for a while are able to monetize their blogs and generate an income. Yes, it can take a few months to several years to build up enough followers to interest the advertisers that will pay you money. But it’s great fun while you’re doing it. Best of all, it can be done when you have a couple of hours free, so there’s no need to quit your job.

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Freelancing

There are hundreds of different jobs you can do as a freelancer. Freelancing means you have no guaranteed source of income, though. However, if you’re good at what you do, you could soon be earning a living doing what you love. Can you draw or write? Plenty of media companies are looking for writers or digital artists to take on small projects. As you are self-employed, you will be responsible for agreeing on contracts and chasing payments. You’ll have to your own taxes. There are no benefits packages or pensions unless you set them up and pay into them.

Freelancing can be incredibly lucrative, particularly for creatives. However, it can also spell financial disaster if the work offers dry up. All it takes is for someone better than you to approach your clients, and you’ll have no work left. So be sure to continue pushing yourself artistically. Continue developing yourself academically to prove you are the best choice.

Novelist

Lots of people fancy the idea of writing a book and becoming a published author. Some people love the thought of having their children’s story sat on the shelf of the local bookstore. There are always publishing houses looking for fresh new talent. If your book is complete, why not approach an agent or a publisher for some feedback? It’s important you have finished works and a portfolio of evidence of your abilities. This would be the same if you were a musician, photographer or fashion designer.

As a novelist, you will have to spend time on your own typing away without distraction. It can be hard to motivate yourself in these circumstances, and the dreaded writer’s block can hit you hard. But if words spill out of you easily, and you have great story ideas, why not give it a go? You should also enter plenty of writing competitions so you can begin to make a name for yourself.

Teacher or Trainer

Many people are thirsty for knowledge. If you have specialist knowledge in a particular area, you may be in high demand! Of course, you will also need to have a knack for imparting that information in a structured and interesting way. Why not approach your local community college and see if there is an interest in your topic of knowledge?

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You may need to develop a curriculum and even a series of lesson plans for the course. As an industry professional, education centers may be keen to have you as a lecturer. Some will even train you to be a qualified instructor or teacher while you work. But if you want to work for yourself, perhaps you can set up some mini courses at your local business center yourself. Attend a few to get a feel for how they work.

Webstore

If you have something to sell, then why not start up your own internet store? An online retail site doesn’t cost much to set up. You can design it yourself, use a template, or pay a web developer to oversee it. If you have used sites like eBay, you will know about the importance of good photos, good description, and prompt answers to queries. Owning your own eStore could be just a step up from there.

You’ll have to manage the posting and packing side of things unless you use a drop shipper. But with postal stores now open around the clock, your entire business can be run from home after work hours. This can be very convenient for you, but consider how this may affect your family. Having lots of stock all over the house can be a tad annoying!

Working for yourself could take time. It might even take a little investment. But it could be easier than you thought to free yourself from your nine-to-five.