How to Be Self-Employed, Part One: Taking the Leap & Setting Goals

Part One: Taking the Leap and Setting Goals

OWN ITHandbook forHow To Be Self-Employed

CREATE YOUR JOB AND SET YOUR GOALS

In this presentation adapted from the OWN IT series The Handbook for How to Be Self-Employed, we'll be covering some of the basics of starting your own business - such as discovering your personal mission, setting goals and knowing when it’s time to quit the day job.

Create Your Job

Becoming successfully self-employed isn't about finding a job, it's about creating one.

Create Your JobFor many, it starts with a main goal or personal mission. We recommend using a Morning Ritual to reflect on your strengths back when you worked for someone else, or the things you loved doing when you were a kid.

Create Your JobDo you have a knack for marketing? Catering? Consulting? Yoga? Design? Counseling? Back massages?

Choose something that you could imagine doing for 20 out of 24 hours every day, and commit to it.

Create Your JobIt can be tempting to try out a few options simultaneously or offer a long list of services to your potential customers, but the most successful members of our self-employed community at OWN IT have a clear, descriptive personal brand that makes it easier to get new business as well as generate enough demand for them to deliver a great product or service to happy customers.

“We realized that we could make more money just selling our photographs, instead of also working as event photographers. Despite our passion for the theater industry, we seized this opportunity to profit from pursuing our shared hobby full-time.”

Jordana and Cassius Wright

Freelance Photographers

Define Your Main Goal

A Main Goal is a three year vision of what success looks like for your work. The clearer it is, the easier it will be to achieve.

Define Your Main Goal

What one great thing would you dare to dream if you knew you could not fail?

Define Your Main Goal1. A successful Main Goal is something that you really want. You

have permission to be selfish in this exercise. 2. It must be written, clear and specific. You don't have a Main

Goal if it isn't on paper. 3. It must be measurable. 4. It must have a believable and reasonable probability of

success. 5. It must be consistent with your other goals. Think about it this

way. Relaxing on the beach and tripling your income cancel each other out.

Define Your Main Goal

Learn more about defining your main goal.

https://www.ownit.com/communities/ownit/posts/633510

The Morning Ritual

Setting aside twenty or thirty minutes every single morning to focus on specific goals can be an effective way to discover what is most important to you, and to integrate it into your life.

The Morning RitualMake a daily list of 10 goals you'd like to accomplish in the near future. Write them in the present tense with a general target date. Start with your Main Goal at the top. Then add other specific, supporting goals in the same format. Supporting goals are best as a mix of business, financial goals, family/relationship and health targets.

The Morning Ritual

• Every morning write down ten goals. • They can be the same or different for

each day. • The important things are that they be

specific, active and have a target date.

The Morning Ritual

Present Tense Action

add

launch

employ

close celebrate

One Thing

3 new customers

Specific Date

December 2015

The Morning Ritual

As simple as it is, this technique seems to attract the people, opportunities, ideas and resources to you that help you achieve your goals faster.

The old saying is true. Wherever your attention goes, your life goes as well.

The Morning Ritual

More info at the following URL.

https://www.ownit.com/communities/ownit/posts/633509

Turning a Skill or Hobby Into a Business

• Identify the mission. • Do the math. • Break it down.

Turning a Skill or Hobby Into a Business

Identify the mission.

What is your main goal? What's the end goal? Where will your business ultimately go? How much money do you want to make? Write this on a post-it and put it on your desk. And on your bed frame. And your bathroom mirror. And on the milk carton in your fridge!

Turning a Skill or Hobby Into a Business

Do the math.

Where do you want to be financially 30 days or 12 months after you become self-employed? Focus on what it's going to take to successfully land your first customer, then move on to what you want to accomplish during the following 30 days.

Turning a Skill or Hobby Into a Business

Break it down.

Break it down to short-term projects or goals. What do you need to accomplish every day in order to hit your monthly milestones? How many hours will you spend serving one customer? 2 hours? 200 hours? Start a morning ritual, and stick to it for at least a month. Keep in mind that your daily goals might include personal objectives as well: staying fit, being a parent or getting a full night's sleep.

“At a point, I thought to myself: if I could impact 10 kids a month on my own, then what could happen if I hired 1,000 people to teach cooking classes? I set a goal to make a business plan that was profitable, scalable and appealing to me so that I could grow my business.”

Jan PinningtonSelf-Employed Cooking Instructor

When should I quit my day job?

If you aren't working full-time right now, congratulations! You can skip this step. :-)

If you are, have no fear. You aren't the first person to quit their day job in order to pursue their self-employed dreams, and it doesn't have to be painful. It just needs to be timed right.

When should I quit my day job?Make sure you give yourself a few months to think about how to approach leaving your job and what kind of savings you need to have in the bank first in order to live comfortably while you transition to self-employment. Spend a little time doing the math and figure out your After Tax Income once you become self-employed, so that you know how much you will need to have stored away.

When should I quit my day job?

Set a date to resign so that you have time to reflect on your goals and plan for what you'll be doing once you leave. Make sure you've identified what your new career in self-employment will be and you're ready to commit to it 100%.

When should I quit my day job?

With this preparation in place, talk to your company. Give plenty of notice and avoid severing ties or ending relationships. You never know when they may need your consulting services once you're out on your own!

“I realized that I could either spend my energy on negativity after a bad day at work or funnel my frustration towards a more positive goal. I wrote down 'September 2012' on a post-it note and put it up in my cubicle. That was my personal deadline to finally take the leap and start my own business.”

Theresa ChuFounder of Barely Labs

Okay, so I’m self-employed. Now What?

• Congratulations! Now it's time to network, network, network.

• Find someone in your field who is willing to be a mentor and answer your questions.

• Join a local group, or a small business association. • The personal network you build will be where you

learn the real tricks of the trade in being self-employed.

“Once I found a mentor, she identified my talents and strengths before I could see them. I owe her both for my practical skills and business knowledge. 10 years later, she's still a huge advocate for me.”

Jihyun KimSelf-Employed Makeup Artist

Okay, so I’m self-employed. Now What?

We're guessing you might have more than just four questions about becoming self-employed. So where do we go next? Check out Part Two of The Handbook for How To Be Self-Employed.

Also, take a look at our Slideshare of Part 3.

FIND MORE INFORMATION on OWN IT• Visit OWNIT.com for our full guide on How To

Be Self Employed Part One including additional information and links.

• Check out the rest of our helpful series. • Join the Network Dedicated to Small

Business Success. • Connect with thousands of small business

owners like you with our free app.

https://www.ownit.com/communities/ownit/posts/649795

Get more information for your small business on OWN IT.

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