Optimal Preparation for Self-Employment - The Most Important Points!
 |
| Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash |
It is not enough to master your area of expertise and then hope that the customers will come. Business knowledge is a cornerstone of success, without which it will usually not work.
Therefore, today I would just like to take a look at the preparation for self-employment. This is not about very specific measures, as these can be quite different from self-employed to self-employed. It's more about the basic attitude.
 |
| Optimal Preparation for Self-Employment - The Most Important Points! |
Optimal Preparation for Self-Employment
It seems to me that Germany is the land of woes. Especially those who have no real reason to do so like to whine. So it is not surprising that many self-employed people and start-ups primarily look for mistakes elsewhere and not with themselves.
The market isn't there, the competitors too unfair or the customer too stingy. But that it is mostly up to the self-employed does not come to mind.
Why Should You Prepare Well?
Burying your head in the sand and hoping that everything will go well is not a very promising tactic. And yet, a surprising number of self-employed people follow this pattern.
Preparing for self-employment is not about becoming an expert in all areas. Nobody can know everything about accounting and liquidity planning at the same time and also master marketing and customer acquisition perfectly.
A self-employed person does not have to master these things perfectly, but he must be aware that these and other things are very important. As a self-employed person, the first thing you have to do is develop the right attitude. Because this attitude is one of the main characteristics that distinguish the self-employed from normal employees.
Many self-employed people work with the hiring of an employee. Sooner or later that (mostly) leads to disaster. Not because employees don't work, because they usually do that very well. But in contrast to an employee who “only” works in his company, self-employed persons and start-ups also have to work on their company.
And that is a huge difference in attitude, which for many has to mature first.
How Should You Prepare?
Now the question arises, how do I have to prepare myself. There is no simple answer to this. It depends a lot on the industry in which you start your own business. But your previous education and experience also play an important role.
If someone comes from marketing, they probably have to catch up very little in this area, but perhaps more in the business area.
Therefore, the first step in preparing for self-employment is self-analysis:
- What can I already do?
- What experiences can I have?
- How well do I know the market and the target group?
- What else do I have to learn?
- What can I do myself and where do I need help?
- etc.
This list of questions is of course not complete. Everyone should go into themselves and honestly list their advantages and disadvantages about the planned self-employment.
You should talk to other self-employed people. But stay away from the complainers. It is of no use to you if these are howling your ears. Talk to the positive-minded contemporaries who will tell you relatively honestly about the advantages and disadvantages.
And don't listen to the “I work 16 hours a day” adverts. Either they lie to you to make themselves important, or they work 16 hours and are doing something wrong. Of course, as a self-employed person, you can't always drop everything after 8 hours. Especially in the beginning, overtime is quite normal. But those who do not manage to have free time as a self-employed person in the medium term are either doing something wrong or simply have no life.
Formulate an Idea
When preparing your business, you should try to be able to present your business idea and your business model briefly and concisely. If it takes you 10 minutes and you don't get to the point yourself, how are your customers supposed to understand?
Clarity is to be sought here. So-called elevator pitching should be possible. So you should be able to make your product or service palatable to a potential customer in 20 seconds.
Find the Market
A mistake that I keep observing is that self-employed people want to reach “all customers”. But then you get bogged down very quickly and only offer potential customers a rather blurred picture. And above all, you don't come across as an expert.
It is usually better to look for a niche and specialize in certain target groups. This makes it easier to address these people in marketing and is also more effective.
Looks for possible niches with a lot of demand and little supply. It is often not a good idea to say, “There are already 10 bakers in the place, so there seems to be a market there. Then I'll open the 11th bakery. " You have to look at that in detail, of course, but as a rule, it is better to look for niches in which you will find little or no competition and which still have customer potential.
The Business Plan
To be honest, I rarely took my business plan out of the closet. But that doesn't mean that I think business plans are unimportant. On the contrary. A business plan contains all of these points that I have already addressed here or that I will address in the future, plus many other interesting things.
That's why I think a business plan that you really and honestly deals with is very good preparation for self-employment. Not to mention the financiers that may be required.
But for the later daily work, it is then of little use, at least that was my experience. Market conditions change too quickly for that. The concepts of most self-employed people change in the first few months of self-employment. Despite all the preparation, direct customer contact is something else. You usually only discover niches when you talk to customers and listen to them.
Nevertheless, you should have a business plan, because it is very suitable for preparation.
Business Records
Business records are such a thing. At the beginning of my self-employment, I met a “nail designer” who paid 1,700 euros for a logo and business documents. Now I'm a fan of good business documents myself, but then I shook my head. Neither does this lady need letterhead designed by a professional nor is this issue in a healthy relationship with the expected income (or the positive effect of these business documents).
On the other hand, there are B2B companies that have neither a proper letterhead nor a logo at all. And the business cards are free prints with clipart images on them.
Now everyone has to weigh for themselves what is important to them. However, it mainly depends on how the self-employed appears to the outside world. Because the impression the customer makes is what ultimately counts.
Here the external appearance must correspond to the business concept. If someone sells expensive individual trips for a lot of money, they should present themselves differently than the last-minute bargain shop. It's about first impressions and credibility. The business documents play an important part in building trust in your performance and differentiating yourself from the competition.
Credentials
The references are an important point. Most customers, especially in the high-priced or B2B sector, want to see that something has already been done successfully. Establishing this reference base only when you are self-employed is usually the worse alternative because it takes time.
Instead, it is ideal to provide references before starting your own business. This is not possible in all industries, but it is possible in many, especially in the field of services.
If you can then start with a series of references, things are much easier.
Outsourcing
One of the crucial skills of successful self-employed people is “letting go”. Entrepreneurs understandably tend to “do everything themselves”. For reasons of cost, this is understandable and okay in the initial phase. But there will come a point where this leads to limiting oneself. This is where outsourcing becomes important.
You only have one 24 hour day and at some point, you run out of time. In addition, you will not be able to do certain things as well as a specialist.
That is why it is important to establish contacts over time and to work together with partners. This makes sense, especially in the service sector, and it often creates new business contacts.
Miscellaneous
Of course, some other points should be considered. This includes such things as “financing”, “setting up the business premises” etc. The information can be found at special contact persons or in other articles here on the blog.
Contact Person
You shouldn't prepare your own independence 'in the basement on your own. At least not only. Go to the IHK or the Chamber of Crafts and get information material. It contains many brochures with instructions, contact addresses, and checklists. But seminars and webinars are now also offered on all sorts of topics.
The start-up portal of the BMWi (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy) is also a good point of contact. There you will find short and good PDF brochures on a wide range of topics.
Courses for the self-employed are also a very good opportunity to make contacts and expand your knowledge. Training companies offer crash courses lasting several days for prospective self-employed. There you learn the basics of independence and get a good overview of the important success factors and which mistakes you should avoid. And you can make contacts very well.
As you can see, “socializing” is one of the most important tasks for the self-employed.
Books for the Self-Employed
Some books are recommended for self-employed people and those starting up a business. Some books cover the entire path to self-employment, while others only shed light on certain aspects.
I can highly recommend the following books:
Last updated on 07/20/2021 at 8:49 am. The price shown may have increased since the last update. The actual price of the product, which was on the website of the seller at the time of purchase, is decisive for the sale. It is technically impossible to update the above prices in real-time. * = Affiliate links. Images from Amazon PA API.
Both books are very well written and convey the most important basics for starting a successful business.
I also find the small books from the “Pocket Business” series by Cornelsen very nice. The little books have a little over 100 pages and cost only 7 euros each. Each book deals with a different topic. For example “commercial computing”, “customer loyalty”, “public relations” and other interesting topics.
Magazines for the Self-Employed
I can't recommend really good magazines for founders at the moment, because I haven't paid attention to them for a long time. But I have another good tip for you guys.
Read the industry journals of your B2B customers. Almost every industry has one or more trade magazines. This is a very good opportunity to get to know your customers and their needs even better.
Preparation Checklists
Checklists are nice. Unfortunately, there are far too many of them that you just have to choose one. There are nice checklists on the BMWi website and here too. A business plan is also actually something like a checklist.
I also have some checklists in my download area that will help you prepare for self-employment.
There is No Such Thing as Perfect Preparation
Of course, the tips and hints in this article are by no means exhaustive. Every self-employed person has their own experience and sets different priorities. For example, I had absolutely nothing to do with real estate (office or shop) when the company was founded. Some self-employed people I know, however, and I can only recommend that you obtain the permits as early as possible, as this can take a while.
It was only important to me that future self-employed people should become more aware that they are not just doing their job, but that many other things depend on being self-employed. The sooner you accept this and think about it, the better.
Last but not least, I can recommend my collection of links for the self-employed and start-ups, in which you will find many useful starting points.
Post a Comment