The desire to be your own boss is almost too strong to resist. The benefits can be vast ranging from setting your own hours to working from home. But are you ready for the commitment of self employment? I can tell you from personal experience that it is not for the faint of heart.
Starting Out
For me, becoming self employed just happened. I was laid off in March and in July I received a phone call from an ex co-worker asking if I were interested in helping him out. We met for lunch and I started the next day. My client had called the past employer that we had in common asking for employee referrals and my name was offered. This proves that reputation is everything. Being a dedicated worker at a 9 to 5 job is what landed me this opportunity.
In the beginning, hours were lean and so I had to do other jobs to supplement my pay. I used to babysit and clean businesses at night so we could make ends meet. But, I enjoyed the benefits of not having to pay a babysitter and being home with my children during the day. Eventually my hours increased and I was able to quit babysitting and cleaning. The key was showing my client how valuable I could be to him. Once my foot was in the door, I made sure that I offered quality work and insights I felt could help grow the business. I offered to take on additional responsibilities that others found difficult or disagreeable.
Expanding My Services
Once I found my niche, I exploited the crack I had made. I trained myself on cumbersome client systems so that I would be the resident expert. Now, all questions regarding certain systems are funneled through me which in turn means more hours for me. The goal here is to become the holding of information. Make yourself indispensable to your client. By learning his clients systems, I have made my client more effective with his customers making me more valuable to him. And, since these are national clients I can market my expertise and subcontract my services to other vendors. So it was a win-win situation for everyone. My client gained a worker with expertise to help grow his sales and I have been able to add to my skill set thus making myself more marketable.
Looking to the Future
For now, I am comfortable with the amount of hours I receive from my client. But when my youngest goes to school next year I will want to expand my availability. So I am starting to work toward that goal now. Networking, researching and finding job opportunities take time so don’t get discouraged if options don’t present themselves overnight.
For more information on home based business opportunities visit
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6156344/home_based_businesses_that_work.html
For more information on home based business opportunities visit
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6156344/home_based_businesses_that_work.html 