Take control and become your own boss

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to give up the office job and become your own boss? It might sound like the ideal situation, being able to be at home with a cup of coffee working in your pajamas. However, there is more to it than that; it can be hard work, and you will have to do all the jobs that others would normally do for you.

Financial Independence

One of the first things you need to know before you become your own boss is whether you can survive with the income you will be making. You may well have an idea about what you intend to do, but will it generate enough income to support you and your family financially?

You need to sit down and work out how much running your home and business will cost you each year. Then, work out as closely as possible, how much you think you will earn as your own boss. You need to be realistic as it will be hard to balance things out once you start. Once you have been in business for over a year, you might be able to secure a business line of credit so you can deal with unexpected expenditure or to help with additional equipment.

What do you plan to do?

The next big question is, what work are you going to do that will bring in the money you need? Do you have a skill that you can use to create your business at home? Do you have something that you have always wanted to do? If it is something you have to learn about or train for, this should be factored into the plan you have.

Your plan should involve how long it will take to get your business up and running, what you need to do to get to that point, and what financial outlay will you have at first.

Start Slow

Unless there is a good reason, you do not want to start working from home full time, straight away. It is a good idea to ease into it over a period of months, that way you can adjust to the workload, and you will not be financially dependent on your business right away.

It will also give you the time and ability to build up your work because it might take some time for you to obtain enough steady projects to generate your income.

As time goes on, you will find that the work you are doing at home starts to get bigger and it will become apparent that you need to devote more time to work from home.

At this point, you can speak to your boss and arrange to go part time; this will still give you the security of an income while letting you devote more time to being your own boss.

Eventually, you will be able to leave your job and work at home full time.

Thanks to Carol Trehearn