Living by your own rules, working a few hours every day, and making enough money to live the life you have always wanted to live. This is the ultimate dream. However, for many people, it is an impossible dream, because they find themselves trapped in the mundanity of their daily lives and their regular jobs. The fear of losing it all holds them back, because they can’t even begin to imagine having to start from scratch.
However, there is a way out. It is possible to make enough money to quit your regular job and live completely off an income that comes from the internet. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, then read on. Here is how to be your own boss working from home.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO DO FIRST
If you are thinking about quitting your job, hold your horses. A decision like that should not be made on impulse. You need to carefully assess your situation first before taking the plunge. Here is how:
1. Figure out why you want to quit.
People quit their jobs every day. There are many reasons behind this decision: the job may be unfulfilling, too demanding, not paying enough, your colleagues drive you nuts, it may not be in line with your overall plans, or all of the above reasons. Carefully weigh the strength of your reasons and you will figure whether you should quit or not.
2. Is the timing right?
Before you pull the plug, you have to make sure it is the perfect time to do that. Are there people around you that depend on your paycheck? Do you have a safety cushion in case you don’t find the right thing to do immediately?
3. Next, ask yourself these questions:
– Do you have savings in your savings account? Can it sort your needs for 6 months or so?
– Are you okay changing jobs in different places? Can you work with different people from time to time?
– Can you work for long hours, sometimes on call?
– Are you a good motivator? Can you motivate yourself?
If you are certain that your answers are ‘yes’ to most of these questions, then you can go ahead and give your boss a two-week notice and prepare to become a self-employed.
RISKS THAT COME WITH BEING YOUR OWN BOSS
It is easy to get carried away by the benefits of being your own boss and forget the potential risks that come with it.
1. Regular employees get paid regardless of sickness, vacations, and even downturns. Freelancers have to work all the time because they pay themselves. If you don’t work, you don’t get paid.
2. When you employ yourself, you no longer have that guaranteed income coming in month after month cushioning you in case of anything. You take all risks upon yourself.
3. If your business fails, you are out of a job. It is not rare for businesses to fail within the first few years of starting, so don’t think your business is an exception and plan accordingly.
4. self-employment comes with a lot of pressure, the kind that makes it hard to maintain focus or self-motivation. Being focused on your goals and being motivated to keep going is very important if you want to get ahead to the competition.
5. Money is another thing you need to be extremely careful about, especially if you are just starting out. Any great business needs a good business model, but if you want to take your business to the next level, you need to use money prudently.
6. You have to be prepared for unforeseen issues. At some point, you may encounter hurdles like losing important clients or even prolonged sicknesses, all of which will definitely affect your business.
The picture most people paint of being your own boss is rarely the reality. What you think your experience will be like working for yourself will most likely not happen. You may be disappointed to learn that you probably won’t work on your laptop relaxing on the beach at the beginning of your venture. If you choose to work for yourself, you need to be prepared to work hard and give your business your 100%.
The good news is that although the pressure will come and it won’t stop, you will experience much of this in the early stages of your business. Like any business, putting it on the map is not as easy as most people think it is. However, once you are established, things get easier.
Before you quit your job and follow your heart, it is good to know these things. It is good to know that you have to put in the effort before things start paying off. After the toiling in the initial stages, what awaits you is pure satisfaction and financial freedom.
SELF EMPLOYMENT DO’S AND DON’TS
1. TIGHTEN YOUR BUDGET
To effectively tighten your budget, you first need to establish how much money you need to survive a whole month. This way you know where to cut your budget. Remove expenses that you don’t need and whatever you purchase should strictly be within your budget and be relevant.
Come up with a spreadsheet outlining all your monthly expenses and spending habits. Record everything from rent/mortgage, utility bills to the amount of money you use on food and entertainment. Once you have it all written down, it becomes easier to cut down expenses.
Next, come up with your minimum expense, which should be a base reference. No monthly total should go beyond this amount.
It may be difficult, but always remind yourself that short-term pains will guarantee you long term gains.
2. HAVE JOBS ON THE SIDE TO HELP YOU SURVIVE
As I have mentioned earlier, starting a business can be really demanding, especially before things pick up. Your business can really drain you physically, emotionally, and financially.
To prevent this from happening, you need a side hustle. Make this your source of a little extra cash that will keep you afloat even if your business is not bringing much in yet.
In order to succeed, you need to save. Now that you know the least amount of money you consume each month, you need to earn a little bit more than this. Anything above that amount should be saved and used on more important things.
Having a side job that is doing well will give you the confidence to quit your current job. When you do so, do not quit the side job, too. You can still focus on your business while doing it. Make sure you are able to maintain this side job because this will be your new way of surviving.
3. HAVE AN EMERGENCY FUND
When your side job can guarantee you some stability, you need to set up an account with some money ready for emergencies. Contingency funds are important in case of unexpected mishaps. A lot of things in the world of business can go out of control, so you need to go in prepared.
Save up about 6 months of emergency funds so that you have enough time to sort things out in case you meet challenges along the way. 6 months is also enough for you to rebuild your venture if it all falls apart.
If your minimum expenditure is $2,000 then set $12,000 or more aside as your emergency fund. You should have this money before you quit your job.
4. DO YOU LOVE YOUR VENTURE?
Now that you have established what you want to do, you know your minimum expenditure, and you have your 6-month emergency fund, the big question is, do you love what you do?
It is important to do what you really love so that you don’t get tired of doing it along the way.
5. KNOW YOUR GOALS OR TARGETS
Each moment of work needs to count. Don’t go to work early in the morning and come back home late, only to find out that your day never made a difference to you and your business.
Set clear and concise goals and work towards achieving them. Your goals should also be achievable within your time frame so that things don’t stress you out because they overwhelm you.
Measuring your performance based on your goals will put you ahead of many other people in the business.
READY?
You now understand the risks that come with freelancing, and you know what to do before getting started. You are now ready to get down to work.
If you have reached this point, you can now go ahead and quit your job and fully focus on your new venture.
HOW TO BECOME YOUR OWN BOSS
Now that you have a schedule, you need to stay disciplined and work hard to make sure you see all things through. For many people, the hardest thing about freelancing is the discipline part. Getting jobs is relatively easy, especially if you choose your niche well.
Understandably, fear may start creeping into your mind once you have made such a major decision. However, you need to pay it no mind, because fear is not an option when it comes to starting something that you really believe in. Also, make sure that you work on getting used to your new life as fast as possible. This will, in turn, make things run faster and catch on faster.
Be sure to go in prepared. Do your research and get to know every detail about the niche you are in. The more you know, the better it is for you and your business.
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If you are ready to take the plunge, here are some things you can do:
BLOGGING
Many people make good money blogging these days. If you put your mind to full-time blogging, you may end up joining this elite group of bloggers who get paid to write about what they love.
However, you should know that blogging, just like any other venture, has its ups and downs. You just have to be patient and persistent especially when you are just starting out.
With a blog, everything you create 100% belongs to you. You will get to reach and help a lot of people and while you are at it you also benefit yourself. When you compare it with regular employment, you realize that blogging has the upper hand because being employed mostly makes one person (or a few people) rich.
With blogging, you are free and flexible. You can do this job from anywhere in the world, and you will still get paid.
There are many ways to make money blogging. Some bloggers get paid to review products. Others get paid through ads. You can also do affiliate marketing and earn some commission. If you are into arts and crafts, Etsy is another great way, or you can just simply sell stuff you own through your blog. With a blog, you can also have online classes or make sponsored posts. Basically, the deeper you get into it, the more doors open for you to explore.
FREELANCE WRITING
There is a huge demand for freelance writers today. As more and more blogs and websites populate the internet, the need for writing skills only keeps increasing. If you choose to be a freelance writer, you will never run out of work because fresh content is always needed.
There are many sites that offer writing jobs. Some of them include Upwork, Textbroker, and Freelancer. You can also put your work on LinkedIn and try to find work through your networks.
BECOME A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
Virtual assistants help people who have busy schedules make their work lighter. These are self-employed individuals that work from their homes and provide administrative, creative and even technical support to other people in need of these services.
Virtual assistants help with simple tasks like engaging audiences on social media or answering emails. People that hire virtual assistants include website owners, online researchers, bookkeepers, schedulers and database keepers among others. Today, even bloggers may need V.As at some point.
If you want to become a V.A, you first need to undergo some training. There are many platforms where you can learn this skill for free. Once you feel that you are qualified enough, you need to advertise yourself and your services so that people know what you can do and how they can get to you easily. You can do this on many sites like Upwork or Problogger. You also need to do a lot of networking. Let people know you and your services via social media, text messages and mail.
TAKE PART IN ONLINE SURVEYS
Surveys are mostly side jobs. They take little time to complete and can be incorporated into your daily activities. It is possible to make around $100-$300 every month on online surveys. This can go a long way in boosting your income especially when you can no longer depend on a paycheck from your employer.
When you take online surveys, be careful not to get scammed. The nature of this business model has given rise to many scammers and con men who lure you with sweet words then rip you off. Never pay cash upfront before taking surveys because those are fake. Understand that you cannot make a living off surveys, just do it for the extras. Plus, as you venture into this, be sure to read each site’s privacy policy, to establish if the site is legit or not.
BECOME AN EXTRA
In many cases, becoming an extra needs you to live in big cities like New York, but you could also do pretty well in smaller towns. Small towns are great because there’s little competition there. Chances of being a lifestyle model in these parts are also huge. The main idea here is you can do well anywhere you are or feel like being. Opportunities will also follow you anywhere you go.
Extra work mostly entails taking nonspeaking roles in film scenes, such as appearing in the occasional crowd scene. Such jobs are fun, not all that demanding, and you end up meeting a lot of people. Getting started is also quite easy: simply find an agency that’s hiring or an online company like Central Casting and your career could kick off just like that!
LIFESTYLE MODELING
This one is different from becoming an extra. Lifestyle modeling means you only get to do things like print posters, catalog, magazine ads, and flyers. You could also do online ads for websites and social media. There’s also video modeling for online commercials, TV ads, tutorials, and industrial videos.
CATERING
This is also another easy job that pays really well. You could make up to $25 per hour as a caterer. What it mostly entails is basically serving people food at events and putting dishes and other things in order in the kitchen.
If you love food, parties and looking good, then this venture is for you.
There are many catering companies offering jobs today and finding them is easy. All you need to do is to go online and get in touch with a few of them around your area and you’ll be well on your way to being a caterer.
START A DOG WALKING BUSINESS
This is also another area with lots of money. If you love animals/pets and you like being active, consider starting a pet sitting business. The idea is to do what you like, right?
You could get lots of clients by posting your services on sites like Craigslist. Word of mouth could also work well and as you get more experience, your reputation will bring you more clients.
AFFILIATE MARKETING
Affiliate marketing is a business model where you get to earn a commission from referring a customer to a particular product. As an affiliate, you do not own any products yourself. Your job is to simply convince potential customers to buy what you are pushing, and when they do, you get paid a commission.
Therefore, affiliate marketing is 100% performance-based. This means that the more you sell, the higher the commission you get.
If you want to be an effective affiliate marketer, you need to understand that traffic is everything in this business. The more people you have viewing your website, the higher your chances of selling.
The beauty of affiliate marketing lies in its straightforwardness. The way it works is simple: If you want to be an affiliate, you will need to reach out to the business that owns the products you want to recommend. They will give you an affiliate link, which is a unique tracking link that connects you to the leads you generate. You will then paste the link on your site and convince people to buy that product using your link. When they do, you get paid a commission from the sales.
Affiliate marketing is hands down one of the best ways to make money online for many reasons:
- – It gives you the opportunity to be your own boss
- – It has a very low barrier to entry. Anyone can do it, no matter their level of skill or experience
- – It allows you to experience an unmatched level of freedom
- – It is a very low risk business venture. You do not need to buy any stock or develop any products of your own
- – It has an uncapped earning potential. Since the more you sell the more money you get to make, the sky is the limit when it comes to this business!
This is my recommended way of how to be your own boss working from home. In fact, it is how I was able to generate income from my own business and on my own time. If you want to gain financial security by owning your own business, check out the link below. It will take you to what I believe to be the best on line community for affiliate marketing training. I have been a part of that community for over 10 years and could not recommend it enough.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
Today, making money from home is quite simple. The internet has made sure of that. All you need to figure out is what you want to do and the rest will follow.
However, before you jump into any sort of business venture, you have to ask yourself a series of tough questions. You need to be smart and know what’s right and what’s not. Be strategic in your decisions, start small, and maintain discipline. If you have a good plan and put it into action, choosing to be your own boss could turn out to be the best decision you ever made.
I hope you enjoyed this article. I also hope that you try the links that I have peppered through the article because I believe that they will take you to the best online affiliate marketing training bar- none!
To your success,
Mike Aha