How to Become Your Own Boss
Leaving behind a job you’ve become accustomed to is never easy and there are many reasons that people say goodbye to a job. Some leave a job because they’ve outgrown the work and are no longer challenged mentally.
Others leave because of office politics or poor pay despite all their hard work. A few leave a job because they’ve decided that it’s time to be their own boss. Maybe that’s you and you’re planning a new and exciting future away from the same old grind but you’re not quite sure how to exit gracefully.
Never burn bridges. Though it’s tempting to finally get everything you’ve been holding in off your chest, you never know when you might need that former boss as a reference or as a networking opportunity, so make sure that you leave gracefully.
Give a two-week notice and clear everything out of your to-do box to make the transition easier for the next person who will fill your shoes. Gather all of the contact information from colleagues and customers so that you can stay in touch with those you like and also to form new loyalties in the future with your own business.
Remember that timing is important. While it’s great to dream, you can’t pay the mortgage with a dream. So get the finances in order before you wave adios to your boss. Plus, you don’t want the stress of finances nipping at your heels.
Work hard before you quit to pay a few months ahead on all of your utilities and credit cards and other financial obligations. Tuck away enough money in savings to get support yourself while your business is in the start up phase. You’ll be glad you don’t have that pressure.
Being your own boss is exciting, but it can also be trying if you’ve never been responsible for a business before. First, do your homework. Have a focused marketing plan for your business and put it to work.
Remember that most businesses don’t see profit overnight. But with a steady dedication you will succeed. Remember the colleagues you said goodbye to? Now is the time to network with them. Tap into their circle of contacts to spread the word about your business.
Don’t buy into the myth that you have to spend a lot of money to make money. Your business budget shouldn’t be spent on fancy gadgets for the office or advertising. Instead, look for all of the free avenues you can take to build your business.
You don’t have to spend money to make it. Have a business plan and stick to the plan. You might even consider setting in place some trusted advisors and give them veto power to help keep you from making some of the mistakes that start up businesses commonly make.
Should You Worry About Competition on the Internet?
Don’t shy away from a niche you’d like to get involved in just because you see the competition is plentiful. All that means is that you have a good idea and it’s a proven moneymaker according to how many others want a part of that pie too.
Competition is a good thing because it can also prove the track record of a niche. What you want to do is bring something to the table within that niche that your competition is not offering.
For example, plenty of companies jumped on the bandwagon after the Kindle was released and began to offer protective cases in a variety of designs and colors to the public who purchased the Kindle and other electronic devices.
However, one company decided to create a niche with safety from theft in mind and created a cover that resembles an old book – protecting the Kindle from scratches and from the view of would be thieves as well. They took a niche and narrowed it down and charged ahead of the competition and are now making plenty in profits.
Any product that is specifically focused will always beat out the competition. If you want to work a niche on weight loss, you’ll discover that the weight loss niche is saturated with websites, books and other products dedicated to the topic.
It’s easy for consumers to get what’s called ‘blind eye’ when it comes to anything new on the weight loss scene because of that over saturation. So what you would do is take the topic of weight loss and narrow it down to only one small aspect of the weight loss topic.
You could narrow it down by focusing only on organic weight loss products or information. You could also narrow it down by targeting only women who’ve given birth and now want to lose weight and get back to pre-pregnancy shape.
The trick is to take an old topic and give it a fresh twist. Think of all the magazine headlines that you read. You never see a new topic – just a fresh twist on what’s already been around for centuries.
This is the part where doing your homework pays off. Once you’ve selected the niche that interests you, research all the competition on that niche. What are they offering? What audience are they targeting? Which audience is being left out? How can you take that niche and make it more valuable to the consumer?
One way to discover what people are looking for in a niche is by doing keyword research. You can find free keyword tools online and go through the keywords that your audience uses when searching for information about the topic. That may help give you ideas on how to narrow your focus for your niche.