What to consider before starting a business
When I am put in front of something new my mind will immediately try to solve the problem but the thing about something new is where do you start when you do not know much of it. It can become overwhelming at times. When this happens my mind wants to check out and just go take a nap. This huge new thing (or what seems like it) can be just too much. So just break it down into smaller pieces. You can't eat a giant meal in one bite. You have to either cut it with a knife in small bits or one bit at a time. It is the same with wanting to start a business. It is new and challenging. However, with whatever is new you need to start with a quick search of what it is in general. Then start to dig into the parts that piece it together.
When I first considered starting a business it felt exciting yet daunting because I didn’t know where to start or what to even do. But my excitement led me to want to know how or at the least just curious as to what it takes to do it. I know that it is not all excitement in the journey because most of the time you want to make it possible but you're just filled with stress and some anxiety. I get it because I was in the same place. I felt like I was in over my head with this idea. I had thoughts like “maybe I won’t be able to do this” or “this is too much, I don't even know what to do”.
This journey will look different for everyone depending on your situation. But from some things I have learned I wanted to share them with you. I am no expert and I advise going through this with an accountant or attorney for legal binding of it. But here are some questions for you to consider before starting your business:
1. What is the business that I want to start? Is it solving a problem that is in high demand?
Your business may not always be solving something of high demand. However, understanding who you are wanting to serve is a great way to know who your audience is and what they are needing.
2. Are you in a place financially to start your business?
Starting a business is your journey and comes down to what you choose is best for you. Typically it is good to save 3-6 months' rent when you are taking the leap as a freelancer. Just in case you don’t get a client you have a safety net. There are also fees and payments you will have to make when legally setting up your business with your state and government. There is a great list that the U.S. Small Business Administration takes you through. You can check it out here.
3. Are you good at managing your time well?
Part of working for yourself is setting up an organized way for your work and life balance. At times they can blend together if you don't separate them. It is important to have good discipline on what your hours of work look like. The beauty of creating your schedule is the flexibility. Which is what I enjoy about it.
4. Do you have strong communication skills when dealing with clients?
This is not an easy one. I struggled with this one but through experience learned a lot. If you are from a design agency or corporate environment you might have a great way of communicating with clients. If you didn’t then taking the time to set this process up now will help you in the future.
5. Do you have the necessary paperwork when forming your business legally?
If you decide to start your business yay! I am so excited for you. But before there will be some paperwork you will need to form the type of business that is best for you. Here is another great SBA article that goes through that.
I know that it may feel like you're going at this alone because for some time I was. However, when I got serious about really wanting to start my business I sought out some help after all those hours of google searching(and there were many). I learned a lot from some people who taught me what to do. The first one I wanted to talk about is loomier.co their Art Meets Money course. This is what I took to feel more confident in deciding to start my business. This course allowed me to finally make it official and register my business. The two coaches Ilana and Katie go through and help guide you on what you need to know and a checklist of things to get done to be on your way to making it official. I had the chance to talk to them about my ideas and got great feedback from them. This process made it possible to make this dream a reality. If you're interested in this you can check it out here. This link is an affiliate link but it's one that I recommend because I have done it and gave me the results that changed my idea to a reality. It helped me and I hope it can help you too.
Lastly, I wanted to talk about a book that I read that also, in companion to all that I learned, helped me get more perspectives of others that started their businesses and how they did it. The book is called Freelance, and Business, and Stuff by Amy Hood and Jennifer Hood of Hoodzpah. This is such a great practical book to know where to start, what to do, and how to maintain it. They go through some of the business formation aspects of it where they provide great resources to look at. They also talk about portfolios and how to curate them for your freelance career. What I also like about it is that they give action steps to take that you can check off. I enjoyed having a place to check off the steps that they laid out for me to then move forward on to the next. Here you can get this great resource.
This is not an easy journey when starting a business. However, I hope some of the things that I have learned in this journey that I shared will help you get a little bit closer to your dream. Know that there is no right or wrong way but I do encourage you to keep fighting for it. What is the business that you are thinking of starting? I would be curious to know what you're dreaming of!
