Avoid These Mistakes When Going Solo - CareerAlley

Avoid These Mistakes When Going Solo - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Embracing a solo career is for many employees a dream that would take them out of the office routine and let them shape a workplace to their taste and interests. However, many enthusiastic entrepreneurs accidentally burn their wings by flying too close to the sun without a structured business. Everyone starts with a brilliant business idea. However, your journey to entrepreneurship needs to include many more steps before youre ready to launch a business. Tweet This Every year, more and more small businesses shut down, and their owner is forced to reintegrate the workplace as a regular employee. There is, unfortunately for ambitious independents, no secret success recipe. However, there are some costly mistakes that could stop them from building a stable venture. Pixabay CC0 License The idea isnt enough Everyone starts with a brilliant business idea. However, your journey to entrepreneurship needs to include many more steps before youre ready to launch a business. Your idea is only the first step. But your business plan is the most critical factor. Indeed, your business plan acts as a compass to guide your company growth. It is designed to use your research to define the best strategy. As this stage, you are making sure that youve got the right pieces and that you can connect them together. Additionally, your business plan also provides insights into your costs and your revenue forecast, which is the type of information money lenders will need to decide on a commercial loan. People are hanging up on you You are in a strange position where you need to become the face of your solo business. For a lot of independent experts, the hardest part of their day is not to keep their knowledge up-to-date but to be able to sell themselves to their clients. If you are uncomfortable with a direct approach, you will benefit from getting online sales training to enhance your skills. Indeed, you want to be able to talk to your prospective clients and keep them engaged with your offer naturally. Too many untrained sellers try to bypass client relationship to get to the actual pricing and negotiating part, which can affect your credibility. Pixabay CC0 License Nobody wants to read your resume How do you share your expertise without sending a complete professional history of your career? The answer is: You create a portfolio that showcases your skills and work. Indeed, producing your professional resume makes you appear amateurish. Youre not in a job-seeking position anymore. As an entrepreneur, you want clients to come to you and ask for your services. Therefore, building a portfolio that presents your best work and shows your versatility is an excellent idea. Starting your own business isnt for the faint of heart. Its stressful and pretty much demands your complete focus. On the plus side, it can also be a fulfilling experience professionally and personally. Entrepreneur.com Learn how to connect to people You have 500+ LinkedIn contacts, and you have zero contacts. How is that possible? If you havent dedicated a lot of attention to your networking activities in the past, you probably wake up to a large number of professional connections that you dont know. Too many professionals add new contacts without interacting with them. Make it a priority to send a personalized note when youre adding a new connection. Additionally, engage with the content that your contacts share and create. No solo business can become a success overnight. Success takes a long time to build. However, by ensuring that youve got solid foundations, you can encourage a rapid and decisive growth phenomenon. What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to find the opportunities that help you grow your best career. Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search