rnrnLast week we discussed the obstacles of staying motivated and self-taught financial management. This week, we will be tackling two more things that stay in the way of those who are self-employed; No safety net, and selling themselves short. rnrnNo Safety NetrnrnStarting a business can be a nerve-wracking thing. Venturing out on your own means that you have to find your own solutions for insurance, savings plans, and overall to cover your bases in case your business isn’t able to sustain your living expenses. According to Businessnewsdaily.com, 48% are not prepared in the event that a lawsuit occurs against their business, and 39% are unprepared if they are to suffer a disability and are no longer able to manage their business. These are occurrences that could happen to anyone, without warning, so creating your business plan to account for these types of instances is incredibly important. rnrnSome resources are available to freelancers, for example, in the form of Freelancers Union, a community developed by Sara Horowitz in 1995 to help provide guidance, options and support to individuals who pursue freelance careers. They represent 57 million independent workers across the country with benefits such as; health care, life insurance, disability and even liability. They are just one of many options that should be explored when an individual decides to venture into the business world to pursue their own concept. rnrnGetting a loan can also help you as a financial safety net, to help cover start-up expenses (such as a Start-Up Loan), or business growth. However, there are many obstacles that can arise depending on your situation. The self-employed and freelancers often come up against the problem of having to prove their income, which can be a sticky situation sometimes. That is a scenario when a No-Doc Loan can be of great assistance. If your credit score is good, but you have difficulty proving your income, these types of loans (that we offer) can be just the ticket!rnrnSelling Themselves ShortrnrnIt seems that one of the most common occurrences among those who are new to the freelance or self-employed world, is how they undersell themselves or their products / services. Understandably, you develop a stronger sense of self worth with the accumulation of experience in your field, but new businesses can’t just wait around for confidence to be built. The phrase, “fake it ‘til you make it”, can be a flimsy excuse for poor work to masquerade as a business that has weathered the sands of time, but it can also refer to believing that you have the ability to provide dedicated work with the best interest of your customer or client in mind. rnrnThe source of this obstacle, Fear, will trickle into other areas of your business if you do not catch it early on. Many new business owners or freelancers claim to put off actually selling their own product so they have “time to perfect their product” . In reality, this is just a fear that their product will not be welcomed with open arms by their target market, that it will enter into a world of harsh critique or that it is simply just not good enough. rnrnJust as no work of art is ever truly finished, business owners look at their products and services as constant works of progress. While this is a healthy way to grow as a business, the point is that you can’t let the inevitable process of perfecting get in the way of releasing the first drafts of your product or service. How else will you have an honest second and third opinion? How else will you know how you can perfect the work of art? Your first step to growth, is to actually take that step -any step forward.
