Category: Business Advice

how to build your business

How to build your business (not your workload)

Posted on | by Jade Donno

If you want to build your business (not your workload) and you want to spend time on doing the things that will actually grow your business, you need to stop being a ‘busy fool.’ This means no more firefighting through the days and spending most of your time doing things that don’t contribute to your overall goal.

To build your business, you need to take control of your time and use it wisely. Here’s how.

Invest in the right workflow tools

There are bound to be inefficiencies in your existing processes, so identify them. Where are the bottlenecks in your processes? Can you automate any manual tasks?

One of the best ways to start working slicker is to invest in the right workflow tools. They can make management, collaboration, tracking progress, and daily operations so much more efficient.

Prioritise high-value work

To stop spending so much time on unnecessary tasks, start prioritising effectively. Use the Urgent Important Matrix to do this.

Group your tasks into 4 quadrants:

  • Q1: Urgent and important – these are emergencies that arise (e.g. missed deadlines, complaints, technical failures, pressing problems etc).
  • Q2: Important but not urgent – these are the tasks you need to do to grow your business (e.g. goal setting, growth planning, networking, self-development, business development etc).
  • Q3: Urgent but not important – these tend to be interruptions that take up the majority of your time (e.g. phones, texts, emails, unproductive meetings and reports etc).
  • Q4: Not urgent and not important – these are distractions that cause you to procrastinate and have no value to your business (e.g. personal phone calls, social media, excessive or irrelevant emails etc).

Once you’ve grouped your tasks, you will know what you need to focus on and what you need to avoid.

Delegate low-value work

Now you have identified tasks that need to be done, delegate the low-value work to your team so that you can focus on the ones that require your level of skill.

If you delegate effectively (i.e. delegating authority as well as tasks), you can be reassured that the day-to-running is ticking along while you’re focusing on the tasks that will grow the business.

Schedule time in the diary for business development activities

You need to invest more time in quadrant 2, doing the planning and budgeting and development activities that will grow your business. You know this, but if you don’t schedule it into your diary, it won’t get done.

If you prioritise these tasks and delegate the rest, you will have time to sit down and focus on them. You just need to find the best days and times where you can work productively and without any interruptions.

Build your business

It really is as simple as that. To build your business, not your workload, you need to follow these 4 steps. When you do these consistently, you’ll find that each day follows a much calmer formula:

  1. DO – those important tasks that need to be done today.
  2. SCHEDULE – the important but not so urgent tasks, so that they will get done.
  3. DELEGATE – the urgent but not so important tasks.
  4. AVOID – the non-urgent, non-important tasks.
business person

How to handle a client enquiry: the 4 step-guide

Posted on | by Jade Donno

How you handle a client enquiry can determine whether that prospect converts into a lead or whether they go elsewhere. It’s true, we all remember first impressions. To help you make the best first impression that you can, here is a solid sales process that you should follow.

Step 1: get their contact details

Your prospect has either emailed you, called you or walked into your office, so contact has been initiated. Before you do anything else, make sure to get their landline AND mobile number.

This is essential for when you get to the follow-up stage, as people are more likely to respond to a text message rather than an email or missed phone call.

Step 2: book a pre-qualification call

The receptionist or anyone in your team can do this 10-minute call (if you have a pre-qualification script that they can follow). This is where you pre-qualify your lead by asking specific questions. Are you talking to the decision-maker? Are they a good fit for your business?

If they aren’t a match for your business, try to help them by referring them to another business that does fit.

Step 3: book a discovery meeting

For prospects who fit with your business and who you want to work with, book a discovery meeting with them. Give them some pre-work before the meeting such as sending you information that will help you get to know them for the meeting. This will show you if they are serious about moving forward and it will weed out any price-sensitive shoppers who are just looking for a free service.

During the meeting, you should use the information that they gave you to find out more about them. Ask open-questions for the first half of the meeting to identify their specific goals, interests, challenges, and fears. When you know and understand their emotional drivers, only then can you effectively move on to the ‘selling’ portion of the meeting. I.e. positioning your business as their solution. This is where you will discuss potential solutions with them.

Step 4: send the proposal and follow up

Don’t wait too long to send the proposal over to the prospect. If you’ve made a great first impression and triggered the right emotions during the meeting, you need to strike while the iron is hot.

Create and send the proposal to the prospect as promptly as you can (same day is best) and then follow up until this is signed.

Turn your enquiries into leads

Streamlining your enquiry process will save a lot of time and hassle for you and it will make you appear very professional and organised to your prospect. Making a great impression from the get-go results in benefits for you both, so follow these steps and you’ll be turning more enquiries into leads and clients than ever before.

writing

5 reasons why you should be publishing blogs regularly

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Do you publish new content on your website regularly? If you don’t, you should be.

Blogging is an integral part of any effective digital marketing strategy. According to SEO expert, Neil Patel, companies that blog generate 67% more leads than those who don’t! Here’s why you should be prioritising your content.

To appease Google

If you satisfy search engines like Google by publishing regular, high-quality content, you will appear at the top of their search results. Improving your search engine ranking is key to driving traffic to your website and getting conversions.

To help your audience find you online 

If you write regular content which is optimised for the keywords that your audience will be searching for, you will help your audience find you. For example, if you know what their pain points are (e.g. how to manage money), you can write helpful articles that appear on the first page of results on Google.

To keep your readers coming back

If you only write now and then, your audience won’t remember you and your brand. You won’t stay in front of them until they are ready to buy. If you’re publishing useful and relevant content every week, they will keep coming back to read more. Just like a favourite author or magazine, they will know your brand and will want to read what you write.

To build trust and position your business as the expert 

You can use your content to demonstrate and share your knowledge with your audience, and ultimately, to position yourself as the expert in that field. If people see you as the thought leader in your field (and they trust you, because you publish useful content, regularly), they are far more likely to buy from you.

To create content for social media

Many business owners don’t know where to start or what to post when it comes to their social media strategy. If you write and publish regular blogs, however, this can generate a lot of content for you to use on your social channels. Not only does it increase your online presence, but this increases your reach and gives you another avenue to drive traffic back to your website too.

How often should you publish blogs?

Once a week is more than enough for most businesses. You want to be blogging regularly enough that you reap the rewards of the effort but not too much that you can’t manage to fit it into your busy working week!

Just remember, you need to be blogging as content creates trust and credibility; it makes Google happy, and it positions you as the expert (which ultimately leads to results!).

how to have more gravitas as a leader

How to have more gravitas as a leader or manager

Posted on | by Jade Donno

“Gravitas” was one of the ancient Roman virtues that denoted “seriousness,” but nowadays it’s a quality that also extends to self-confidence and a strong presence. You know the types of people. The ones who talk the talk, who seem to command attention when they walk into a room, who, when they talk, people can’t help but listen. These people have a lot of gravitas.

It can be annoying when someone who has this presence steals the limelight, but what is great about gravitas is that it can be learnt! Just like everything else, confidence is a skill and the more you practice it, the more naturally it will come.

If you want to have more gravitas or confidence as a leader, here are 6 things that you need to do.

1.Stand up straight with your shoulders down

Your posture and body language is absolutely crucial when it comes to the presence that you are projecting. For example, if your voice is strong but your shoulders are hunched and you’re looking down, people will perceive you to be closed off and shy.

If you want to appear more confident and have a greater presence, open up your chest, stand tall and make direct eye contact. So much of what people call gravitas is actually just their reaction to the other person’s body language. Take stock of yours and make sure you are projecting outward confidence.

2. Use direct language

You need to reinforce your body language with how you talk, so make sure that you’re not using passive language. Saying things like “I just think that…”, “Maybe if I…” or “Am I making sense?” will undermine your authority, credibility and confidence. If you want more gravitas, you need to think about the language you use. Replace passive phrases with active and direct phrases such as “From my point of view… The truth is… What is your stand on…”

3. Dress the part

Now you’re walking the walk and talking the talk, you need to look the part. Gravitas often comes from people who just look the part, so think about how you can dress and present yourself to project the image you want. For men, it may be a suit and shined shoes or a trimmed beard. For women, it may be high heels or wearing your hair up and off your face.

If you struggle with confidence, looking the part can help you feel it.

4. Overcome your self-limiting beliefs 

Identify any self-limiting beliefs that are reducing your gravitas. This could be always saying yes to requests, letting others influence your decisions instead of you making the final call, and/or letting others speak over you.

Behaviours such as this often come from self-limiting beliefs about yourself such as not feeling good enough or like an ‘imposter’ in your role. Identify these so that you can start making impactful changes.

5. Pace your words and emphasise key points

When presenting or in meetings, think about the great orators of our time (e.g. Barack Obama, Winston Churchill etc). They make short, sharp points; they take their time over their words and say them with conviction, pausing for impact, and they put emphasis on certain keywords and phrases that they want you to remember.

If you want to have more gravitas, where your team hang on to your every word, make sure you do these three things when conversing and presenting.

6. Always prepare before key meetings or conversations

Obama and Churchill didn’t wing their speeches, they prepared for them. Not only were their speeches carefully crafted and each word chosen carefully, but they also practised delivering the speech.

Most of us prefer to have time to think before answering a question, rather than having to think on our feet, so give yourself this time. Prepare before key meetings or conversations and it will be far easier to converse and answer with confidence.

old clients and new clients post it note

3 ways to find the value in your current client base

Posted on | by Jade Donno

I don’t know about you, but Covid has me all out of whack. In the past, I’ve had a clear roadmap for growing my business and it’s worked. Since Covid, however, it now feels like all the roads are ‘under construction’ and we’ve been diverted but without being told where to go.

Now, an easy trap to fall into is to do nothing. Nobody knows what’s going to happen over the next year after all, so why bother? I’ll just carry on doing a bit here and there and my business will be fine.

While that may feel like a good decision to make, it is actually a risk. It’s akin to driving with your eyes closed or without a SatNav.

We can all grow our businesses during a recession. We can all thrive and win new business, actual clients that we want; we just need to know which direction we are going and how we are going to get there.

Here’s how to do just that.

1. Create a growth plan and strategy

If you want to grow, you first need to know where you want to go and then outline the roadmap to help you get there. For example, write down your ONE BIG FOCUS for the year. Maybe it is to win X amount of clients or reach a financial goal. Whatever it is, make this your yearly goal and then work backwards. What do you have to do every quarter, every month, and every week to achieve this?

2. Find your ‘golden egg’ clients

The next step is to find your diamonds in the rough, Where are the easy wins in your current client portfolio? Who gives you the biggest bang for your buck? Who do you love working with the most and who pays you the best? Do a full analysis of your existing clients and you’ll find who your ‘golden egg’ clients are. These are the people who are most valuable to you.

3. Focus your marketing to win these high-value clients

Once you know who your most valuable clients are, create detailed client personas for these clients. Outline as much as you can about them (e.g. age, gender, goals, values, challenges, fears etc) and then use these to tailor your marketing message. If all of your marketing material talks directly to them, addressing their challenges and appealing to their wants and needs, you’ll find that you’ll start to win many more of these clients.

Find your current value and use it to grow your business

If you want to grow your business, even during a recession, it’s not about finding more and more clients. It’s about looking for the diamond in the rough and finding those golden egg clients that you already have. Once you know who your ideal client is, you can then create effective marketing materials and streamline your processes to win these bigger and better clients.

laptop

Do new small businesses need an accountant?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

According to business start-up statistics in the UK, 20% of businesses fail in their first year and around 60% will go bust within their first three years. Approximately 660,000 new start-ups register in the UK every year according to The Telegraph, so what are the reasons for such a high failure rate?

While there are many factors, the top two reasons start-ups fail is because:

  1. there’s no market need for their services or products, or;
  2. they ran out of cash.

These two reasons, like many of the others, could have potentially been avoided if they had consulted professionals early on in the process of setting up their business. Professionals such as accountants.

Here are 9 ways that new or early-stage businesses benefit if they consult an accountant earlier rather than later.

9 ways an accountant can help new businesses

They can help you…

  1. Identify whether your new business idea is feasible – an accountant can help you analyse your market research data to see if there’s enough demand for your product or service to sustain your business. They can also assist with outlining your business goals too.
  2. Decide on a business structure – choosing your business structure can impact your tax, personal liabilities, and asset protection etc. An accountant can help you choose the right one, saving you time and money in the process.
  3. Create a business plan – a big chunk of your business plan will be your financial forecast which outlines your business costs, revenue projections and the funding you will need. Naturally, an accountant is the best professional to help you with this cost analysis.
  4. Secure funding – accountants can advise you on which lenders to approach as well as helping you create your loan pitch. They can help you create an accurate and reliable economic forecast for your business.
  5. Register your business – you will need to register your business with the government and the Internal Revenue Services (IRS). An accountant can assist with this as well as registering you for tax, applying for licenses and permits you may need, and setting up your business bank account.
  6. Choose the best business insurance – an accountant can advise you on the best insurance options to ensure you have complete protection at the most cost-effective price. They can help with property and vehicle insurance to professional liability and business interruption insurance.
  7. Make the right recruitment decisions – from advising you on recruitment decisions (e.g. whether a part-time employee or outsourcing makes more financial sense) to helping you with payroll and auto-enrolment, accountants can help significantly when hiring employees.
  8. Set up cloud accounting software – accountants can help you run your business more efficiently by looking at your processes and advising on the most appropriate cloud accounting software. Some even offer migration, set up, and training services when it comes to software too.
  9. Plan for the future – great accountants become a trusted member of your team. They help you set your business goals and they provide you with ongoing advice and support throughout the years to help you achieve them.

Always seek an accountant’s advice when starting a new business

Failing to properly plan for the financial needs of a new business will undoubtedly lead to challenges. Challenges that could lead to the complete failure of the business if left unaddressed.

By getting an accountant involved as early as possible in the process, they can identify and mitigate any risks for you and help you budget and forecast your finances. With an accountant by your side, you’re far more likely to be a part of the 40% of new businesses that survive the 3-year mark!

the benefits of hiring an apprentice

The benefits and costs of hiring an apprentice

Posted on | by Jade Donno

If you’re at the point where you can’t take on any more work or, to grow your business, you need to hire more staff…hiring an apprentice is as good an option as any. Yes, they might not be as experienced as a fully trained potential employee, but you can mould them to fill any specialist gaps in your firm.

Getting some new blood on board can be a great investment, you just have to know what to expect. Here are the pros and cons of hiring an apprentice.

Benefits

You save money

The current Apprenticeship Levy means that businesses who qualify only have to pay 5% towards the cost of training and assessing your apprentice, and the government will pay the remaining 95%. If you hire an apprentice between 1 August 2020 and 31 March 2021, you can also claim up to £2,000 as an incentive payment.

You can delegate the low-value tasks

Apprentices will happily do the grunt work which will free your employees up to do the things of higher-value. Not only will this enable your apprentice to learn the ropes, but it will improve productivity and morale in the whole team too.

You gain a fresh perspective

If apprentices don’t have much experience, they will be able to look at your processes in a way that will make you question why you never thought of that yourself. The younger generation has strong technology skills, so you may be surprised by the new ideas they come up with.

You can bridge your skills gap

If you are finding it difficult to recruit people with certain skills that you need to move your business forward, apprenticeships can open you up to a whole new pool of applicants who you can train for this specific role.

You can improve your bottom line

Yes, apprentices are an investment initially. However, if you train and develop them right, within a year onwards, they can help improve your bottom line

Costs

You have to commit

Unlike when you hire an experienced employee, apprentices can’t hit the ground running. They need supervision at all times. You will need to dedicate significant time to training them, in even the simplest of things such as workplace etiquette, and email and phone protocol.

You have to be prepared for mistakes

Apprentices won’t know everything and maybe slower to learn than you’re used to. From the get-go, you need to be prepared for some muck ups. Use these opportunities to teach them how to learn from their mistakes and explain why things are done a certain way.

You could end up losing them

There is always the risk that your apprentice could complete their training with you but then leave to work for someone else. With that being said, however, 90% of apprentices tend to stay on after their qualification has finished.

You are put through a lengthy process

The process for hiring an apprentice isn’t quick and easy, to say the least. For this reason, you need to find a candidate that you believe will not only fit your company but will learn and grow at the pace you want to be a successful addition to your business.

You need to be aware of what is expected of you

If your apprentice is still completing their studies, you have to give them paid time off for this. You will also have to cover the cost of their training (on top of their salary) and 20% of their work hours needs to be off-the-job training.

An apprentice is a great investment (if you take the time to nurture them!)

Hiring an apprentice brings many benefits but only if you take the time to properly mentor them. If you’re aware of the drawbacks and you set aside time to really develop them in your firm, you can reap all the benefits of moulding new, young, and fresh employees.

accountant with laptop

15 things you didn’t know an accountant could do

Posted on | by Jade Donno

When asked “What does an accountant do?” many people answer with accounts, tax or compliance work. While that’s true, what many don’t know, is that the good ones do so much more. The best accountants will become a part of your team; they will give you strategic advice to save money and boost revenue, they will help you work more efficiently, and they will not only help you plan for your future, but they will help you get there.

To better answer the question, “What does an accountant do?” here is a taster of what they offer to you and your business.

Things an accountant can do…

  1. Launch a start-up

You need to know that your idea will make money and may potentially need to convince investors of the same thing. An accountant can do that for you plus work out your start-up and operating costs and create credible revenue forecasts.

  1. Manage your cash flow

Getting a stable and consistent cash flow is every business owner’s dream. An accountant can make sure that you always have the money there to pay staff and suppliers, as well as cash reserves in case of an emergency.

  1. Help make you more tax-efficient

Everyone knows that an accountant can help you complete and submit your returns at the end of the tax year. What many don’t know is that they can also help you to lower your tax ethically as well as helping you deal with old tax debts and making sure your books are watertight if you’re audited.

  1. Manage your debt

What loan should you choose? Should you use spare cash to pay back loans or reinvest in the business? An accountant can help you develop a specific strategy to manage debt in a way that is best for your business.

  1. Chase unpaid invoices

An accountant takes the ‘chasing money’ headache away from you by setting up an automated invoice system. When a payment is due or overdue, this will send out automatic reminders to your clients until they pay. Some accountants will even call clients who are very overdue with payments.

  1. Improve your business strategy

Yes, your accountant can help you figure out where you want to go and what’s important. They will work with you to set realistic personal, professional, and financial goals, and then they will measure your progress to help you achieve them.

  1. Budgeting and forecasting

Working off a vague set of numbers can result in irreparable damage to a business. With an accountant, you can work to an exact budget where you know exactly what is coming in and going out, and how much money you have to reinvest, and all in real-time. As well as having the figures at your fingertips, you will also know your figures that you’re aiming for and how long you could last in a crisis.

  1. Writing and pitching loan applications

Applying for a loan is a tedious and difficult process, but not with an accountant. They can pull together your numbers to help you write a solid application, not to mention give you the forecasting figures that will win over any loan officer.

  1. Help you with recruitment and payroll

Should you hire a full-time employee or outsource? Will your bottom line benefit more from a salesperson or a technician? Can you afford to hire and train a new employee? All these questions are important and should be handled with confidence. An accountant can help you make the best choices for you and your business and make payroll easy.

  1. Set up your cloud accounting software

Accountants aren’t stuffy number crunchers who speak a different language, they are tech-savvy and future-driven. Using the best tools out there, good accountants can help you automate your business’s accounting so that you’re always on top of your finances wherever you are. As well as implementing this software in your business, they can also train you to use it confidently.

  1. Help your business run more efficiently

In addition to accounting software, accountants can also help you unlock the power of other applications so that you can start working smarter, not harder. They can help you increase productivity with your invoicing, payroll, customer relationship management, staff scheduling and time-recording etc, and integrate all these tools together to create an effortless workflow.

  1. Improve your inventory management

Many business owners don’t realise how much money is lost due to poor inventory management. What an accountant can do is help you identify the cost of holding inventory and how much revenue is lost, so you can start to place accurate (and cost-effective) orders.

  1. Help you plan for the future

Do you want to sell your business in the future? Do you have a succession plan? Do you want to retire early? All these questions need to be addressed and planned for early on in your business journey. As well as helping you develop a plan for the future, an accountant will keep this larger goal in mind and will help you stay on track.

  1. Listen and support you

A good accountant will become an essential part of your team. They will be your financial advisor for all aspects of your life and will be there to listen and support you whenever you need them (not just appear in your life at the end of the tax year).

  1. Give you peace of mind

Your business, your finances, and the welfare of you and your family are probably the three most important things in your life. An accountant can help ease this pressure, giving you the reassurance and confidence that everything is being done or is planned for. The result? Peace of mind and being able to sleep soundly.

Seperation between work and home life

How to keep a separation between work and home life

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Working from home has its challenges. On its own, that shift in environment takes some getting used to, especially if you’re used to working in an office, never mind having your partner or children there full-time as well! While space and distractions are common issues, the biggest challenge is that family and office life are overlapping, sometimes a little too much. Here’s how to keep work and home life separate as you work remotely.

Create a dedicated workspace

Having a completely separate workspace from the rest of the house is essential. It’s essential when it comes to productivity and focus, but also when it comes to switching off. Having a spare room is the most ideal, as you can shut the door at the end of the day and not be distracted by household chores when you are working. Obviously, this might not be possible for everyone, so decide where the most separate part of the house is.

Set your ‘work hours’

When do you work best? The world is your oyster when you work from home, so pick your hours. If that’s 6 am until 2 pm, you have the whole evening to fit in some exercise and good food. If it’s later in the day, then you can spend the morning home-schooling the kids. Whatever works best for you, set your hours and stick to them.

Tip: It’s a good idea to bookend your workday. What we mean by this is to find something that symbolises the start of your workday and the end. It could be starting your day with a coffee in your ‘work mug’ and then ending the day with a walk. 

Take a proper lunch break 

Schedule your lunch break and actually take it. You need nourishment for your brain to work at its optimum and a proper break does wonders for your productivity.

Get changed for work

You may be surprised, but you won’t be at your most productive if you’re working in your pyjamas! While your ‘work clothes’ maybe tracksuit bottoms and a slouchy t-shirt, that is fine. The most important thing is that you get changed out of what you slept in and into some fresh clothes to signal the start of the day.

Actually take a day off when you take a day off

We all need a day off every once in a while, especially when we are stuck indoors and the kids need home-schooling and the weekends don’t feel any different from the week… If you have planned a day off or you just want the weekends for family time, actually take the time off to recharge. Get your partner to hide your laptop or lock the spare room door if you have to. Just don’t get sucked into the “I just need to do one quick thing” void because the day will be gone before you know it.

Use your ‘commute time’ for self-care

One of the biggest positives about working from home is that you gain the time that you normally spend commuting! While it may be tempting to sleep a little longer, how about filling that time with things that will set you up for the day or help you switch off for the day? This could be meditating or exercising or taking it easy and reading a book. Whatever recharges your energy levels and releases serotonin (the happy hormone) for you, try to incorporate it into your daily routine.

Practice saying ‘no’

While learning to say ‘no’ to requests from clients is sometimes necessary, we are talking about saying ‘no’ to family and friends. Just because you are working from home, doesn’t mean your work isn’t as important. Explain this to your family and/or friends if they are requesting too much of you. Yes, your work is flexible, but you are still working 8 hour days. You’ll be happy to help them after your work hours!

Lower your expectations and don’t over-promise

Our expectations can be our downfall, so don’t set yourself up for failure. You won’t be working at your peak from home, especially with your partner and potentially your children at home, so don’t set high expectations for yourself. You won’t be able to keep a ‘show-home’ tidy house when everyone is stuck inside. You won’t be as productive as you would like so don’t over-plan or over-promise. If someone needs something, give yourself more time than you think you need and don’t be too hard on yourself generally.

Megaphone with speech bubble

What are the pros and cons of becoming self-employed?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Self-employment is quickly becoming an area of interest for many people. It’s not surprising really when you hear that UK redundancies hit a record of 370,000 in the last quarter of 2020. As the unemployment rate rises to 4.9%, many people are looking at their options and wondering if now is the time to strike out on their own.

While being self-employed does come with a lot more control over your future, it is by no means a walk in the park. Here are the pros and cons of becoming self-employed.

Pros

  1. You can work when you want – you have the flexibility to decide your own working hours. Are you more productive very early in the morning? Then start early and finish early. As long as the work gets done, it doesn’t matter if you want to take Mondays off.
  2. You can work where you want – all you need is a phone, a laptop and a stable internet connection. This means you can define your own work environment, whether that’s at home, at a café or somewhere else in the world.
  3. You can choose the work that you want – you don’t have to work with frustrating clients, be around co-workers you aren’t comfortable with or work on mind-numbing and boring tasks. You are free to take on the work you are most passionate about and to decide who you want to work with.
  4. You could potentially make more money – your hourly rate is going to be much higher than what you would earn in a full-time job. If you’ve got a full schedule of work booked in, you could be making a lot more per month than you would be employed.
  5. You are always learning – running a business takes a lot of additional skills, so you will always be developing yourself. As well as business skills, you can also take more control over your own learning and development.
  6. You could benefit from tax advantages – many things become tax-deductible if it’s purchased for the sake of your business. These business expenses can even include a portion of your rent and house bills if you are working from home and any asset purchases such as cars.
  7. You have more control over your income – if you want to make more money, you can find more clients. Since you are responsible for your own income, this provides you with more of an incentive to work harder too.

Cons

  1. Hours can be long – you may enjoy your time off work less when you think this time could be spent earning. This may mean that you end up working far more hours than you did as an employee (especially to start off with).
  2. Being alone in your work environment – it can be lonely working entirely alone during the work hours for days and weeks at a stretch. Having no one to discuss work with or share victories or frustrations can be very difficult.
  3. You have to do everything – now you’re self-employed, you have to do all of the work, all of the marketing, all of the bookkeeping and so on. This not only takes up a lot of your time, but it can be quite stressful too. Especially since you can’t ask a colleague for help.
  4. There is no guarantee of work (or money) – unlike a 9-5 job, you don’t know what work you will be able to secure when and for how long. This often leads to a lumpy pipeline (i.e. not being able to win a job for months and then landing 3 at once).
  5. You could potentially make less money – being self-employed is difficult and requires a lot of self-motivation. If you don’t have the drive, then you’re going to earn less.
  6. You will have to work for free – running a business takes time, time to market yourself, quote for jobs, invoice clients, and managing multiple clients and your own schedule. This is time that you’re not getting paid for.
  7. You have no employment rights or a workplace pension – being self-employed means no sick pay, annual leave, workplace pension or company benefits (e.g. a company car, health insurance, gym membership etc). Essentially, any time not working is time not making money.

Self-employment isn’t all smooth sailing

Being self-employed may sound like heaven, but you alone are responsible for whether you fail or succeed. You get what you put in when you’re self-employed, and while this could result in more money and freedom, it takes a lot of self-discipline, motivation, and hard work to get there first.