What follows are ten areas of challenge that face everyone looking to make a successful leap from working for an organization to working for themselves. Successful people have stepped up to these challenges and made them work for them.
In the questions that make up the ten challenges there are no right or wrong answers. But each one requires some real thought and decision making. Being your own boss is not for everyone, and every year lots of people find that out. And lots of other people hit the ground running and never look back. Use the ten challenges to decide, commit and prepare so you never have to look back.
First - Motive - Why are you thinking of doing this? What makes working for yourself so attractive? If the answers are based on opportunities to build on what you've already done – as the next step in a career path - as a sound use of resources - that's good. If your answers are focused on a negative – a bad boss, a bad job, a bad career, or anything else that is based on getting away from something, think twice.
Second – Commitment - Are you ready to make the commitment to be successful? What represents success – to you? How good have you been on commitment so far? How passionate are you about what you plan to do? In an organization it's fairly easy to ration your commitment and effort and do what needs to be done to survive. When you are on your own that just doesn't work. You gotta be totally committed . Commitment and passion go together. A friend – a corporate person – once described the condition of the self employed as “the servitude of the self employed.” It's servitude only if you're not totally committed and passionate about what you do.
Third – Business - What business will you be in? What value do you bring to the marketplace? Can you express your value to a stranger in thirty seconds? Many people feel they know where they are going and don't need to write it down. That's a mistake. A business plan doesn't have to be a long, complicated document. But it should be a legitimate plan that answers those questions. For many people working in companies the switch from having the prestige of the organization behind them to being a Lone Ranger is tough. You have to know, behave and promote what you do – and state it in ways that have people asking you “How do you do that?”
Fourth – Customers - Who are you going to sell to – and who's gonna want to buy? What is going to be your market? How are you going to market what you do? Do you have contacts in your profession or industry that can help you hit the ground with that first sale? It's tempting to think of everyone as a prospect, but that's a trap. If everyone is a potential customer, the truth is that no one is a prospect. Be very careful of “business opportunities” that have high entry costs and paint a picture of the whole world as your prospective market. Defining and focusing on a niche is a must.
Fifth - Preparation and Credibility - How prepared and what “ chops” do you bring to the table? How have you prepared and what does your target market demand of the successfully self employed? What certifications, product relationships, technical skills, references do you bring to the table?. How does your Summary of Experience and Qualifications read?
Sixth - Critical Personal Skills - What are your influence skills? How are you going to shift from being an authority in an organization to being an influencer in your own business? How will you work with very little leverage? How good are you at asking - asking for work, for meetings, for the business?
Do you have the personal discipline to work hard with no one looking over your shoulder?
Seventh – People Network - What are your relationship skills and abilities? Who is in your network. How big is your file of names of people? How big and diverse is your Universe of people? Are you comfortable asking for referrals? How good are you at reaching out for help, relationships, partnerships, associations?
Eight – Baggage - How much mental and behavioral baggage do you have to throw away in order to be successful on your own? What are the things that have to change ? No admin, no HR, Accounting, or PR staff support. The old days of budgets as the barometer of success are over. Not making mistakes as the way to success? Not when you're on your own. All of us carry a set of assumptions built on our experiences. Being conscious of how those assumptions may get in the way of success is critical to change and growth.
Ninth – Sales and Marketing and Business Development - How are you going to deal with going from being in demand in an organization to looking for work? Within organizations work and opportunities go to the most effective people The most effective people are used to being sought out for opportunities and assignments – their phone rings – their E Mail box is full. Even the very best self employed person must constantly be searching for opportunities, for suspects, for prospects - their phone won't ring based purely on capability.
I asked a very successful consultant in the personal development business what was the highest value position in his organization. He didn't hesitate: Sales – getting the business. He felt that was 70% of the equation for success. I challenged that on the basis that the work had to be delivered in order to get paid, to get referrals, to establish relationships for the future. He agreed that was all true, but, in his opinion, getting talent to do the fulfillment work - be it seminar leaders, coaches, writers and course developers - was a hell of a lot easier than getting an effective sales and business builder.
Tenth - Self Knowledge – Are you an opportunity person – or a consequence person? Opportunity thinking is critical to gaining customers. So is optimism – it's a quality that can keep things going even when things look bleak – as they invariably will. How well do you know yourself? How well aligned are your perceptions of how you impact people with the reality of how you affect and impact others? If those are far apart, they need to be brought into alignment. You need to know what you're good at – not just what you think you're good at.
Being self employed covers a lot of different scenarios. No two people or businesses are exactly the same. Neither are their motivations. The answers to the ten challenges in this article will differ tremendously from one person to another – even in the same self employment niche. But the ten challenges can help you determine the why, what, when, where, who and how of your own business. They can help you be more successful – if after answering them, being in your own business remains your chosen path.
Written by Andy Cox, President
Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph& Fax: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com
Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved
Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph& Fax: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com
Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved
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