How To Move From A Freelancer To Being An Entrepreneur

Often times, there are two types of people one meets. The first are the kind who are more than happy working in a nine to five job and who do not have any real hopes of branching out on their own. The second are the type who are not only working on a 9 to 5 job, but are also working on a side hustle. When you feel stuck in a rut with no real change in pace, you know the time has come to make a change. If you are looking at making the jump from being a freelancer to an entrepreneur, then these are the steps  you should follow!

1. Make sure you know what you want to do

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Before you make the jump from working as a freelancer to an entrepreneur, think about why you want to make the jump. There is a major difference which comes with working as a freelancer as compared to the amount of work which goes into working as an entrepreneur. You start looking at what you want from the project and start investing more of your time into it. As someone working as an entrepreneur, the challenges are harder and the time you put into your work is a lot longer. Which is why, before you make the jump, it is extremely important to make sure you know why you are taking the leap!

2. Draw a plan

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Once you figure out what you want to do, the next step is drawing a plan and working on the structure of your business. Talk about what your business is going to do and how many people you need to get started. Moreover, you should also have a clear picture about the amount of funding your business requires. Start developing a long term and short term vision, with your business plan defining all the goals you want to achieve as a self made person. Only after you have everything squared away, can you actually start working on your goals as an entrepreneur.

3. Start accepting the responsibility

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One of the major things you should start accepting is, when you are an entrepreneur, you can no longer depend on a monthly income. Not only that, you are also completely responsible for the people who work for you. Working for yourself also means you have to be your own motivator. Get together a list of positive attributes and the things you have to complete on a daily basis. Start accepting that there are a lot of things of which you have to take care and work on giving the best picture possible for your startup.

4. Test the waters

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The trends are constantly changing. Just when you think you have mastered a certain goal, something new pops up. Once you have your business plan ready, start doing market research and try to understand how your idea will work on strangers. Through interviews and market studies, you get an idea about what to expect from your potential customers and target audience. With the responses you get from people, you can take a look at how well your product will do when it launches. Listen to what the experts have to say and use the feedback you get as guiding points for your business! Not only does this help you stay abreast of the situation, it also helps you in keeping track of what your competition is up to.

5. Start spreading your network

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One of the key things to keep in mind when you are working on your own business is, you should start developing your network. When it comes to your network, you should make it a point to include those who are going to help you grow, not bring you down. With social media being the go to place for meeting new people, start spreading the word about your business and talk to people who are similarly aligned. Join as many groups as possible and the more people you meet, the more connections you make!

When you make the choice of moving from being a freelancer to an entrepreneur, know that it is important to imbibe whatever knowledge you learn on the way. Take guidance from those already established and always keep an ear to the ground. An important note to learn here: make sure you can distinguish friendly advice from bad advice! If you think we missed out on any other ways to transition from being a self made person to an entrepreneur, comment and let us know!