6 Steps to Take When Turning Your Freelance Job into a Small Business
Turning your freelance job into a small business is an exciting and thrilling prospect, but it can also be overwhelming to take on such a big project. With the right guidance, you can start turning your freelance job into a small business with confidence. Follow these six steps to get started quickly and easily, presented below by the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Design a New Resume
When freelancers decide to turn their jobs into businesses, they may need to design resumes showcasing their skillset tailored specifically to clients they are targeting in their new venture. The right resume template can be key in showcasing your skills and experience. There are dozens of online templates available, so take time to find the one that truly speaks to who you are as a professional. Once complete and saved in an appropriate format, you have an updated professional resume that you can use to show clients what kind of specialist they’ll be getting when hiring for their job needs. Keep in mind that the preferred format for resumes with most professionals is PDF; utilizing a PDF file converter, you can easily transfer your resume over from a Microsoft Word or other file.
Register Your Business
If you’re going to turn your freelance job into a small business, it’s a good idea to register it as an LLC or corporation with the state of Wyoming. This will help protect your assets from any potential legal issues that may arise with the company. Additionally, registering your business will allow you to separate yourself from the company as well as open up opportunities for tax deductions.
Buy Insurance Coverage
You also need to consider purchasing business insurance coverage. This will protect you from any potential liabilities that come with owning a business, like property damage, personal injury, and product liability. It’s important to shop around and compare different policies before making a final decision on which one is best for your particular situation.
Write a Business Plan
Writing out a detailed plan for how you want to run your business is essential when turning your freelance job into a small business. This should include an executive summary of what services or products you plan on offering as well as financial projections and marketing strategies for how you plan on gaining new customers. Having this written out beforehand makes it much easier when it comes time to launch your business officially.
Find Funding
Finding funding can be challenging, but there are many ways to do so when turning your freelance job into a small business. You could consider applying for loans or grants from the government, local banks, and credit unions, utilizing crowdfunding, or using your personal savings. No matter which method you choose, make sure that you do thorough research before committing to anything.
Set Goals and Objectives
It’s important to set realistic goals and objectives for yourself once you start running a small business – after all, without them, it can be hard to measure progress over time. Consider setting both short-term goals (like increasing sales by 10% within 3 months) and long-term goals (like expanding operations nationwide within 5 years). Also think about what metrics would be good indicators of success (for example, customer satisfaction ratings) so they can serve as yardsticks against which progress can be measured accurately over time.
Making the transition from freelancing to starting a small business isn’t easy, but if done correctly, it can result in great rewards both financially and professionally. By following these six steps, anyone interested in making this transition should have no problem doing so successfully.
Join the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce for members-only access to resources that will help you launch your business to new levels of success!