Running your own freelancing gig can be very lucrative if you’ve picked the right niche, and it can easily become a primary source of income if you play your cards right as well. However, it’s not something you should treat lightly. It’s a job like any other, and you have to develop a serious attitude about it if you want to do it right. And most importantly, you have to be prepared to make the jump to a proper full-fledged business when you spot a viable opportunity to do so. It’s not absolutely necessary, but it’s strongly recommended if you want to keep growing. Here is a short guide of how to pull it off.
Establishing a Physical Presence
One of the main benefits of being a freelancer is that you can work from home on your own schedule. But this will eventually work against you if you want to become a proper business. Many people like the idea of walking into a physical place, talking to a person’s face to face, and relying on actual working hours. Plus, having some rigid schedule can be beneficial to you as well. The point is, don’t underestimate the benefit of setting up a physical presence and keep your eyes open for any potential deals on that front too. Make sure you take some time to explore the market for things like utilities as well – use a comparison site to make that job easier. For example, Utility Bidder puts you in touch with suppliers like Hudson Energy who offer great rates for SMEs.
Take Advantage of Government Grants
The UK government has lots of options available for small businesses looking to get off the ground faster, and grants are definitely something you should look into if you want to streamline the growth of your business. This will be highly individual of course and will depend largely on the activities of your company and other specific details about its operation. But even if you qualify for just one grant, it can make a world of a difference in your finances and can allow you to expand your reach significantly.Â
Understand the Differences
We already touched on this above, but it’s important to reiterate that point. Working as a proper business is different from being an individual freelancer. There’s a much higher expectation for quality and proper services, and people will judge you more. On the other hand, you can also get away with charging more for pretty much the same kinds of services. You will have to change your mindset if you’re used to working as a freelancer all this time though. It’s simply not a viable approach if you want to run an actual company, especially if you have plans to hire employees and expand in other ways in the future.
If you do this right, it can be a great change in your life and something that can introduce a lot of opportunities into it. It will take some time, and it won’t be a straightforward path, but it will bring a lot to the table that simply wasn’t there before. The most important thing is to really be sure that you’re up for the task and to give it all you’ve got in the initial stages. The rest comes down to utilising your resources properly.
