Self Employment – Beginner Mistakes

self employment mistakesThere are many benefits to being self employed, and that is why so many people are allured by the sound of it.

  1. Get to be your own boss? Check!
  2. Get to make your own hours? Check!
  3. Work at home? Check!
  4. Freedom? Check!

However, there are mistakes that you might make in the beginning if you are too quick to rush it.  Being self employed and creating your own job can and probably will be very hard work for you, especially in the beginning. There are many things to think of and many things to be careful with.

 

Not Separating Money

At first, you might have all of your income flow into one account. Eventually though, you should have your income and expenses come out of a business account.  It might seem easier to just have it all go in and out of the same account, but tax wise, it is wiser to have it all separate. This way you can positively designate something as a work expense and something as a personal expense.

 

Taxes

Before you decide to become self employed, the money that you can make being self employed could potentially be endless (whereas in a salaried position, you are not necessarily in control of how much you make per day, week, year, etc. unless you negotiate). The income is nice, but keep in mind that all of this is PRE-TAX, and taxes will need to come out of it.  Taxes were one of the biggest things that top self employed bloggers had to plan for.

 

Employees

If you’re business is growing rapidly, or is already big enough for you to just handle, consider hiring help. You wouldn’t want your brand or reputation to decrease in the consumers’ eyes. Extra help can be good for you as well. Time off is never a bad thing.

 

Not Being Professional (Legally)

If you don’t yet, think about having an operating agreement or shareholder’s agreement. Especially do this if you have employees and any other shareholders. Also, make sure when you do create your agreement, that you have good legal advice and help. I have seen many companies where there operating agreements were not fully sound and this hurt them in the end.

 

Counting Money Before It’s Sent

There is the chance that a potential customer will not be able to pay you for the goods and services that you provided. For me, I would not buy something, put in on my credit card, all in hopes that this customer will pay. A contract for payment of goods, even if it is signed, agreed, etc., may still not be honored. Always have a second plan and be ready!

 

Not Being Yourself

If your side job hustle (that is now your full-time job) worked before, then there of course is the possibility that there was nothing wrong with it. I’ve seen many people who completely changed everything their side hustle was about when they made it their full-time job.

Stick with your intuition, keep your personality, your same determination, etc. None of that can hurt to keep into the future! Most likely your personality was a plus (I hope 🙂 ) and customers most likely want to see that whenever they return.

 

Don’t Sell Yourself Cheap

I always like a good deal from a family member or friend. But honestly, I should be paying full price. And I should be paying more when it’s someone that I know and trust will do a great job. Be firm with your prices and try and be firm with family and friends.

 

What other mistakes could someone make?

Did you make any of these?

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Comments

  1. ” Be firm with your prices and try and be firm with family and friends.”

    This is a great point, my mother has been a stay at home TravelAgent for years now and refuses to let my wife and I pay her for her services. Some family and friends take her for granted and it drives me nuts! Please make your family understand this is your way of life, ask them if they would go to work for a day just for fun as a favor to you and see what they say!

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