Want to be your own boss? I feel ya.

In my teens, I remember reading a quote by the businessman Farrah Greyness: "Build your own dreams, or someone else will rent you to build theirs."

I had no idea who Farrah Greyness was, but the quote stuck with me.

How to Be Your Own Boss: Farrah Gray Quote

I knew that countless people went against the norm, carved their ain path, and worked for themselves successfully – so, why couldn't I be my own boss too?

Today, I haven't had a regular chore in more than ten years.

These days, I earn good money doing something I enjoy, have a super flexible work schedule, and can piece of work wherever there's WiFi (I spent last year traveling beyond 3 continents).

If you lot enquire me, being your own boss is awesome .

So, how can you be your own boss? In brusk, piece of work hard, larn lots, and stick with it. As the entrepreneur Walt Disney one time said, "All our dreams can come up truthful, if we accept the courage to pursue them."

In this article, I'll accept you through a 10-footstep guide that explains how to be your own boss from dwelling.

Let's swoop in.

Post Contents

    • 1. Determine Why You Want to Exist Your Ain Dominate
    • 2. Evaluate Your Situation and Skills
    • 3. Plan the Transition to Existence Your Own Boss
    • iv. Cull a Business Model
    • 5. Determine Your Target Market
    • 6. Place a Problem to Solve (and Choose What to Sell)
    • seven. Clarify Your Business Program
    • 8. Get Set Upward
    • 9. Develop Your Business Identity
    • x. First Marketing to Country Sales
  • Summary: How to Get Your Own Boss
  • Desire to Larn More?

1. Determine Why Y'all Desire to Exist Your Ain Boss

Why do yous want to exist your ain dominate?

This is an of import question – the writer Christopher Morley said, "At that place is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your ain way." And then, what's your way?

Maybe yous desire to:

  • Earn more money
  • Create the liberty to alive and piece of work anywhere in the globe
  • Develop a flexible work schedule so you can spend more time with family unit
  • Do work you're interested in and savor
  • Pursue a passion

Here's why this matters: When you know why you lot want to be your own boss, you'll be able to blueprint your ideal life – and then go far happen.

For example, if you want to become a digital nomad , you may want to avoid businesses that require you to be in the same timezone as customers (because 3 am Zoom calls from Indonesia aren't much fun…).

In summary, there are many pros and cons of existence your own boss. Figure out what you want almost and what you don't mind compromising on.

How to Be Your Own Boss: Christopher Morley Quote

2. Evaluate Your State of affairs and Skills

Earlier you can get to where you're going, you demand to know where you are.

And so, take stock.

Here's what to do: First, evaluate your situation and how it will affect your ability to be your ain boss. For example:

  • Do you have a family to support?
  • How much are your monthly outgoings?
  • Do yous have some savings to fall back on?
  • Practise y'all have whatever coin to invest in your new business?
  • How much fourth dimension tin can yous devote to learning how to be your own dominate?
  • What responsibilities have upwardly lots of your time (e.grand., studies and children)?

Get clear on your state of affairs. So, evaluate yourself:

  • What skills do you accept?
  • What are your strengths and weaknesses?
  • Do you find information technology difficult to stop procrastinating ?

Be honest with yourself – you need to know what you lot're working with.

Only don't vanquish yourself upwardly.

It doesn't thing what your situation is – y'all tin improve it and get your own boss. As the tennis champion Arthur Ashe said, "First where yous are. Utilise what y'all have. Practice what you can."

How to Be Your Own Boss: Arthur Ashe Quote

3. Program the Transition to Being Your Own Dominate

Side by side, you need to work out how to transition from your job or studies to being your own boss. There are two main routes:

  1. Save at to the lowest degree six months of expenses, quit your job, and go all in.
  2. Start a side hustle , and when you're earning plenty money, quit your day task.

If yous're similar me, you'll probably want to quit everything and get all in. However, I can tell you lot from experience that this route can be incredibly stressful.

And so, consider starting a side hustle .

If you keep upward with your studies or job and things don't piece of work out (and showtime tries oftentimes don't ), you'll however accept an income or studies to fall back on.

4. Choose a Business Model

There are countless "be your own dominate jobs" out there.

But when starting out, it helps to choose a tried-and-tested business model – after all, why reinvent the wheel?

So, if you're looking for "be your own boss ideas," here are three of the best ways to be your own boss with no money:

  1. Freelancing : Are there whatsoever services y'all tin can provide with your current skill set? Freelancing is one of the best ways to be your own dominate. However, information technology can take time to develop your skills and increase your income.
  2. Consulting and coaching : If you're an expert on a topic, you lot could become your own dominate by selling your noesis and feel. Plus, once you've established yourself as an authority, you could also first selling data products.
  3. Ecommerce : If y'all're new to business, yous could utilize a service like Shopify to set up an online store and be your own boss selling products . Plus, if you don't have money to invest upfront, you can kickoff selling products for free with Oberlo .

How to Become Your Own Boss with Oberlo

5. Determine Your Target Market place

You can't be your own boss without customers.

So, once you've chosen a business model, it'due south time to place your target market – your ideal customers.

The marketer Philip Kotler explains: "There is just ane winning strategy. It is to carefully define the target market and direct a superior offering to that target market."

Hither's the aureate rule: Make sure you lot're part of your target market.

Why? In brusk, information technology's more than hard to sell something that yous wouldn't purchase yourself. For instance, if you never vesture makeup or hair products , it would be challenging to relate to people who buy them. Only, if you love watches , your knowledge and passion would make it far easier to promote them.

So, what are your interests, passions, and hobbies? What practice you know a lot about? Whatever it is, use information technology to assistance you become your own boss.

How to Become Your Own Boss: Philip Kotler Quote

6. Identify a Problem to Solve (and Cull What to Sell)

Once you empathise the types of people you could sell to, yous demand to identify a problem they have.

Every business solves a trouble:

  • Mechanics fix broken cars
  • TV shows cure boredom
  • Sunglass brands help people to express themselves and see better in sunny weather condition

Now, the larger and more painful the problem you solve – and the better you solve it – the more coin customers will pay y'all.

For example, when selling pet supplies , you could probably toll a dog harness college than a chew toy. Why? A harness would solve a larger problem for an owner than a chew toy.

What problems does your target marketplace accept? What problems do you have?

Brian Chesky, the co-founder of Airbnb, said, "If nosotros tried to retrieve of a practiced idea, we wouldn't accept been able to think of a skilful thought. You just have to find the solution for a trouble in your own life."

In essence, here's how to be your own boss: Discover a problem and sell the solution.

How to Become Your Own Boss: Brian Chesky Quote

7. Clarify Your Business Program

At this point, y'all should have a simple business program that you tin can utilise to become your own boss. You lot should know:

  • The business model
  • Who your target market is
  • What problem they have
  • How you plan to solve their problem with your product or service

Here's an example:

  • Business model : Dropship products online
  • Target market : Young way-conscious women
  • Trouble : They want new means to express themselves and stand out from the crowd
  • Solution : Sell dresses online that are unique and heart-catching

Now's the fourth dimension for action.

8. Get Gear up

It's time to intermission ground and get set.

Now, it's safer to land some sales and make sure that your business thought works earlier you lot invest your difficult-earned cash.

And so, don't spend coin unless you absolutely must – and even so, keep it minimal. For example:

  • Need a website? Don't hire an expensive designer – sign upward for Shopify's costless trial .
  • Want to sell products online? Don't purchase inventory upfront – dropship products with Oberlo.
  • Want to gear up a home office ? Don't head to IKEA just still – rearrange your existing piece of furniture.
  • Need to purchase tools? Consider borrowing or hiring them for at present.

Be Your Own Boss Ideas: Sell Products on Shopify

Okay, in one case yous've moved in, it'southward time to decorate.

ix. Develop Your Business Identity

Now comes the fun function: branding! Simply before yous design a logo , you need to develop your make's identity.

Okay, just what is a brand exactly?

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said it all-time: "A make for a visitor is like a reputation for a person."

Yous can influence this reputation by the way you present your brand. For case, the graphic below shows how colors relate to emotions and how businesses use this connection to position their brands.

Be Your Own Boss: Branding Color Psychology

So, what type of brand will your target market resonate with most? Funky and fun? Mod and sleek? Loud and bold? Quiet and minimal?

Any it is, take the time to define your brand. Then, start working to become your own boss:

  • Choose a name using Oberlo's business proper noun generator
  • Use Hatchful to create a logo and branding for your social media channels
  • Prepare and optimize social media accounts, such equally an Instagram contour and Facebook business concern folio

Be Your Own Boss: Create a Logo with Hatchful

Remember, you all the same don't know if your business organization program volition work nonetheless.

So, go along it simple and move quickly – y'all can always improve this stuff afterward on. Every bit Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said: "Done is better than perfect."

Once you're ready, information technology's time to discover some customers then you tin be your own boss!

10. Start Marketing to Land Sales

At present comes the challenging part: Putting your business organisation to the exam past trying to become some sales.

There are tons of ways to market your production or service, just some methods are more suited to a bootstrapped business.

Here are four internet marketing methods that you can employ to get sales and exist your own dominate online:

  1. Social media marketing : Concenter your target market place on social media channels past sharing content and engaging with individuals personally.
  2. Direct outreach : Scour Facebook groups , Twitter profiles, and Instagram hashtags to find people who might be interested in your product or service. Then, strike up a relationship and let them know about your business.
  3. Influencer marketing : Reach out to influencers whose followers lucifer your target market place. So partner with them to promote your product or service to their audience.
  4. Paid ad : Run paid advertising campaigns on Facebook , Instagram , Google , or YouTube .

If yous land some sales, great! It's time to calibration upward your marketing efforts.

Only what if you accept zero sales? Hither's what to do:

  • Review your website to increase sales
  • Ameliorate your marketing
  • Accomplish out to people in your target market on social media and ask for feedback on your product or service
  • Find a improve solution to a bigger problem

Don't look for someone else to do information technology. Rent yourself and start calling the shots.

Get Started Free

Summary: How to Get Your Own Boss

With a good plan, some hard piece of work, and persistence, y'all can learn how to exist your own boss.

There are many benefits of being your own boss , such equally increased freedom and getting to piece of work on something you enjoy. As Apple's founder Steve Jobs once said, "Your time is express, so don't waste it living someone else's life."

In summary, if y'all desire to larn how to become your own boss, here's a x-step guide to follow:

  1. Understand why you want to be your own boss
  2. Evaluate your situation and skills
  3. Plan the switch to becoming your own boss
  4. Chose a proven business model
  5. Place your target market
  6. Detect a trouble to solve and sell the solution
  7. Analyze your business'southward foundations
  8. Create a brand that resonates with your target marketplace
  9. Ready your concern – due east.g., build your website, etc.
  10. Outset marketing your product or service to land sales

Finally, if your first effort doesn't work out, don't worry. It doesn't mean you're a failure – it just means you need to try again. Afterwards all, failure is just feedback .

Why do you desire to become your ain boss? Let united states know your thoughts in the comments below!

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