The First Steps Toward Self-Employment

You may be wondering whether self-employment is right for you. There is no simple answer to this question, but there are two specific things you should fully explore before moving ahead. First, you must acknowledge that you will probably begin any business venture as your own first employee. This means that you must honestly and objectively appraise your strengths, your weaknesses, and your potential for being successfully self-employed. Second, you must be honest with yourself about your disability and any potential barriers or limitations it may pose. Remember that all people, whether they have a disability or not, have limitations as well as strengths. Some entrepreneurs are great at marketing but stink at bookkeeping. They must get help to accommodate for their weakness in this area. You, as a person with a disability, must be aware of the accommodations and assistance you might need to reach your entrepreneurial goals. Denying your limitations will lead to frustration and failure.

• entrepreneurial self-assessment
• provide a service or product
• developing a business plan
• research results

Entrepreneurial Self-Assessment

A good place to begin is with an entrepreneurial self-assessment. Take some time to consider the following issues:

• How creative and imaginative are you? Being able to develop creative ways to market your skills or products is essential to being a successful entrepreneur.
• Entrepreneurs are self-starters who like to create their own roles. How would you rate yourself as a self-starter? It will be up to you - not someone else - to develop projects, organize your time, and follow through on details.
• How good are you at motivating yourself, even when things are not going your way? Running a business can wear you down. Some business owners feel burned out by having to carry all the responsibility on their shoulders. Strong motivation can make the business succeed and will help you survive slowdowns as well as periods of burnout.
• How much do you trust yourself to make a business work? You will likely be your first employee, so you need to be able to trust yourself and your skills.
• How well do you organize and plan? Research indicates that most business failures could have been avoided through better planning. Good organization - of finances, inventory, schedules, and production - can help avoid many pitfalls.
• How much could you count on the support of your family if you decided to become self-employed or start a business? The first few years of business start-up can be hard on family life. The strain of having an unsupportive spouse may be hard to balance against the demands of starting a business. There also may be financial difficulties until the business becomes profitable, which could take months or years. You may have to adjust to a lower standard of living or put family assets at risk.
• How good are you at making decisions quickly? Small business owners are required to make decisions constantly, often quickly, under pressure, and independently.
• How willing are you to take risks? Being successfully self-employed can often mean taking big financial risks for the possibility of big gains down the road. Some people are more comfortable with this than others.
• Now is the time to be totally honest with yourself about your physical and emotional stamina. Business ownership can be challenging as well as fun and exciting. New business owners can often face 12-hour workdays six or seven days a week. You may not want to or not be able to work long hours. The type of business you choose, in addition to your ability to plan effectively, can ensure that you do not overextend yourself.
• How well do you get along with people with different personalities? Business owners will need to develop working relationships with a variety of people, including customers, vendors, staff, bankers, and professionals such as lawyers, accountants, and consultants. How well can you deal with a demanding client, an unreliable vendor, or a cranky staff person? Knowing that you can be a difficult person does not preclude you from going into business for yourself. There are many options for limiting your interpersonal interaction, including using e-mail, using voice-mail, and hiring someone else to be the face of your business. The key is knowing your need to make this accommodation.

Remember that being self-employed does not mean answering to no one but yourself. This attitude is foolish and misguided and will lead to your downfall as a self-employed person. Self-employed people in business or the arts must be accountable to their clients and customers. Your client might be a director or producer, a gallery or museum, a publisher, or any other person or organization. You must be both client centered and goal oriented to succeed. You will always be either working collaboratively or working for someone else, whether you are an employee, an independent contractor, or an entrepreneur.

Service or Product You will Provide

If you have decided that being self-employed is right for you, the next step is to figure out what type of service or product you want to provide. This involves imagining how you can turn your talents and interests into profit. Maybe you love to paint outdoor scenes. You could start a postcard business, creating Internet postcards or selling your skills to a wildlife society to paint wildlife scenes. Are you great at doing celebrity voices? You could do voice-overs for commercials or sell celebrity impersonation tapes for answering machines. If you base your small business on something you already like to do, you will enjoy work and probably succeed. Answering the following questions can help you assess what would be a good self-employment choice for you:

• What do you like to do with your time?
• What technical skills have you learned or developed that are in demand?
• What do others say you are good at?
• How much time do you have to run a successful business?
• Do you have any hobbies or interests that are marketable?
• Are you aware of unmet needs or niches in your chosen field?

Develop a Business Plan

The third step to being successfully self-employed or starting a small business is to develop a business plan. The soundness of your business plan will depend a great deal on your personal knowledge, experience, and ideas as well as your skills, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Developing a good, flexible business plan will often determine whether your business will succeed.

A business plan precisely defines your business and identifies your goals. It can also serve as a resume. It helps you allocate resources properly, handle unforeseen complications, and make the right decisions. Because it provides specific and organized information about your company and how you will repay borrowed money, a good business plan is a crucial part of obtaining a loan. In addition, it can tell your sales personnel, suppliers, and others about your operations and goals. "It is always better to start small. By starting small you limit your financial risk. You also give yourself space to allow for mistakes without losing your shirt. Mistakes are an inevitable part of starting any business."

Before you begin writing a business plan, you must do some research. Answering some basic questions can help you quickly decide if your idea is realistic and viable. This research process will save you a lot of pain and money down the road. You need to consider some questions:

• Is your idea practical, and will it fill an identified need?
• What or who is your competition?
• Does your product or service have a distinct advantage over existing products or services?
• Can you deliver a better-quality service?
• Can you create a demand for your product or service?

What did your Research Find?

Once you have finished researching and fully answering these questions, you may find out one of three things:

1. Your business idea is viable and has a lot of promise.
2. Your business idea is okay, but you need to improve some aspect of your service or product to make it competitive.
3. Your business idea is not worth pursuing.

If your answer is number 1 or number 3, your next step is pretty clear. You go for it, or you do not. If your answer is number 2, you must consider what time, financial resources, or education will be required to make your business idea viable. Are you willing and able to do what it will take to make your idea work?