Choosing to be Self Employed  

Why Self-Employment?   

Self-employment is an attractive proposition for people who believe that they can successfully be their own bosses. Skills-in-demand, strong sense of self-confidence, self-discipline, good time management skills and good contacts are all essential for a self-employed person to be successful.

Self-employment does not mean greater rewards for less sacrifice. It does not mean shorter working hours. It by no way guarantees success. It requires the need for the person to take complete responsibility for his/her own success or failure. It is also important to remember that no matter how good the product and demand for the same and no matter how committed and disciplined the self-employed person the business could still fail due to extraneous circumstances like competition that introduces a better or cheaper product. 

Ideal Candidates for Self-Employment 

Not all persons are born to be self-employed or not all persons can be successfully self-employed. It is a decision to be taken with care or else the self-employed person could fail miserably. The following are some of the traits that a self-employed person should have: 

• Ambition & Drive: This is the most important trait. The self-employed person has to have something within that drives him/her to continuously strive for success.
• Self Confidence: The person should have confidence in his/her product and the ability to sell the same. Presentation skills are essential for convincing a person to spend their time and money on your product/service, rather than on one offered by competition.
• Business Acumen: This is an essential intangible that could make or break a business venture. It involves negotiating skills, knowing whether to bargain or not, the ability to envision business opportunities, even when they are not obvious.
• Money Management Skills: The success or failure of a business depends on the earning capacity of the business. The person should know how to economize efficiently, so as not to compromise the quality of the product, which areas to cut back expenses and which areas to spend more on and thorough and current knowledge of the money market.
• A good product or service: There should be sufficient current demand for the product/service, with scope for expansion of the same.
• Market Knowledge: The self-employed person should know where his prospective customers are, so that an efficient distribution mechanism can be set up. No matter how good a product, it is completely useless if it does not reach the consumption point. Market knowledge also includes knowledge of the competitor’s products, their technology, their natural market and price. In other words, the self-employed person needs to know what he is competing with.
• The person should have sufficient capital and resources to handle current production, as well as a little expansion or else the person should have sources from where he can borrow the capital. He should be able to take a lot of mental pressure. He should not have too many personal commitments, either in terms of money or time, so that he is able to concentrate on the business.

Choosing the Right Business for Self-Employment

It is essential to choose the right line of business so that all your efforts will be able to bear fruit. Consider the following factors when choosing to run your own business:

     ·        Do I have a natural affinity/talent for this business and will I enjoy doing it?

     ·        Is my natural market located in the vicinity of my production-site? This is essential for two reasons. Firstly, finished products or services can be easily delivered, thereby cutting distribution costs. Having the natural market close by, allows the self-employed person to be in close contact to accurately assess the needs of the prospective customer and to establish a relationship with the prospective customer.

• Do I have the skills sets and infrastructure to deliver a good product that is better than the competition?

Being successfully self-employed gives one a tremendous high, yet it is not a decision to be taken lightly, as it could be the immediate and unceremonious downfall of the same person

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