5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting A Small Business

Starting your own business and defining your own path is literally the “American Dream”. In the digital age, it’s easier than ever to throw up a website and say you’re now running your own business.

But let’s not get too hasty.

Even though it’s technically easier to START your own business, and you could literally start it from your living room, the questions you need to ask yourself remain the same as if you’re opening up a physical small business on Main Street.

I’ve already told you that you shouldn’t start your own business – but if you’re going to ignore that advice, then keep reading.

Why am I doing this? Understanding your motivation is the key to starting a business. Is it because you love what you do but no longer want to do it for another company? Do you want to expand existing freelance work you’ve been doing (because there’s a definite difference between being a freelancer and a small business owner) ? Are you hoping to shake up the landscape and make a difference?

Who are my customers? If understanding your motivation is the KEY, identifying your customers is the FOUNDATION to starting your own business. Who are the people you want to connect with your product or service? What are their needs? Why would they care, and more importantly, who would actually buy what you’re selling?

Who will help me? The reality is that you won’t be able to do everything yourself. We’ve briefly discussed the importance of a support system – but this goes beyond your friends and family. Who are your mentors? Who are the people you’ll turn to for legal and financial advice? How will you connect with other small business owners in your industry to build a network?

How much money do I need to get started? If you’re taking the dive and leaving your full time job, be sure to factor in living costs in addition to the expenses you’ll most definitely incur when getting your small business off the ground. Don’t forget about hidden costs such as licensing fees, rental deposits, equipment, and taxes. Experts suggest having at least 12 months worth of living expenses saved up before you start your own business. The Small Business Administration has a plethora of great resources to help you plan and figure out potential costs as you’re starting out.

How will I handle setbacks? This could be the most important question to ask. There are lots of ups and downs (I mean, LOTS), and your days could be filled with more disappointments than successes in the beginning. Are you the kind of person that gets discouraged easily? Are you prepared to heard the word “No” more often than your favorite song? Be brutally honest with yourself. Ask family and close friends if you have to – truly understand yourself in order to anticipate your behavior as an entrepreneur.

I know, it got really existential all of a sudden, didn’t it?

What advice would you give to someone at the start of their entrepreneurial journey? Tell us on Twitter and use the hashtag #AmplifyYourBiz.

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Don’t Start Your Own Business

My entrepreneurial dream began over a decade ago. I came up with the name for my company, took on a couple of small projects as a side-hustle, but it wasn’t until I was ready after freelancing that I had the guts to incorporate and say “This is what I’m going to do.”

There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not filled with fear because that’s what starting your own business entails: fear, uncertainty and unstable cash flow.

It’s certainly not all unicorns and rainbows.

You’re potentially up shit creek without a paddle because no matter how much you build your network (don’t even talk to me about starting your own business without a personal brand and a helluva network), you have to consider these factors:

You have to be in love with your idea.

Your business? Your idea? You better be in love with it. I mean, potentially more than you love your family because you will have to make yourself get out of bed every morning to devote possibly 16 hours of your day to your business. It’ll be with you in the shower. It will wake you up in the middle of the night (if it wasn’t already keeping you up) and it will make you want to bang your head into the wall. Repeatedly. So if you’re not ready to devote your heart, soul and quite literally your blood, sweat, and tears – don’t start a business.

You better be ready to hear “No” repeatedly – or even worse, radio silence.

If you’re not used to rejection, then don’t start your business. You’ll get a lot of radio silence from potential clients. You’ll hear a lot of “no”s. After the 4th or 5th one in a day, you may get discouraged. That’s normal. What you have to know is when to step away to recollect your thoughts and sometimes, when to give it a rest for the day. Don’t burn yourself out. Give yourself enough of a rest to be able to get up the next morning and do it all over again.

Have a good support system.

This goes without saying but let me say it again. Have a good support system. At least one or two people you can count on who will let you vent. Be warned: Starting your own business will put a restrain on your relationship. On top of all the other growing pains of a regular relationship, you may have to deal with them asking you how your day went when you justdon’tevenwanttodealwithitanymore. This is where the support system comes into place.

Don’t get easily discouraged.

Look. I’ll be honest. I have days when I don’t even want to go online because there are people younger than me doing these amazing things and it’s like a slap in the face. Once you start comparing yourself to others, you may not get anything done.

Collaboration is different than comparison. You have an idea. You have the passion and you bring something new to the game? Then you have to be willing to work your ass off and remember that those young entrepreneurs doing big things got where they are because they took the first step. And the second. And the third. They had setbacks too. Just like you will (Oh. You will.)

The key is to not get easily discouraged and if you’re having an off day where the world is crushing you?

Breathe. Walk away. Take the time you need to deal with it and shake it off. Your dream is still out there, waiting for you to get off your ass and work for it.

Sleep? What sleep?

Do I even need to explain?

Say Good-Bye to a Social Life (Kind of)

Raise your hand if at one point or another, you’ve thought that being a business owner meant you can make your own hours and grab drinks with friends whenever you can.

Now excuse me while I go into a corner and laugh.

And laugh.

And cry.

Having your own business means you are in charge, which means you are liable to make sure all the things are done. I mean, all the things. This means you have to make sure that your client projects are completed, be on call, and when you’re between projects? You’ll be doing paperwork, research, and maintenance on your business. Depending on your business, a new client means new research because they’re potentially in an industry you are not familiar with (This is more common to the social media consultants, and copywriters).

There will be some days you will look up from your computer screen with your headphones in and notice that the sun has gone down, you forgot to turn on the light, your stomach is yelling at you in the dark, and your Pandora hasn’t been playing music for at least the last hour.

Oh, did you forget the unstable cash flow? That just might mean that you’ll have to forego the happy hours and brunches so you can pay rent and cable. Groceries are important too. Of course.

So why do it?

Because entrepreneurship is in your blood.

Because you can’t think of doing anything else.

Because you make yourself get up every morning even if the day before was shit.

Because the stress is worth it.

Because you are working for a dream, not a paycheck.

Because you’re ready to fail and get up again.

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6 Tips for Freelancer Success (from a failure)

If you missed my Confession: I’m a Failure post, you can read it here.

If you’re going into freelancing full-time, have a plan. I know it seems like the sexy alternative to the drone of the 9-5 office life. Escaping from your cubicle, working remotely, getting to do what you love every day – it’s the dream. On the other hand, it can also seem like the best option when you’ve got a box in your hand in the back of a cab on a hot summer day. However, the nuances of freelancing are exhausting. The depression that comes with the fear and uncertainty is crippling.

If you’re not intentional with your decision to go into freelancing, it will knock you down and make you crawl up a jagged wall.

I had no plan. I had no savings. I had no safety net. I was just stubborn.

Define what success means for you. What’s your end game? What does success look like for you? Are you freelancing just to make some extra money on the side of your full-time job? Do you want to start your own business? Do you want to make a million dollars? Will you give up freelancing if the perfect full-time job fell in your lap?

If you don’t know what success looks like, it’s easy to be indecisive. If you have at least an idea of success and your path to it, you can be more selective and intentional with the opportunities you pursue. I didn’t know what success looked like for me, so I took on way too many projects, stretched myself way too thin, and ultimately sacrificed the golden opportunities for the dead-end ones.

Do a reality a check about your life. Freelancing impacts every single aspect of your life. How are your relationships? Are you in debt? What’s your working style? How do you handle adversity? What are your goals? What’s your back-up plan? Do you have a good support system?

This was the biggest contribution to my failure. I was in a new relationship I was ultimately unhappy in, I had family issues I was dealing with, on top of debt, and the ridiculous pressure I put on myself to finish school. All of this was on top of diving into freelancing full time without a plan.

Stop the comparison game. This is the worst thing you can do. Especially in the age of social media, when there are constant blog posts about the success of others. How to quit your job and travel the world. How Y made her first million before the age of 19. There are things to aspire to, sure, but that’s where defining YOUR success comes into play. If you start comparing your progress with others, you will stumble and fail. Your individual circumstances differ from others. Your success will never be identical.

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to success.

Never hesitate to ask for help. It feels like a dog-eat-dog world out there, and sometimes it is. The one thing I’ve learned since the beginning of this journey is that there are people who WANT to help you succeed – but you have to ask for it. Turn down the stubbornness, turn up the vulnerability, and be honest. You cannot do it all. Despite the endless amount of information available on the web, nothing beats a 1:1 conversation over coffee with someone who has been there. Remember that everyone is busy, so when you reach out, be clear and concise.

Respect their time, their expertise, and you might be surprised at where it leads.

Know your worth. Even though I was a communications professional with experience, I still thought freelancing meant I had to start from scratch. I cannot tell you the number of articles I wrote at a penny per word. I still get stressed out when I think about the clients who called me at 10 PM to yell at me about something that wasn’t my fault, and out of my scope of work – but I let them because I thought that’s how things worked. Do a gut check. Think about your experience and the value you bring to the table.

Don’t let others dictate your worth. Define it, and stick to it – no matter how scary it may feel.

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Welcome to Amplify. How can we serve you? (Plus some of my favorite resources)

So you’ve read my long blog post about my career path, and how I failed as a freelancer. You may be wondering why you should bother coming back to this blog, or subscribe to my email list.

“One can only read so many posts about your story, Berrak”, you might tell me.

And you would be correct.

That was my way of relaunching this blog. The site has been in the works forever and as all things go, life got in the way and I got in my own head. Continue reading →

Confession: I am an absolute failure

That’s a line from an email I sent to a client (who was also a good friend) in the fall of 2011. I had been doing this freelance thing for about a year at that point, still stumbling – still unsure of how to really succeed. Nearly 5 years later, I’ve accepted the fact that I was an absolute failure as a freelancer.

Coming to terms with that has been pivotal in my career. Sharing the revelation with the world was a difficult decision, but one thing has been consistent in my personal and professional life: complete transparency. You could say it’s been a cornerstone of my personal brand, which is also bleeding into my professional brand.

Before diving into why I am a failure, I should go back to the beginning of this crazy journey.

Warning: This is probably the longest post I’ve ever written, but I promise it’s worth it. So buckle up. Continue reading →