There’s a lot riding on your shoulders as a solopreneur. You are a team member, so you have how many customers, how long you work and how much money you generate. As a manager, you are your own boss. No rules and reaps for you.
But those benefits come only after you have spent the time and effort to make your company a success. After all, creating a full-time, long-term company means more than just a few customers sometimes. A good solopreneur allows you to prepare, follow up and have trustworthy partners and resources on your side, such as VSP® Individual Vision Plans.
Here are a couple of obstacles solopreneurs frequently face and a few helpful tips to tackle.
Forget the fundamentals of industry.
Your company as a solopreneur is built on skills that have been improved over many years. You have perhaps worked for another company in this sector and have chosen to start your own business for yourself. If so, you might already have a few customers on your contact list. It means you’re ready for a solid beginning. Congratulations!
But when it’s time to scale, what happens? This endeavour you’ve begun is now your full-time concert. You would need to find more buyers if you want to produce more sales. That might be difficult if you have spent all your time catering to just a few customers and not a lot more.
Like all companies, solopreneurs should take fundamental business principles to heart. The need to market yourself is perhaps most important. Even solopreneurs profit from the exposure of a website with so much research on brands and services.
The website of a solopreneur can do a variety of things:
Articulate clearly your service/products and your level of expertise
Provide the job examples
Explain what distinguishes you from competition
Provide an easy way to reach potential customers
And with simple search engine optimization techniques, your website will hopefully be available on the search engine results pages, giving you an exposition to your market.
Being prepared financially for the unexpected.
What if, say, you’re a landscaper and a warm winter means a lack of snowplowing income? What if you’re a graphic designer and your biggest customer doesn’t need your services anymore?
Regardless of the occupation, unexpected events still arise. While you concentrate on starting and expanding your company, the last thing that you need is a personal financial crisis, because your income hits you.
A financial security net is an intelligent plan for solopreneurs. Determine a schedule that is easy for you to make up part of your income, weekly, monthly, many times a year. It will take time, but the aim is to provide enough contingency money to cover the costs for several months if anything unforeseen happens.
Protect the most precious possession.
As a solopreneur, you are the most precious possession. Of course, you can always externalise particular tasks or projects, but you and your expertise are the backbone and face of your brand. Therefore, if anything unexpected happens to you, your company may also be affected.
Apart from an accident or disease, your vision is often crucial to remember – it affects almost everything you do. You may think your vision is fine right now and not even see warning signs that an eye examination or more is needed.
As a solopreneur, you want a cost-effective plan which covers your requirements without paying for services you will not use. You have only a short time, so you obviously need a provider with a straightforward contract and surprisingly good customer service. It could sound unfindable, but it is not. VSP Individual Vision Plans come into this.
Specifically designed to allow self-employed people to purchase self-employed vision coverage at reasonable rates, VSP plans begin at $13 per month, providing an estimated yearly savings of over $200.
Moreover, with VSP Individual Vision Plans you have access to the largest independent eye care network and flexible advantages including a full eye test, prescription lenses with protected lens improvements and more. There is also no single VSP registration period so that anyone can register at any time for a Vision Plan.
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