Millions of people dream about quitting their full-time job and becoming self employed. Although working for yourself can really sound amazing, leaving your 5-9 job can be really scary, as it will require you to think about a range of things and prepare the transition carefully. Below, we’ve prepared a list of things to consider to make the beginning of your self-employment journey as easy as possible.

Be financially prepared 

When you’re making the leap into self-employment be prepared! It is crucial to have a safety net, as first months may not be as easy as expected. You will definitely face a challenge where there is no work and it can take some time to land your first big client. That’s why it’s so important to have savings during this time, as it will allow you not to worry about paying your rent and bills at least for the first few months.

Invest your money in branding 

One of the first steps when starting your own business is to invest in branding and digital presence. People need to find you and when they do make sure your presence is consistent to the brand you are building. Therefore, it’s really worth to invest in a good website and have all social media, specially Linkedin, up to date.

 Figure out your self-employment motivation 

Just like anything you want to achieve in life – you need to know your ‘WHY’. Before becoming self-employed, ask yourself what is your motivation behind it. Do you want to boost your income and retire earlier? Or maybe do you want more flexibility to take care of your children? Your WHY will help you keep going during the challenging times, this will be your driving force that will help you persist and succeed.

Take care of the formal things 

Unless you are a tax expert, it would be very useful to hire an accountant as they will help you to keep track of all your income and spendings and they will make sure you will pay the right taxes. Handing over the nitty gritty of accounts management will free you up to focus on the job in hand, that believes us it’s already too much.

Find your workspace and create your routine 

Once you’re self-employed, you need to set up your own office space that will serve the needs of your business. If you can prepare it at your own home – amazing. However if you are the kind of person who needs to leave the house and change the environment in order to fully focus on work, or you just need an inviting office to receive your clients, coworking spaces, available in almost every city, are the right place for you to start your business. It’s also very important to set a routine and if you are not disciplined person, now is the time to start being one, and don’t forget to include in your routine a time to take care of yourself, like going to the gym or for a morning walk.

Networking is key

Try to accept as much coffee, lunch or events invites as possible, because there’s no denying the power a strong professional network can have over your career success. You never know the opportunities that a simple coffee meeting can bring to your business.

Trust your gut

Listening to your intuition helps you avoid unhealthy relationships and situations. The process of trusting your gut is not as simple as it seems, specially when you will ask for other people, that you trust, advice. It’s important and a clever idea to float business ideas with other people from your area of expertise. They will help you spot blind spots in your plan, and even give you some suggestions. But ultimately trust your own gut instincts and if you think something will work or it’s not gonna work, go for it or just leave it and move on.