When you work for yourself, things can feel very lonely. You become a solo artist, tackling everything from your accounts through to your marketing and promotions. And that’s all on top of your real work!
But while working alone doesn’t come with the multiple coworkers working for a company would, it doesn’t mean you have to be completely by yourself. Taking advantage of the different resources that are out there will help make your business easier to run, and make things a little less lonely too.
See the type of help that’s available to you when you’re self-employed and say goodbye to being a one-man-band!
Get Some Help with Your Admin
Admin can take up a lot of your time, which is why a lot of self-employed people let it build up – meaning invoices fall behind and important work gets missed. Having someone take care of your admin can mean a lot less stress for you, and ensures it gets done on time.
There are a lot of benefits that come with hiring a virtual assistant, and even if you just need someone for a couple of hours a week or for a special project, it could make a big difference to your own workload – freeing up your time to run your business.
Too Much Work? Get Another Freelancer on Board
The freelance community can be closer-knit than you realize, with a lot of people sharing the same experiences and pressures, even though they don’t work together. And for that reason, it can be useful to know some people you can trust in your industry so that if something comes up or your workload is too high, they can help you out. There are a lot of great online networks for freelancers, and you can post work on freelance job portals too. Developing some solid relationships will help you find people you can turn to when you need them, and give you the chance to offer your services in return.
Make Sure You Have IT Support
As a freelancer, you’ll be an expert at what you do, but not necessarily everything else that comes with running a business. Tech can be a great example. If something were to go wrong with your equipment or you were faced with a data breach, would you know what to do? Working with a local IT repairer can help you out if you’re ever in need of repairs or support. The same goes for accounting, legal advice and other areas of your business – you may not have them in-house, but there are services you can bring in as and when you need them to keep your business running smoothly.
Hire Someone to Help with Your Marketing
Maintaining your reputation and sourcing new clients is a key part of being self-employed. But do you always have time to promote your services? By hiring someone to update your social media and connect with possible clients on LinkedIn, etc., you can take the hard work out of your marketing and let someone with experience handle it instead. Trial it for a set period to see if there’s an uptake in your work before deciding whether to make it a long-term arrangement. Marketing can cost a lot of money, but if it provides an excellent return on investment, it’s worth pursuing long-term to help you grow your business.
Work from a Co-Working Space to Maintain Connections with Others
One of the things that’s difficult about being self-employed is the lack of co-workers. Sometimes it’s nice to have someone to take a coffee break with or have a brainstorming session.
Coworking spaces are very popular with freelancers wanting to recreate the working environment, without actually having to work with their colleagues. Coworking spaces have a lot of benefits, and can give you somewhere to work away from home with fewer distractions, nice facilities and other people to share the space with. Many coworking spaces have great networks and communities, so they could be a great place to meet some new people and expand your professional networks.
Being self-employed has a lot of benefits, which is why it’s growing in popularity. While one of the downsides is a lack of support, there are a lot of solutions out there to help you get some help when you need it. Use the tools and resources out there to strengthen your business so that you can make the most of working for yourself.
