BEING ON YOUR OWN: 5 Questions X 5 Answers

@Home in the Office to in my Study @Home.

I have been on my own…. one year now.

Liberating, Fulfilling, Satisfying, Enriching, Uplifting…. yes indeed.

Challenging, Stretching, Confusing, Terrifying, Stressing…. yes, of course.

While these positives and negatives inter-played, I have had my learnings, un-learnings & re-learnings, sharing the same through the lenses of 5 key questions and 5 answers for each question.

WHY BE ON YOUR OWN

1. You can pursue your PASSION.
2. You can enjoy a greater AUTONOMY.
3. You will have an enhanced FLEXIBILITY.
4. You will build something with full OWNERSHIP.
5. You will be in CONTROL of yourself and your entity.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF BEING ON YOUR OWN

1. There is no guarantee of success.
2. There will always be an element of risk.
3. Financial uncertainty and un-predictability of ROI.?
4. Can be time-consuming, requiring longer hours of working.
5. Since the responsibility lies with you, it can be overly stressful.

HOW TO PLAN TO BE ON YOUR OWN

1. Identify your areas of interest, expertise, and strength.
2. Research about the area and the people/groups operating in it.
3. Keep building your finances to take care of responsibilities/liabilities.?
4. Keep adding to your knowledge/skills with certification/accreditation.
5. Understand the legalities and compliance requirements for your entity.

HOW TO GET GOING BEING ON YOUR OWN

1. Know about your potential customers and what matters to them.
2. Understand your own ability/strength to deliver the desired value.
3. Identify a niche which relates to you and connects with your market.
4. Create a business plan, set goals, and create tracking & measurement.
5. Build a support network of friends, family, mentors, & peer community.

HOW TO SUCCEED BEING ON YOUR OWN

1. Build a strong personal brand as a contributor and an influencer.
2. Know your target customers’ problems and their needs/expectations.
3. Design solutions which matter and keep creating and delivering value.
4. Go omnichannel- website, social media, blog…- for yourself/your entity.
5. Be organized to focus on what you need to do/deliver, outsource the rest.

My journey of deciding, preparing and then being on my own has loads of learning. I have tried distilling and presenting the same to you.

Each one of us has our unique life/career stage, situations & circumstances, and we make our choices and decisions based on the same. If you decide/plan to be on your own, my blog will be of value.?

To conclude, I would say, while learning agility is a key factor in your being on your own, the courage to do so is even more critical, and hence I say,

“You Fly on the Wings of Learnings & Courage.”

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I hope you have liked my article. Looking forward to your thoughts and comments and invite you to subscribe.?

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