Running your own freelance or microbusiness can be a great pathway to retirement, where you earn a few dollars and get to do work on your own terms. Flying Solo’s Suze English explains Hemi Hossain’s advice for starting your own microbusiness.  

By Suze English for Flying Solo

How do you know when it’s time to start your own business?

So, you’ve got a great idea, and you feel ready to pursue it, but when do you take the plunge and quit your job to become a solopreneur? Hemi advises taking 12 months to develop your product and business skills before ditching the nine-to-five grind.

“As an entrepreneur, you are the decision-maker and the CEO, but also the accountant and HR. You are by yourself,” he says. “So, I urge people to start the journey before you jump in. While you are in your job, start something on the side based on your passion. Design that and start to market and sell it, so you know how the market is reacting.

“That 12 months is also for your personal development. Get some professional coaching and mentoring before you jump. Change your mindset to come as an entrepreneur to the journey rather than an employee.”

Hemi also shares an easy formula for ensuring success in your new business venture – purpose, passion, and profit.

“If you have got a purpose, but there is no passion and profit, you won’t be successful in the business,” he explains. “If you’ve got a passion and there is no purpose behind it and no profit, you are still not in business. If you have only profit and there is no purpose or passion, you’ll be bored. So, define what you’re doing – the purpose behind it – and ask yourself, ‘Am I really passionate about it?’ Then the question is, are you designing something that will make a profit?

“I always tell people, if you are not making money for three months consistently, don’t quit your job.”

The future is digital

Hemi shares all the lessons he learned along the way in his new book on charting the path from employee to entrepreneur, Fire Your Boss. One of the biggest pieces of advice the book imparts is the power of digital entrepreneurship to help you make money every hour of the day – even while you sleep.

“We all know that the world is a digital one now,” Hemi says. “The world is changing and it’s all about technology – you can get everything online. People make money in dropshipping and eCommerce; they sell music, education and training online.

“As a business coach or mentor coaching one-on-one, how many physical sessions can you do per day – two or three? Then it doesn’t matter how good you are as a business coach – you cannot take your business to the next level, ever.

“However, everything nowadays can be done online and doing it digitally is easier on your time. When you do business online, you don’t need a physical presence, and you can make money even when you are sleeping.”

Transitioning from being an employee to a digital entrepreneur can be a life-changing decision. The internet has opened up new avenues for entrepreneurs, allowing them to reach a global audience and create successful businesses from anywhere in the world, writes Hemi Hossain, author of Fire Your Boss.

According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the global digital entrepreneurship market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.9% between 2020 and 2025.

Here are some crucial steps for creating a smooth transition from employee to digital entrepreneur, increasing your chances for the success of your new venture.

1. Build your foundation for success

A rock-solid foundation, like the one for buildings to survive, is important for business support. Before forming a structure, confirm the foundation.

The foundations are your inner set of principles, dreams, goals, and vision. You can discover these from personal reflection.

2. Assess yourself for success

Always assess deeply about your situation after creating your foundation. Then you can understand properly whether you need to make any changes.

Without an honest assessment, you can never move forward. So, assess your current situation, what’s working and not, and where you might be stuck and why.

3. Cultivate a moving-forward mindset

To progress, you need to change your mindset and actions to impact your future for success. If you have a fixed mindset, then you will feel that your qualities are fixed and can’t change.

Some also think that they only need talent and not any effort. But with a growth mindset, you will get smarter and put in more effort.

The growth mindset and fixed mindset were introduced by the famous researcher and psychologist, Carol Dweck. He and his colleagues found that some students can come back from failure, while others remain sad after small setbacks. They also figured out how students assessed their intelligence and abilities – students with higher motivation succeeded more than those who give up quickly. So, whatever we believe has an impact on our behaviours.

To have a growth mindset:

• View challenges as opportunities.
• Remember that the brain has the ability to change.
• Prioritise learning over seeking approval.
• Learn to give and receive constructive criticism.
• Learn from mistakes.
• Reflect on your learning regularly.
• Use the power of your subconscious mind.

4. Maximise your time and worth

You need to follow some simple steps for time management:

• Avoid working on more than one task at a time, as this will cause you to lose complete focus on any task.
• Set a specific time in the day to check and respond to emails.
• Manage your social media platforms for a limited time to avoid distractions and wasting time.
• Don’t focus on arranging pointless meetings which will waste your time without any productivity.
• Keep your workspace organised.
• Maintain a social life with colleagues, but within limit.
• Always talk to others if you need clarification on any tasks.
• Take enough time for rest and sleep for better focus.

But most of all, have a clear goal for motivation. You also need an abundance mindset to make more money.

Listen to Hemi Hossain on the Flying Solo podcast.

5. Use the proximity principle

Proximity gives you the power to achieve your goals faster, giving you the ability and strategies for success.

Successful people can influence you to achieve your desired result, so follow successful people more closely to work like them. You can follow their profiles and podcasts, or meet them in person. Choose people to partner with that have a similar vision.

Learn more from webinars, workshops, articles, and various learning platforms. All these will help you succeed, get out of your comfort zones, and gain confidence.

6. Use the power of digital marketing

People now try to move from traditional methods of marketing to digital platforms on the internet. But print or traditional media will continue to work alongside digital marketing. According to Cisco, 40% of businesses need new technologies to survive. Furthermore, by 2025, Gitnux predicts the mobile app market will be worth $650 billion.

Digital marketing offers flexibility in work, helps to evolve and develop new skills, allows regular revamping, and helps to operate a business. Follow others for preparing your online marketing ads and create links with customers through social media. Work locally to reach a global audience.

7. Transform and perform

There are 9 business strategies:

1. First is the perspective - this is the mindset, which should be positive to develop, grow courage, and clear confusion.
2. You also need passion to drive your ambition.
3. Then comes pain, which is like a driving force behind the growth and to have a clear purpose.
4. Surround yourself with people with positive energy for support.
5. You also need the right positioning of your business to stand out from the competitors and reach your target. It will also help you to understand your strengths.
6. Then you need to prepare well with research, skills and resources before starting.
7. Create a product or service based on your target audience, considering its demand and competition.
8. Next, you need to promote your product using any marketing platform for success.
9. Lastly, think about your profit in the business and the ways to increase it.

Going from being an employee to being an entrepreneur may need a leap of faith. Pursue your passions and believe in your capacity to complete the task at hand.

_{Advice given in this article is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. It is not intended to influence readers' decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.}