If you recently lost your job, it may not have come as a great surprise, or maybe it did. Either way it is still an emotional experience that can bring up a lot of doubt, fear, and worry. Once the initial trauma and surprise have passed, you will come to the next phase, deciding what to do next. One consideration could be to start your own business. Alternatively, you could do one of several other things. First, you could start sending out applications and resumes in the hope that you may be selected by a new employer for another position.

Decide to Start

As another alternative, you could go back to school and try to become re-trained in an entirely new field, but I would like to consider another option and that is creating your own business start-up, potentially allowing you to work from home.

It is possible to take your knowledge, experience, and skills and create your own business. Why leave the future and wellbeing of you and your family to the whims of someone else? You have something to offer to the world. Why not take advantage of the situation you now find yourself in and chart your own destiny.

As it happens, right now is a great time to do just that and in the next few moments I will give the first key steps of how to start your own business. Given our current economical status, large corporations are looking for independent contractors, consultants, project managers, and others to outsource some of their work in an effort to reduce costs of internal labor and benefits.

Take Control of Your Future

In fact, it is not unheard of to even outsource some executive leadership positions on a short term year or two bases. So, how do you know if you have what it takes to leave the unemployment lines and become a successful business owner? Start by asking yourself a few questions that I have listed below. If the answer is yes then it is time to take control of your future.

Your First Steps

Brush Up on Your Sales Skills

Brush up on your sales skills. This can’t be stressed enough. As a small business owner, you are also the sales manager (along with everything else). Your sales presentation and you need to be convincing. Have a professional do a mock presentation with you on videotape, and study how you did. Attend a sales and marketing seminar, or stop by your local book store and read every sales book you can. You may not have been born with sales skills, but they can be learned. If necessary, check out classes on sales techniques at your nearest university or community college. The investment is well worth it, in terms of the confidence you will gain as well as the advice that could help you throughout your career.

Recognize that your sales skills are every bit as important as your business skills. Many technical workers would rather sit behind a computer all day rather than network or attend networking or business meetings. The truth is that you can never stop selling as a small business owner, so you must get comfortable meeting people, shaking hands, talking about your business, and handing out business cards.

Balance Selling While Serving Clients

Balancing selling while serving clients. Those who succeed at becoming a small business owner know that when one project ends, they’ve got to have another lined up and ready to go. That means you can’t ignore your sales role and procuring new business while you are servicing the needs of your current client. Do I sell or do I service? The truth is that you’ve got to find a way to do both simultaneously.

Create a Professional Looking Website

Create a professional looking Website. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars for a fancy website. There are many hosting services that also provide “drop and drag” capability for building your own website at a reasonable price.

Keep your site professional by not mixing in personal information and photos unless that is your specific platform. Your best bet is to have a simple, professional-looking website built by you or for you inexpensively, where you provide only your relevant business and sales info and keep all the social stuff for your personal social media platforms.

We highly recommend Divi builder from Elegant Themes for building your WordPress website. We have used Divi for years now because it’s super easy to use and still allows you maximum creativity in creating your signature website.

Use an Search Engine Optimization Tool​

Invest in a search-engine optimization tool. You won’t get very far with the “if I build it, they will click” attitude. If you have a Website and want to generate traffic to it, you need a high-value and effective search-engine optimization tool. These days it is an absolutely essential to the success of your business. My personal favorite is a WordPress plugin called Yoast.  We are not affiliates of Yoast. We just really like them and all of the tons of tutorials, resources, and 24/7 support.

Gather Your Support Team

Rally the support of your spouse, partner, and friends. Becoming a small business owner, especially for the first time, can be both daunting and exhilarating. Having family and friends behind you can make it all worthwhile. Make sure your spouse or partners are in agreement, in sync and in tune with what you are doing. Enlist your friends’ support as well. They can support you when you need it and share in your joy as you succeed because they know how much effort has gone into building a successful business of your own.

Something Special to Get You Started

We hope this has given you a jumping off point in how to start a business, but we don’t want to leave you on your own just yet. If you feel you could use a bit more help we have an actual Business Start-up Checklist to help you get started. It will walk you through exactly what your next step should be in creating a successful business of your own doing what you love. And, there is literally a place to check off each step once you have completed it, which feels really good! You will always know you are on the right track and where you are headed next. You can Get Yours Here!

We also have a weekly newsletter that is filled with tips to help you get up and running along with more free tools, recommended resources, and more. You can take a look here and see which one would be a good fit for you. If you have any questions along the way please feel free to reach out to us. We are happy to help.

Your Thoughts…

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You can join the fun on our  Twitter, and Instagram and share your own success tips!  We love hearing from you and read every post personally! If you have enjoyed this newsletter please feel free to pass it along to someone else who you think would also enjoy it.

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Let us hear from you! Post your own success stories or ask a question about how to move your own business forward to success! If you have a question about your business please feel free to Contact Us and send a personal message.

More Success Tips!

If you are looking for more practical hands-on help we have two other resources for you. First, we have created Business Genesis  and our Small Business Toolkit for small business owners just like you to help you start and grow your own successful business and meet today’s challenges head-on with confidence. You can find yours right here.

Business Genesis is a Step-by-Step Online Training Course That Shows You How to Start, Grow, and Market Your Own Successful Business Doing What You Love!

Everything you need to guide your very first steps is laid out for you in simple , easy to understand and organized modules with easily accessible lessons.

Business Genesis shows you exactly how to create financial security and build your brand and customer base, shows what works in marketing your business to the world, and guides you how to leave a legacy of success with tips and tools to help you build financial security and positive impact on your local and internet community.

You can finally enjoy the freedom of doing something you love and generating an income you can actually live on. Get Started Now!