When a stifling routine and a monotonous job start to eat away at your sense of wellbeing, it may be time to become your own boss. But first, you need to assess your ability to make such a significant change. Here’s how:

• Know how much it costs to establish your own business or work as a freelancer. Consider how long it will take to become sustainable and what your financial strategy should be ahead. Establishing a new business or working as a freelancer requires a significant amount of time, patience, and effort.
• Plan for your personal household needs if your new work does not provide you with a full salary right away. If you have to face an income reduction to become self-employed, your family may have to cut back on costs for a while.

Your new employment will have a significant effect on your work-life balance, income, and family time, so it is critical that you examine your options as a team. 

5 Vital Factors to Tackle When Starting Your New Business:

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1 . Organize Your Finances

The first is getting your finances organized. Establish a business bank account to keep your personal and business funds separate. 

Cash in the bank needs to be actively monitored for funding your business. With your own firm, you must pay its bills and salaries before paying yourself. This is especially important since it might take a while to receive your first income.

There are several ways to fund your business. Some involve significant work, while others are more difficult to obtain. Funding can come from internal and external sources.

Internal financing sources include:

• Individual savings
• Credit Cards
• Friends and family contributions

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Beware that if you finance the firm with with credit cards, you will still have to pay off the credit card debt, and you may get into financial trouble if the business fails.

Also, when family members or friends invest in your business, there is a risk of conflict and damaged relationships. External financing may be considered by business owners who seek to avoid that risk. 

Examples of external financing:

• Small company loans
• Grants for small businesses
• Angel investors
• Venture capital
• Crowdfunding

Small firms may need to employ a combination of several types of financing. Consider how much money is required, how long it will take for the firm to return it, and your risk tolerance. A thrifty personal budget will reduce your personal spending to the bare minimum and help pay off your debts. Food clothing and accommodation on a strict budget, and frugal spending on entertainment and transport may be needed. Often times, only essential resources will be used to live until a steady income is established.

Be certain that you can live on this decreased budget for at least six months, if not longer. Facing this new financial reality is essential for the whole family.

2 . Create SMART Goals

SMART goals are Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant and Time-based. Many people spend their entire life bouncing around from one type of work to another or frantically attempting to do more while actually getting very little done. By establishing SMART goals, you can improve your chances of fulfilling your life's goals by streamlining your thoughts, focusing your efforts, and making optimum use of your time and resources.

To be effective, your objective must also be realistic and achievable. It should also be challenging for you while still being attainable. Setting clear objectives may help you find previously unrecognized options or resources that will help you realize them. Do you require more training to pass specific examinations or earn certain credentials? When will you be able to use these skills? Giving oneself a realistic deadline for completing the goals that are necessary to reaching your prime objective is important. 

An example of a non-SMART goal is, “I want my business to grow.”

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A SMART version of this goal could be, “I want my 2023 online revenue to exceed $2,000,000.”

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Specific: We’ve specifically defined revenue as the indicator of growth vs. profit, number of customers, or a different metric. Plus, focusing on online sales help us better understand what initiatives to tackle.

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Measurable: It will be clear if the business hits $2,000,000 or not. 

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Attainable: The goal should be reasonable to achieve.

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Relevant: Revenue is directly tied to business growth.

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Time-based: The business owner knows exactly when they have to reach their target in order to be successful.

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Here are some tips to reach your SMART goals:

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• You must be disciplined in order to be successful in business. Be well organized in all things work related and prepare all your documentation. It will assist you in completing activities and staying on top of things 
• Create a comprehensive to-do list. Check each thing off your list as you finish it. This will guarantee you do all of the duties that are critical to the existence of your organization. A basic Excel spreadsheet will often cover most of a company's organizational needs in the early stages.
• Maintain extensive records to see where the company is financially and what potential difficulties it may face. Knowing this offers you time to devise solutions to overcome such obstacles. Forewarned is forearmed. 
• Most businesses have two different sets of records: one physical and one on the cloud. The physical record exists as a backup used to ensure that the other information is correct.
• Examine your competitors. If you want to be effective, you must learn a thing or two from your competitors. After all, they may be doing something profitable that you can replicate in your own firm. 
• For example, if you run a restaurant, you may be able to simply dine at your competitors' establishments, ask other customers what they think, and get information that way. 
• You may, however, be a corporation with considerably more limited access to your rivals, such as a chemical industry. In such instance, you may consult with a business specialist and an accountant to assess your competitors.
• You will require an astute marketing budget. Work on developing your sales infrastructure, including sales scripts, sales contracts, proposals, and whatever else you'll need to get your business rolling. Setting specific, attainable goals allows you to plan for achievement.
• Hiring an experienced business consultant can help you a lot along the road, but it can get pricey. Hoist offers free training and coaching so you don't have to do it alone. 
• S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis: this is a critical study of your business model and its vulnerabilities. It helps you identify where you should focus your efforts so you can make the most of your time and money. 

3. Establish the Foundation for Your Firm.

After choosing a corporate structure, there are various legal considerations to address. 

• Get a business license, insurance, and a permit. Register your company and complete all the paperwork.
• Choose a name for your company. Make it distinctive while remaining easy to recall. 
• To build your internet presence, use the same domain name if it is available. A business name cannot infringe on another trademark or service mark already registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
• Fill out the necessary documents required by your state. Forms must be filed with your state's business agency–usually the secretary of state–to formally establish a corporation, LLC, or other business organization. 
• As part of this procedure, you must select a registered agent to accept legal papers on your behalf. You'll also have to pay a processing fee. You will receive a certificate from the state that you may use to apply for licenses, a tax ID number, and company bank accounts.
• Request an Employer Identification Number. A federal employment identification number is required for all firms other than sole proprietorships with no workers. Fill out an application with the Internal Revenue Service to receive your number.
• Establish a business bank account. Keep your personal and business funds separate. Apply for commercial insurance. In the event of property damage, litigation, or other difficulties, you should consider purchasing general liability insurance for your company. Product liability and business property insurance may also be advantageous. Workers' compensation insurance is needed by law in most states if you have employees.
• Select a bookkeeper or purchase accounting software. If you offer a product, your accounting software must have an inventory component to handle and track inventories. The program should support ledger and journal entries, as well as the generation of financial statements.
•  After that, you'll need to buy insurance. The premium is calculated by the worth of your equipment, the number of painters, and other criteria.

Obtaining all required permissions and insurance can be time-consuming and stressful, but it is an essential element of being a business owner. Our training and coaching program for launching a painting company at Hoist provides assistance and tools to help you overcome some of these apparently insurmountable obstacles. You can devote your whole attention to increasing income for your company.

4 Create your Company's Website 

Marketing is vital to your company’s survival. A well-designed, SEO-optimized company website may be one of your most valuable marketing assets. It establishes authority and makes your company more visible to potential clients. 

There are a few things you must do if you are constructing your own website. Purchase a one-of-a-kind domain. Make a list of domain names that you'd want to utilize. Determine which ones are available and select your favorite.

When it comes time to register your domain name, the following platforms are recommended:

1. GoDaddy\sDomain.com
2. 123-reg
3. Namecheap
4. Make your design

When creating your website, you have several options:

• You can use DIY software; many platforms have built-in templates to assist in the creation of websites. Squarespace, Wix, and Weebly are among the top available.
• If you hire a freelancer or an agency to develop your site, expect to pay a hefty fee. 
• E-commerce tools on Facebook and Instagram allow you to sell straight from your social media profiles. Both of these platforms provide free ad training to assist you in marketing your company.

You'll also need advertising materials like business cards or brochures. Other technologies, such as email, scheduling systems, and project management dashboards, can help you operate your firm even more efficiently. You must learn how to advertise your business and discover potential clients.

Because the majority of your clients are already on social media, it's critical to understand how to sell your business on these channels. Check your LinkedIn profile if you haven't seen it in a while and make sure it's up to date.

Hoist can help make this process go more smoothly as you develop your painting business. Hoist guides you every step of the way by providing excellent training, strong tools, cutting-edge technology, and expert support.

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5. Endurance, Discipline, and Focus.

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It is critical to provide excellent customer service. In today's hyper-competitive business world, the degree of service provided by a company typically distinguishes between successful and failed enterprises. This is where the adage "undersell and overdeliver" comes into play, and astute business owners will go the extra mile to win the loyalty of customers.

• You'll have to work harder than you've ever done before. Seven-day work weeks and 14-hour days are not unusual. 
• Don't try to launch if you're also dealing with big family concerns, illness, or you're preoccupied with other obligations. Make certain that you're in it for the long haul and that you have the time and energy to put in the required effort.
• Prepare to make sacrifices. Being your own boss is not without its challenges. You will have to do things that make you uncomfortable, such as pushing sales and door to door marketing, and you will have to make sacrifices such as working long hours, on coffee and instant noodles.
• Recognize the risks and rewards. Taking calculated risks to help your business grow is the critical success factor. "What's the downside?" is an excellent question to ask. If you are aware of the worst-case situation, the knowledge will help you to take judicious risks that can result in major profits.

If you feel up to the challenge, apply to start a business with Hoist to see if you qualify. We'd be pleased to walk you through the stages of getting started with Hoist so you can decide if it's suitable for you. You may become the successful owner of a profitable, expanding painting business with a little bit of hard work – and the correct procedure in place. 

Being a business entrepreneur entails a perpetual state of growth and learning, and when your business starts to pull in the profits, the satisfaction is indescribable!

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