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Motivation for Self-Employment
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Do you want to be more independent and spend more time with your family? You should take into consideration that the majority of people who own their own businesses work more than 50 hours per week.
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Are you prepared to be responsible for all aspects of your business or do you need help at the beginning?
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Are you ready to work more in order to earn more money? It is true that many entrepreneurs earn much more money than people working as employee, but you should be aware that you need some time to set up your business and that in this time you generally need to invest more in your business than you are getting out.
Personal characteristics
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Are you able to motivate yourself? Do you think that you have the ability to schedule and complete work on your own?
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Are you a creative thinker and do you have the ability to solve problems when the unexpected happens?
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Are you able to re-motivate yourself after inevitable knock-backs in your business, to stand up and try it again?
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Do you like challenges and are able to manage risks? Opening an own business always is a risk and you should be able to understand and to manage these risks in order to avoid a total loss of your capital or familiar problems, for instance.
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Can you manage dealing with stress, deadlines and the responsibility earning enough money to maintain the standard of living for your family?
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Do you have leadership and communication skills?
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Do you have experience or knowledge in basic business functions such as sales and marketing, accounting, production processes or clerical work?
Personal life
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What about your family and your partner? Did you talk with them about your business plans? Will your partner be working with you in the business?
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Do you think you can manage to comply with your commitments, for instance to your children (picking them up from school, child care, etc.)?
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Do you have hobbies that might impact on your business or vice versa (club membership, sports activities, etc.)?
Financial management
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How is your economical situation? You need enough money behind you to start a business and if you already have debts it might be dangerous to start your own business. In particular, if you are actually employed you should think twice before you quit your job and jump into the cold water of self-employment. In this case, a small franchise business or a home based business opportunities might be the right choice for you in order to get started without taking a high risk.
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Are you a good money manager or have you already been declared bankrupt? A negative financial history may affect your credibility with customers and suppliers, if you have.
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Do you know something about bookkeeping and accounts keeping? This is one of the most important (and most neglected) areas of running a business. If you don't keep up-to-date with all your financial details, your are running risk to get yourself into debt before you know it. For more detailed information, see our Books Reference List.
Previous experience
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Do you have experience in the business field where you would like to be an independent player or are you a “Greenhorn” in the free work opportunity you are thinking about? It is much easier to be successful in a field where you already have your contacts, where you know the business and possible market niches. Many business opportunities these days are being presented by cost reduction measures in the industry (outsourcing or reorganization activities).
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Do you have enough technical and administrative skills or industry knowledge in this field?
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Do you have experience in management or leadership? If you already have experience in managing an office, a work group, a laboratory or a small production unit, you know what is means to manage people and a fixed budget. Even if you start with a one-man business, you might need to hire somebody in the future who helps you running your business. Management experience and good communication skills will be very helpful in this case.
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Did you have the opportunity in your previous employment to gain experience in a variety of areas (for example, computing, administration, production, and marketing) or was (or is) your job highly specialized and limited to one specific skill? Running your own business may require more than one skill - you may need to be the entrepreneur, the technical person and the accounts department in one person.
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