Have you often wondered what it takes to start your own business? Then I'd like to tell you today: it's probably easier than you think! Take a look at the 5 phases mentioned in this article and you will see how you too can master the path to self-employment.

The path to self-employment is not as complicated as most people think. You just need to know how to proceed and what business idea you want to get off the ground with. 

In this article, I would like to introduce you to what I consider to be the 5 most important phases that you need to go through if you want to start your own business. These phases are specifically aimed at people who want to set up their own online business. 

The 5 phases on the path to self-employment

Of course, starting up or becoming self-employed in an online business is not all that different from a traditional business with a "conventional" business idea. However, some factors such as finding a location are usually completely eliminated. This is because many self-employed people with an online business set up their office at home or work in coworking spaces, cafés or from the road.

You can find some great insights specifically on the topic of location-independent working in the article by Michael Hörnlimann: Becoming a digital nomad.

I hope you enjoy reading and that these 5 phases will help you to deal with the topic of self-employment. 

Phase 1: Find your business idea

In online business, too, you need to know exactly what you want to do. Nowadays, the Internet in particular offers you numerous opportunities to earn money as a self-employed person. 

Personally, I find it amazing what jobs there are now that are only possible with the help of the internet. Be it social media manager, virtual assistant, online marketer or online coach. 

So if you have the know-how and interest to start your own business on the Internet, you should know in which direction you want to go. This is the only way you can subsequently position yourself and your service or product position yourself optimally on the market.

Phase 2: Business plan

Anyone who wants to become self-employed is advised to draw up a business plan. Even if it is "only" as a freelancer or sole trader. This is because the business plan helps you to take a closer look at your business idea and yourself personally. 

You will analyze the following points, among others: 

• What is the market and competition like?
• What is your short-term / long-term goal?
• What requirements do you need to fulfill to be self-employed? 
• What knowledge do you have?
• How do you want to market your service/product?
• How do you finance your self-employment?
• etc.

Of course, this is just a brief summary of some very important points from the business plan. But as you can see, it already gives you a very good overview or, rather, helps you to find out whether your business idea has any future at all. 

A business plan is particularly important if, for example, you want to become self-employed from unemployment and want to apply for a start-up grant from the employment agency. And, of course, if you want to benefit from funding for your start-up.

In both cases, your business plan will then be put through its paces. If there is a chance that you will successfully implement your business, you have a good chance of receiving a grant or funding.  

If you are looking for a template for creating a business plan, then I can recommend the one from the IHK Munich.

Is the business plan absolutely necessary?

Good question! I would say that everyone has to decide for themselves. If you don't absolutely need it to start your self-employment because you're "only" self-employed on a part-time basis or there's no reason that forces you to create it, it's not absolutely necessary. 

But please! No matter what area you want to start your own business in, I personally can only warmly recommend a business plan. Of course, it involves a bit of work, but the result can be very informative.

Phase 3: Your personal financial plan

During the entire planning phase of your self-employment, you must of course not forget your private finances. Even if these are already partially taken into account in your business plan as a sole trader, you should still get an overview of your private finances.

You should be able to answer the following 3 questions: 

• Do I have enough reserves until my business is up and running?
• How much money can I invest in my business? 
• Do I have to take out a loan?

Phase 4: Register your business

Now we come to one of the most important phases on the path to self-employment - registering your business. Without your business registration, you are not allowed to operate as an entrepreneur. 

At first, "registering a business" sounds worse than it is. Although everything is very bureaucratic in Germany, you can register your business in just 30 minutes. Not including the waiting time, of course 😉

All you have to do is go to the relevant local authority / municipal administration and fill out the relevant form. The authorities will want to know a few personal details such as your name, your address and more about the activity you will be carrying out within this trade. 

Once you have completed everything, you will also receive the certificate for your business. The cost of registering a business varies from city to city and is between 20 and 50 euros.

Tip: Before you make your way to the relevant administration, check whether your city also offers online business registration. In more and more cities, you can now do this from the comfort of your own home.

Phase 5: Your branding & your brand

If you have reached the fifth and final phase, congratulations! Now it's time to publicize your service/product and get it out there.

What you need, of course - who would have thought? Your own website! For someone who is active in online business, this is probably the minimum 😉 You should also present yourself on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Don't worry, you don't need everything at once! Work your way through step by step and create one channel at a time.

However, for you to have any branding at all, you need your own logo and a name or brand, which you should then of course use on all your channels (corporate identity).

You can create such a logo inexpensively on a platform such as Fiverr for example. But also Canva is also a great tool that you can easily try yourself.

How to get your first customers

If you take the plunge into self-employment, especially full-time self-employment, you are generally 100% dependent on customers. Because without work, you obviously won't be able to earn any money. 

The great thing! Especially for freelancers, there are a variety of platforms that you can use to acquire new clients. Below I would like to show you a few ways and portals that I have already used to successfully acquire new customers.

Portals

You can register as a freelancer for free on the following portals (except dasauge). However, if you want to apply for jobs, you will usually have to pay a small fee. 

Only on dasauge.de can you apply for suitable offers immediately without registering.

Twago

Click here to go directly to twago.de.

helloreelancer

Click here to go directly to hallofreelancer.com.

the eye

Click here to go directly to dasauge.de.

Facebook groups

Yes, you're right! Facebook groups have an incredible amount of potential and that's exactly why you can use them alongside the aforementioned portals. There are hundreds of groups on Facebook that focus on jobs for freelancers. 

If you enter the term "freelancer" in Facebook, the following already appears: 

As you can see, a little research on Facebook can also be well worthwhile. 

Word of mouth

The most classic way to get new customers is, of course, word of mouth. This means that if other customers have already been satisfied with your work, they will also recommend you to other people/companies. 

There's nothing wrong with asking clients you've worked for to recommend you if the opportunity arises. 

Why I recommend you start part-time

I myself started making money online almost eight years ago. Back then, of course, I was still totally green behind the ears. But I was totally fascinated by the fact that it was actually possible to build up a business online. 

I couldn't let go of my fascination, so I started to work intensively on it. In the beginning, I set up a small blog, which of course didn't make a cent because I did everything wrong that you can do wrong. 

Nevertheless, over the years I have continued to work on this topic and tried out different things. This has enabled me to acquire an enormous amount of knowledge, which I can now use for my customers and for my own online business. 

In between, I took a longer break until a few years ago, when I decided to set up my business professionally so that I could make a living from it in a few years' time. I did all this on the side. In other words, alongside my main job.

The big advantage of part-time self-employment is, of course, that you have a fixed income at all times. You are therefore not necessarily dependent on a fixed monthly turnover to cover your living costs. 

Furthermore, you can gradually build up your own customer base, which will provide you with security when you make the leap into full self-employment. The financial risk of part-time self-employment is therefore minimal. 

You should avoid these 3 mistakes

1. Don't be too greedy

   When you start your own business, it can be worthwhile to start with lower prices. But: Of course you should be able to make a living from it! It's all about gaining customers first. You can always adjust your prices at a later date. If the customer is satisfied with you, they will also pay this price.

2. Acquire customers - ALWAYS!

   A big mistake that most self-employed people make is to rest on their laurels. But what if you suddenly lose a big customer who was financially important? This is exactly why you should also acquire customers if you currently have enough customers. This is the only way you have a "backup" and can balance out the financial situation.

3. Don't compare yourself with others
   

   The internet offers a lot of good potential for further development. But unfortunately, it also offers a lot of negative potential in the form of comparisons. Everyone posts every day about how much money they are making and how great their business is doing. But you should never let this influence you. Because if you do, the constant comparisons will drag your own business down. Always do your own thing and do everything as well as you can. Everything else doesn't count!

Jan Tissler reveals other typical mistakes that you can and should avoid as a freelancer in his article.

Conclusion

I don't think it has ever been easier to start your own business than it is today. The Internet offers you so many possibilities and opportunities that you can take advantage of. 

As already mentioned in the article, I recommend part-time self-employment as a way of getting started and trying things out. This allows you to test whether what you have planned will work without any risk. 

Do you have any questions or comments on the topic of setting up your own business? Then feel free to use the comment function. Do you want to be kept up to date with news about WordPress, online business and more? Then follow us on Twitter, Facebook or via our newsletter.

Photo: Matthias Müller | pixabay, startup-stock-photos | pexels