Working for yourself and ‘living the dream’ is something millions of people across Wigan, North West and the rest of the UK share.
No more commutes to work, no early starts, no boss dictating what you do, master of your own destiny, the benefits to working for yourself are plentiful. So why isn’t everyone doing it?
Fear stops many people working for themselves.
It’s often said that fear stops many people from working for themselves, becoming self employed and starting their own business. Fear of losing the regular income, fear of not being successful, insecurity, fear of not being good enough, you name it the anxieties that stop people going into business run in to hundreds if not more.
All of these fears are very real. Leaving the apparent security of a full time job can be a step many people are simply too afraid of. How people view and handle risk determines who will and who won’t make the leap into working for themselves.
Fears regarding the risks of failure in business can be sometimes unfounded though. Data released by the Office of National Statistics shows that in the UK 93% of small businesses survive for at least 1 year, over a 5 year period the survival rate does fall to a little over 44%. These figures are also reflected when you look at survival rates for Greater Manchester, 92.5% survive for 1 year and 42.6% survive for 5 years or more.
So although many fear failure this batch of data shows that those fears may not be quite as founded.
Lack of understanding can stop you from working for yourself.
So you may have overcome your fear of failure a little, but where do you start the process of setting up a business and living the dream? Firstly your idea and then a business plan is a great way to start, then of course you’ll need to understand how to sell yourself, how you’ll pay bills in the early months and you may need to secure investment from a third party source.
The UK Government Website has lot of information and resources to help guide you through the whole process of working for yourself. From advice on what you need to do, boxes you need to tick, right through to getting help in business.
The process isn’t quite as daunting as it may seem and you don’t always have to jump in feet first. You can start a business part time alongside your current job, often find start up loans, get free advice. If you have the dream and your desire is strong enough then you can do it.
It goes without saying almost, if you need any advice on business accounts, paying wages, VAT or bookkeeping, ADC Accountants of Wigan are here to help. We work with businesses and self employed people working across an array of sectors.