Big subject, hard to boil it all down. Here’s a start.
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Get a good accountant via personal recommendations from self-employed people. If pos, find one geographically near by.
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Visit said accountant. Explain plans. Accountant explains basics of self-employment law, taxation, need for records, how to keep said records etc.
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Get one or two books, and visit one or two websites, concerned with ‘How To’ advice for the home-based self-employed, the best guide again being personal recommendation from people who are already doing it. But don’t overdose - ‘experts’ tend to disagree and you’ll go blind crazy bewildered trying to reconcile all the advice. Your best teacher will be experience.
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Be prepared to make lots of mistakes, and to learn from them. That’s life, and it’s the path to success.
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Get your company stationery sorted out and printed. I know at least two pro graphic designers who paid other designers to do their corp logo, letterhead etc. Why? Because you can go mad trying to produce your own ‘perfect’ logo etc. Just a thought.
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Self-promotion. Nothing is as good as word-of-mouth from satisfied customers. I know some self-employed people, from builders to showbiz types, who have never paid for any advertising, marketing etc. They just began with a tiny number of personal clients, and because they were GOOD, personal recommendation did the rest. Aim for this above all. But bear in mind many clients are awkward, difficult, Scrooge-like, irritating, and otherwise basically human. Live with it.
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Beware many ‘experts’ insisting you MUST shell out for lots of advertising, listings in directories etc. Be very wary. I’ve worked in the ‘creative and media’ industries, and 99% of this is predatory hype exploiting your natural fear of not being sufficiently well-known. Some other posters have mentioned directories and listings that are worthwhile, and the SDMB is full of good info!, so check 'em out. But let point (6) be your guiding star.
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Website. Essential now, and gonna be more so in the future. Get it up and running. Use a host who will let you start with a small ‘showcase only’ website, with the option to handle on-line credit card transactions later if you want.
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There is much mythology about how to get good search engine placement and increase web traffic. There are only about half a dzoen techniques that really work, the rest is hype and disinformation. Take care to sort the wheat from the chaff.
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Believe in yourself and what you are doing. Set clear, achievable goals, expressed in plain words, and commit to them. Tell everyone, and I mean everyone you meet, everywhere you go, what you do and how good you are. ALWAYS have a business card or a little flyer ready to hand out. You’d be amazed how much work you can pick up through casual mentions.
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Price your work realistically. Make accurate assessments of what it costs you to work for someone for one hour. Include all your overheads, and include the market value for your skill and expertise. Your rate card should be at LEAST 3-5 times your costs. Beginners have a fear of charging too much, and tend to cheat by overlooking many of their own ‘hidden’ costs. They are only cheating themselves, and will neve rmake a decent profit. Customers who will not, or cannot, pay you what you need in order to make a fair profit are not customers at all - they are a total waste of your time. Devote your time to those who can and will.
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Do yourself a BIG favour: make sure you are easily contactable. Reliable phone, good answering machine, good cell phone etc. Make it as easy as possible for people to contact you, by any which way they prefer. And make sure you get back to them FAST. Many businesses LOSE astounding numbers of customers who WANT to give them money - because those customers encounter communication blocks and snafus.
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All the kit and equipment necessary for your work - as far as you can afford, invest in backups, maintenance contracts, recovery options, insurance etc. Imagine various ‘worst case scenarios’ and plan your various recovery strategies NOW, before you need them. Consider accidental damage, theft (hardware, software, client details), fire, flood, bugs, viruses etc. You can never make yourself 100% disaster-proof, but you can put the odds of business survival in your favour.
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Some organisational discipline is necessary - especially as regards client details and correspondence, as well as all your finances and book-keeping. If you’re already god at this, fine. If not, find someone who IS, and get them to teach you. Otherwise you’re sunk.
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Your most common nightmare will be: people who owe you money but take ages to pay. Take whatever steps you can to minimise this problem. Part payments and stage payments are good. Well-organised ‘nudges’ re overdue payments, from letters to phone calls, will help you get ahead of other creditors. Do avoid banking all your success on big fees from one big customer. You may get screwed, and it hurts. Spread your risks.
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Your most common ally will be: personal recommendation. Suppliers, materials, strategies… always aim to learn from friends, friends of friends, associates and others who have already made all the mistakes, and can provide shortcuts to better ways of doing things. Aim to avoid advice which comes with a price tag - probably just money-making hype.
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Be OPPORTUNIST. You are swimming in a sea of opportunities all the time. Most people just aren’t alert to them. Cultivate this alertness. And when opportunities DO arise - and they will - act on them FAST.
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Be PERSISTENT. Almost anyone (potential customer, potential supplier etc.) will agree to meet you if you ask, nicely and without stalking, seven times in a row. Or give you a discount. Or give you information. Or otherwise help you. Persist, and you will get there. But always be lovable and sweet about it.
That’s enough for now. I’ve worked for myself for about 8 years to date, and I always encourage people to go for it. Even though I’m a Brit, and so some details will differ, if I can be of any further help at all, just ask.
