Financial Security – How to Be Self-Employed

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This post is originally authored at the home security blog at FamilyHomeSecurity.com.

In today’s economy, the subject of financial security has become a popular topic of discussion. More people are becoming laid off, and suddenly find themselves without a way to provide for the financial needs of their families. Many companies are cutting back on their staff, which means more people are applying for unemployment benefits. There comes a time when you have to ask yourself a very important question – how much financial security do you have?

Here’s a quote from an article published by CNN Money in 2010:

“The percentage of workers who said they have less than $10,000 in savings grew to 43% in 2010, from 39% in 2009, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s annual Retirement Confidence Survey.” – CNN Money

If you’ve been living from paycheck to paycheck without any money to save, it might be time to take charge of your own financial security. Instead of depending solely on your place of employment, you may want to try researching other options. While this doesn’t mean that you have to give up your current job, you may want to invest some time in becoming self-employed.

Note – This is a basic guide, and is not meant to be all-inclusive. Each person’s specific skills may be different, and will require a different approach in regards to marketing.

How Do I Start?

The best way to begin is to plan out your strategy for being self-employed. First, you need to assess what skills that you have which may be marketable in a home business. Examples of skills might be:

• Computer Repair
• Child Care
• Dog Training
• Website Design
• Professional Writing
• Graphic Design

Once you’ve drawn up a list of your skills, you need to choose if you want to make a physical business, or do your business primarily through the internet. It’s generally a less expensive option to opt for an internet-only business, at least at first. Even if you plan to be offering your services only – it’s still best if you establish a trademark name to do business under.

For example, if you would like to get paid for writing news articles, design a simple website advertising your services. You should have a biography, links to any writing you’ve done in the past, and even some examples of your news writing. You should also have a pricing page, which details what you charge for your services.

Building Your Image

Before you begin getting paid for your services, you need to build up your image. Try offering your services for a low introductory rate, so that you can build references to put on your personal website. Make professional accounts on websites such as Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and About.me. Start up a blog on your website, so that others can see what you’re currently working on.

Finding Customers/Clients

After you’ve established your image, you can begin looking for serious clients that need your services. For example, if you are offering website design, you can search on design forums for people looking for help. You could also ask friends or family members if they would like help designing a website, since this will also help you build your portfolio. Advertise on Facebook and Twitter, since many people use both of these social media outlets for business purposes.