Moving away from work can be frustrating and discouraging – but some people prefer to see this moment of stress as a chance to build an even better life for themselves by starting a small company.
You may have had a business idea that you’ve been dreaming about for a while, but it just felt like “the right time” to launch a business. In that scenario, being laid off may be a blessing in disguise – because the unexpected loss of your work may eventually give you the inspiration you need to start your company.
Losing a career could even be a sign that deep down, you just don’t want a “career” anymore. Maybe your sense of restlessness or frustration with your last employment was a real indicator that you were supposed to make a living by running your own small company. Instead of trying to keep a single supervisor happy, you may be better off developing relationships with a variety of different clients that all add to your profits. Instead of getting bogged down in workplace politics and bureaucracy, you could be better off making new products or planning a genuinely awesome customer experience. There are numerous opportunities for people’s abilities to grow beyond the boundaries of conventional jobs.
Some people think that everything happens for a reason – it’s normal to experience some disappointment and lose faith after being fired from a job, but in the big picture, your life isn’t your job. Jobs often aim to fit people into a small box and identify people by a very restricted set of abilities and goals. But the fact is, you have the expertise, abilities and tools you can use to make a living and build a happier life than any career you can find. Opening a company after a layoff could be the best way to do it!
Here are a few tips on how to start a business after losing your job
Find The Right Business For You
It could be crucial to being proactive about the type of company you launch during an economic downturn. Relevant companies like car repair, resume writing programmes, and tutoring also flourishes. You should also make decisions based on what is most likely to take the start-up money.
For example, while opening and operating a restaurant is costly, a food truck needs far less start-up money. For technical services, operating from home and employing consultants and virtual assistants instead of full-time workers will also reduce the expenses.
“This life-changing decision is made by the individual,” Davis said. “Everyone’s financial situation and reasons for wanting to start a business are different. Remember to educate yourself and use the resources available for new and existing small business owners.”
Related – How To Find Your Billion-Dollar Business Idea
Create a Business Plan
Before you start spending a lot of time and resources on a new business concept, take the time to write a business plan. This is a good test to be carried out to better explain your business plan, specify your target market, and work out how to find buyers and compete with other existing companies. Ideally, the company should have several other businesses already in the industry who are doing what you want to do – a positive indication that there is a demand and that there are a lot of people eager to pay for the product or service you want to give.
You could even re-evaluate the plan and try to find a lower-cost version of the company before you start – for example, as we mentioned before, maybe you planned to start a restaurant, but instead chose to test the concept by starting a food truck. Food trucks are much easier to open than a fixed-location restaurant – and if the food truck is a huge success, you can still grow to a larger restaurant in the future!
Related – The Ultimate Guide To Creating The Perfect Business Plan
Begin with Your Inner Circle
Any company survives or dies by word-of-mouth marketing. Finding people to chat about your business and refer clients to you is always the easiest way to keep your business up and running. When you start a company after losing your work, the easiest way to top up your marketing is to start talking to your inner circle of contacts, peers and acquaintances – make a list of 10 to 20 people who know you and support you and believe in you. Then contact them to set up a time to talk to them in person to remind them what you want to do.
Ask for contact and referrals. Ask them to help spread the word. Tell them, “This is my business idea. You know me well; would you be able to introduce me to five or ten other people who may be involved, or who might help spread the word?” Your initial list of 10 or 20 contacts will quickly expand to 100 or 200 contacts – and this could be the start of your client base.
Related –Why Entrepreneurship is Important in Recent Times in the World
Leverage Your Existing Tools & Resources
Starting a company following a layoff is not necessarily a matter of fully reinventing your life – often you will find more luck in creating a new business out of your current skills and talents. Ask yourself: What are you good at? What do you love to do? What have you been being paid to do? How would you tailor the abilities and strengths – the qualities you liked most from the old career – to a new line of work? For example, you may have had a position in Human Resources; you may be willing to start a new company as a recruitment consultant. Your old career could have been in software production, and you can start a new company designing applications for corporate customers. Market consultancy or technical services market is also a fantastic place to grow, since it doesn’t require a lot of start-up costs (unlike, say, a restaurant – which needs a lot of capital).
Unemployment Benefits Are Extremely Beneficial
Many of the time when people leave their work, they’re eligible for unemployment compensation – that’s the income you’ve earned from going into the unemployment insurance scheme, and it’s supposed to help cover a part of your wages so you can get back on your feet and find a new career. Many individuals who wish to start a new company following a layoff try to live off their unemployment benefits as much as possible before their new business begins to provide revenue. But in several jurisdictions, if you start a full-time company, you’ll be excluded from receiving unemployment. So, before relying on these benefits, make sure you conduct proper research.
Getting fired is never quick or enjoyable. You may go through some discouraging days and trying to recover your confidence at first – but if you’re very serious about becoming an entrepreneur, leaving that career is going to be the best thing that ever happened to you. For now, at last, you have the momentum to get off the treadmill of conventional jobs to start living life on your own terms by running your own business!
Related – How To Boost Your Motivation While Launching Your Startup
For more tips and tricks on how to be a successful entrepreneur, keep reading The Money Gig today!
Also Read – 15 Signs That Prove It’s Time To Start Your Own Business
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