Being your own boss. Just that phrase is enough to elicit sighs of fantasy from most 9-to-fivers. It’s a dream that many people have, and some are able to make it happen. Many people ask me how I went about becoming self-employed, so here are the steps I followed (of course, your path may be different).
1.) I learned many entrepreneurial skills from my mother, who was a Mary Kay Consultant for years in the 80’s – oh, yeah, pink everything! She was also in Tupperware, Longaberger Baskets, Home Interiors, Partylite and Salleyeander Soaps.
2.) I became a Mary Kay consultant during college, which helped me pay for school and learn the basics of running my own business. But I made a LOT of mistakes.
3.) I earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art.
4.) I toiled in temp Administrative Assistant positions for four years after college. I did learn more about being ridiculously organized, lots of computer and internet skills, and how to (prepare yourself for the cliche!) deal with difficult people.
5.) I began making jewelry on the side for fun after finding that painting portraits was simply not going to pay the bills.
6.) After realizing that the people in management at my last position were seriously ethically lacking, I decided that the time was right to leave, and launch my jewelry business full time. This was also 6 months before my wedding!&
7.) I married my wonderful husband, who was very supportive of my decision to leave the old company and throw myself into jewelry making for real. He has a full-time job, health insurance and 401k. For those of you who are more brave, by all means, don’t let these things stop you from launching your business, but do seriously consider their importance, and estimate the costs you’ll have to pay out-of-pocket once you’re self-employed.
8.) I have slowly and steadily grown my business by maintaining and updating my shop-online website (new collections on a quarterly basis!), building pages on MySpace and Facebook, an Etsy.com shop, posting to this blog, and more. In addition to online marketing techniques, having a small business is also about the personal connection. I give out business cards constantly, donate jewelry to silent auctions, give a percentage back to charity at almost every show, offer host credit, and more.
Those are the steps! It’s not easy being self-employed. In fact, don’t even bother if you aren’t willing to work half again as hard as you are in your cozy office job! It’s not for the faint of heart, and you absolutely must have a supportive partner who is willing to go along for the ride. If you are serious about getting your business underway, the first step (in New York State) is to check the Small Business guide on the NYS tax website, sales tax info, and register your name with your local County Clerk and pay the small fee. Also, check out the NY Loves Small Biz website, which has a lot of resources and information. I hope this information has been useful to you. Please feel free to contact me via my website,www.danasaylordesigns.com and send me any other questions you may have.
