Going Solo

It’s been just a little over 3 years since I formed KateOGroup and not quite 2 years since going solo and diving head first into self-employment.  I am in no way claiming to be THE authority on entrepreneurship but I have definitely learned a thing or two along the way.

When I left the creative field in 2006, I thought working in a more traditional, structured business environment was just the thing for me and boy was I wrong! I learned a lot of very useful information over the next 6 years as I worked in the credit card industry about running a successful business, but over those 6 years I couldn’t quash the desire I had to create.

I tried feeding this desire by finishing my first (and hopefully not only) novel, Creative Chaos:

I also decided I wanted to blog again and started this blog back in ’08…that’s right kateolynch.com is almost 6 years old! But my personal blog is what got me started learning website design.

KateOGroup was formed as I began designing WordPress websites and providing social media services to other businesses.  If you want to find out more about KateOGroup click here.  Creating KateOGroup gave me the opportunity to turn something I loved doing into a career and I’ve never looked back.  I truly believe that being able to do what you love makes you a happier person and allows you to live a life full of purpose.

That’s not to say that going out on your own is easy or you won’t make any mistakes but there are plenty of us out there that can hopefully help you avoid making a few of the same mistakes.

Are you thinking about starting your own business?  Here are a few tips I have for you:

• Set goals for yourself – even if you have no basis for the goals, establish them so that you have something to work toward.
• Surround yourself with like minded people – entrepreneurship is hard and in my experience, no one understands the challenges you go through like another entrepreneur.
• Network – go out and meet new people, no matter how many clients you start out with you will always need more.
• Determine your rates and stick with them – it’s important to know how much you need to make to pay all of your bills and there are some great resources out there to help you determine that, here is a simple calculator tool you can use.  Once you’ve set your rates, don’t be afraid to stick to them.  Setting those rates helps establish you as an expert in your field.
• Stay on top of invoicing – as an entrepreneur you wear every hat and billing is an essential task that cannot be overlooked.  Asking for money even for services you’ve completed can sometimes feel awkward but billing is the only way your company will keep growing and going.

I started out with a very simple excel spreadsheet as my first invoice.  I’ve attached it below for you to download and customize and use for your business.

Are you thinking of going solo?  Tell me about your business in the comments below, I’d love to hear about it plus, give yourself a shout out!  Do you have any other tips for starting out you’d like to add?  Post them in the comments and share them with us.