If you lost your job this year because of the coronavirus outbreak that caused the business where you worked to close down, then you may have struggled to find another job. Unfortunately, when you finally found one, it wasn’t a good match. It not only paid you far less than you were worth, but it also didn’t have any use for your unique set of skills.
Rather than continuing to look for another job in 2021, hoping to find job satisfaction again, it might be better to start your own business. Instead of selling your skills to a single employer, sell them to multiple clients, people who need them, and will pay you at marketplace rates.
Another good reason for starting your own business in 2021 is to get help from the Small Business Administration (SBA), such as guidance on how to run a business and fund it through COVID-19 loan resources.
When starting a business, it’s important to learn how to manage disengaged employees, how to decide on your business model, and how to find the best location.
Manage Disengaged Employees
Most of the people you hire will do their best to build your business, but, unfortunately, a few might later become disengaged employees.
You’ll notice if an employee has become disengaged through some obvious behavioral cues
For instance, the employee may do the following things:
- Call in sick more often than before.
- Do shoddy work.
- Struggle to meet reasonable deadlines.
- Show little interest in the business.
- Take longer midmorning, lunch, and afternoon breaks than before.
- Waste plenty of time on their phone, visit social media websites or chat with colleagues.
If they were valuable employees before they became disengaged, then it will cost you more to hire and train a new person. Before starting afresh with a new person, set up a confidential meeting with the employees in your office to find out if there is anything you can do to renew their interest in their job. They may be distracted and disengaged for reasons you never suspected. Perhaps they need time off to enroll in a drug abuse recovery program. Or perhaps they feel overwhelmed after you promoted them earlier in the year and an eLearning course would bring them up to speed.
Decide on Your Business Model
Find the sweet spot between your professional knowledge and marketing trends. For instance, if you gained invaluable digital skills when working for your former employer, you could launch an e-commerce platform. It’s a decision that would hit the sweet spot between what you can easily learn how to do and a renewed public interest in shopping online during the pandemic.
Find the Best Location
If the state you live in does not have favorable conditions to start a business, then move to one that encourages entrepreneurship. Florida, for example, is an excellent place to run a business. It ranks as one of the best states to start a small business because it has a beneficial tax policy and streamlined business regulations to increase the ease of doing business.
Learn as You Go
Although you may have no business experience, you can always learn what you need to know to start a business. Later you could learn how to run it better by getting some business coaching but the best lessons you can learn happen organically, they key is to make each mistake only once! For example, office supplies can be shiny new toys to rack up large credit card bills when buying used or refurbished can keep cash in your account and make no difference in the day to day of the office. Expensive tools like a refurbished xerox c75 will work for years to come and save you an arm and a leg, or let you afford a couple more desks!
In fact, it’s never been easier to start a business. Setting up an online business is cheaper than renting a physical store or marketing online is cheaper than traditional marketing. It’s also easier to learn about business than at earlier times because of so many online resources available for entrepreneurs.
