Image by Dianne Pike
“Now is not the time to start your own business. Keep your head down, work harder and your job will be safe”…
That probably just about sums up the reaction of your loved ones when you happen to ponder out loud, whether working for yourself might just be as secure as working for someone else right now.
You are right, they are wrong. It’s at times like these that fortune favours the brave.
Maybe you’re thinking that’s easy for me to say sitting on the other side of the fence having already escaped the cubicle a few years ago. But it was losing his job through redundancy over 2 years ago, that set Jonathan and I off on this path of a location independent lifestyle, running our own businesses from wherever in the world we choose.
At the time, panicked about how we’d pay for the mortgage, the bills & pretty nice lifestyle we’d built for ourselves, we made a few tough decisions…
We decided to say “NO” to:
- Someone else being in control of our professional careers
- Our financial wellbeing determined (and limited) by a pay scale set by someone else
- Putting half our lives and most of our energies into creating success for someone else’s business
- Someone else determining how and where we should spend our days
I won’t lie and pretend that running your own business (from one place, yet alone multiple countries) is a piece of cake. At times, it is even more stressful than a ‘normal’ job - wondering where your next client/customer is going to come from, stressing that you don’t yet have enough money in the bank to pay next month’s bills…it is not always a walk in the park.
But with doom and gloom surrounding the global economy and more and more jobs on the line every day, there are a number of compelling reasons I can think of to start your own business during the recession, and not just any business but a location independent business…
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing…
Starting your own business now doesn’t necessarily mean quitting your job. In fact, if you have a steady job right now then you might be sensible to hang on to it for a while, until your own business is generating the income you need.
A location independent business usually requires the internet - maybe a website, knowledge of other online platforms and most certainly some marketing know-how. There are plenty of skills you’ll need and lots to get your head around - which you can do whilst you still have your day job.
Setting the wheels of your own business in motion now means that should your job become threatened as the recession continues, you already have a backup plan in place to cover at least some of your lost income.
Now is a great time to negotiate…
During a recession you’ll often find that people are more willing to negotiate on their prices and offerings which is great when you’re in bootstrapping, start-up mode.
Even without negotiating, you will find that many businesses reduce their prices, offer more value for money and more flexible payment terms as they try to secure your business. Take advantage of this when you’re shopping around for things like accounting services, legal advice, branding, web design and any equipment you’ll need.
People will still spend their money…
Everyone but the super-rich may well be tightening their belts during the recession and watching what they spend their money on but make no mistake, people will still spend. They’ll just spend their money on things that remain a priority to them and save their money on things that no longer add value to their lives.
Take gym membership, for example…thought of by many as a luxury and something to cut back on during tough times, a health nut/regular gym-goer will likely find the money for their gym membership and continue to go throughout a recession but someone who rarely goes yet still pays monthly for the opportunity to go, may well decide to cancel their membership.
The key to the success of your location independent business will be to ensure you find that group of people who will still want to spend money on what you’re offering.
The internet has no borders…
A location independent business has no borders. We have clients from all over the world - the only real barrier is language. The beauty of this is that you are not constrained to your home country to find the potential prospects and customers for your business.
Although the current economic crisis is hitting countries around the globe, running (and marketing) a business on the internet allows you to widen your net and increase the number of prospects you can approach.
Get creative about cutting your costs…
One of the reasons we became location independent and decided to travel the world whilst running our business was because I became convinced that staying in lower cost countries whilst we were setting up and growing our business would take the pressure off the need to generate so much income to begin with.
The thought of staying in countries like Thailand where you can live like a King for around £500 per month appealed - and the injection of cash from selling off most of our stuff before we left was an added bonus.
This is obviously an extreme way of cutting costs - and not suitable for everyone (especially those with kids, although stay tuned once we get on the road again with a newborn later this year!) - but it’s an example of how creative you can be when your work and means of income is not tied to one location.
Take control of your life & your finances…
Economies are cyclical - this downturn was due, it’s the natural law…bust follows boom, boom follows bust. I’m a big believer in what I call “future proofing” - setting things up in a way that will stand the test of time and continue to be effective in the future.
Set up your own location independent business now and you’ll be future-proofing yourself from any future downturns in your country. Not only that, you’ll get to benefit from some of the obvious perks of running your own business - setting your own hours, generating your own income, putting your energy into building something of your own.
It might seem a big step to take - but it’s really not. You don’t have to jump in feet first now, just take a little dip and see where it leads you.
If nothing else, consider this…
Financial security does not come from the amount of money you currently have - it comes from your ability to get more of it whenever you want. Michael Neill, Success Coach.
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