Time To Be Your Own Boss: Business Plan For Self-Employed

Want to become self-employed? In this regard, you need to know a proper business plan for the self-employed. Without knowing a proper business plan, you can not sustain yourself in this business world. Moreover, a proper business plan can provide a visual infrastructure for your business. According to a statistic, 

Till 2022, it was be an unstoppable increase in self-employment of about 2.76 million and female self-employment of about 1.5 million. And as time passes, it will continue to rise ever higher. 

Source

A self-employment business plan should be a solid guide, but not so complicated that you don't want to alter it, which is inevitable. If you want your business plan to stay relevant to your changing needs and priorities, you will need to update it as your company expands.

It is a very crucial factor to develop a complete business plan before starting a self-employment business. In this article, you can explore 7 essential steps to build an effective business plan for the self-employed. So, let’s deep dive into the core part of this article. 

7 Steps to Develop a Business Plan for Self-Employed

(With Bonus One)

Offen job-holders dream of becoming self-employed, especially when they’re pissed of doing a 9 to 5 job for many years. But the reality is it’s not easy to build a business overnight, you need to follow some significant steps that will act as a roadmap to become self-employed or an entrepreneur. To start a self-employed business, you can follow the given steps. 

1. Business Executive Summary
2. Detailed Business Description
3. Offered Products and Services
4. Conducted Competitor Analysis
5. Design Marketing Plan
6. Maintained Operations & Legal Considerations
7. Illustrated Financial Narratives

Bonus: 

      8. Adopt Automation Software

Now, you can explore in detail the business plan for self-employed people. 

Step 1: Business Executive Summary

First, you need to explain the executive summary of your business. Executive summaries should be as brief as possible, according to the usual norm. Business executives should be written in easy language, try to avoid any type of jargon, so that any non technical person can understand the goal and objectives of your business.  

Moreover, your audience is pressed for time and attention, and they want to learn as much as possible about your company plan. If at all feasible, keep your executive summary within two pages, however, it can be longer if required. 

In your executive summary, you can enlist the following sections. 

Write Your Business Plan

The executive summary will be a summary of the most essential themes covered in your business plan, writing the whole business plan before the executive summary is generally beneficial. Ensure that your executive summary solely includes facts and information from the business strategy.

Owner’s Introduction

Put a brief introduction of your business owner. It will build trustworthiness and you can enhance the reliability of your target audience. In this regard, a business plan should include the business owner’s introduction in the business executive summary of your self-employed business.  

Mission Statement

To write a complete business plan for self employed, you need to clearly mention your mission statement. In this case, you have to write a mission statement within 30 words. Your mission statement should include your company’s goal, target audience, and service details.   

Marketing Objectives

You need to define your marketing objective clearly. In your marketing objective, you have to provide the focusing point of your marketing team, clear direction for team members, and other significant information like support and marketing strategy.    

Expected Outcomes

You can mention your expected outcomes based on the other factors of your planning. Though you will mention an estimated outcome in your self-employment business plan, it will motivate you to reach the goal and achieve your target. 

Required Capital

In the executive summary, you need to calculate the overall estimated cost to start your business. According to the required estimated cost, you have to fix your budget. As a result, you will get an idea of your required capital to start your business. 

Step 2: Detailed Business Description

A company description gives a high-level summary of crucial components of your firm, such as what you do and what sets you apart. Anyone reading your business description should be able to figure out what your company does. Moreover, you need to include the following factors in your business description.

• Business name 
• Business goal 
• Competitive advantages 
• Target customer 
• Business location 
• Business structure  

Also, you have to fulfill 5 w's and h in your business description. In this regard, you have to require a clear understanding of the following questions.

• Who is your target audience?
• What is the goal of your business?  
• Where is your business location? 
• When will you implement your business plan? 
• Why do you want to start this business? 
• How do you achieve your goal?

If you fulfill all of the questions, you can properly explain your business description in your self-employment business plan.        

Step 3: Offered Products and Services

This part should provide a complete list of the items and services you will offer. One-on-one business coaching, career coaching, executive coaching, leadership development programs, team coaching, corporate training, workshops, seminars, coaching skills training, and a how-to book on recommendations for managers as coaches are just a few examples.

In your offered products and services list, you can include the following factors. 

• A detailed description of the products and services 
• Pricing list of your products and services 
• Features and benefits of your listed products and services 
• Production costs 
• Production timeline 
• Future products and services 

Step 4: Conducted Competitor Analysis

In this step, you need to research your target market and conduct competitor analysis.

Target Market  

This part should include information about your ideal client. In my experience, most people who are new to self-employment require the most assistance in this area. 

Moreover, they are adamant about not focusing on a single market since they like collaborating with people from various walks of life on a variety of projects. However, by attempting to sell to everyone, they dilute their message and, in doing so, end up appealing to no one. 

Customer Segmentation

Customer segmentation is the process of identifying a group of customers. Moreover, this section is so crucial to conduct your marketing process. You can segment your targeted customers into these four categories. 

• Geographic segmentation
• Demographic segmentation
• Psychographic segmentation
• Behavioral segmentation

Step 5: Design Marketing Plan

To promote your business activities, you need to make a proper marketing plan. In this regard, you have to conduct a SWOT analysis to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. After conducting a SWOT analysis, you need to define your goal and target audience. 

However, you have to analyze the following KPIs that will ensure the design of an effective marketing plan. 

• Marketing goals and objectives 
• Promotional strategies 
• Unique selling advantages 
• Pricing strategies

Most significantly, you have to choose your digital marketing method because various digital marketing methods are invented. These are: 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The goal of SEO is to optimize your website and increase organic traffic. To maintain high ranks, digital marketing managers typically pay attention to cross-connections and backlinks, keywords, and unique content. It improves the website's visibility. Remember that the more visible you are, the more customers you will be able to attract. 

Content Marketing

Content marketing's main goal is to capture a customer's attention, educate newcomers, and nurture leads. Moreover, you can nurture and educate your potential consumers using this marketing technique by supplying them with relevant material, guiding them through the sales funnel, and finally convincing them to take the desired action.  

Pay-per-click (PPC) Advertising

You can drive more traffic to your website through pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. This process allows you to conduct internet advertising and it is required to pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. 

Email Marketing

Email marketing is another way to reach your targeted audience. This process can allow you to promote your products and services. Moreover, you can drive potential customers through the email marketing process.      

Influencer Marketing

This one is another effective way to reach potential customers. Moreover, this process can allow you to work with someone who will act as an influencer as we as it helps to build credibility and trustworthiness. As a result, you can easily increase your brand awareness and enhance your sales.     

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is one of the beneficial ways to reach a vast number of audiences. Also, it helps to increase brand awareness as well as improve search engine rankings. Moreover, social media marketing can be able to ensure higher conversion rates that will play a significant role to boost your business revenue. 

There are different types of social media, using which you can promote your business, for instance Facebook marketing, Instagram, Medium, Quora, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest and many more. 

Step 6: Maintained Operations & Legal Considerations

The most important step to build a business plan is to maintain operations and legal considerations. You can ensure your business's safety and security by maintaining operations and legal considerations. In this regard, you have to organize the following factors.  

Agreement and contracts

You have to prepare a detailed and concise agreement and contracts in your self-employed business plan. It will ensure transparency and accuracy of your business as well as make a trust to invest in your organization. 

Payment methods

You need to allow multiple payment methods for your organization. This payment method ensures a safe and secure transaction which will be essential for any organization. In this regard, you can integrate the following payment methods into your business. 

• Cash payments
• Check payments
• Credit card payments
• Online payments
• Mobile payments

Permit & Registration

To start any self-employed business, you need to ensure all required permission and registration. 

License & Regulations

According to your country’s law, you need to make all required licenses. Otherwise, you can not sustain in the marketplace. Also, you have to abide by all rules and regulations to conduct your business operations smoothly. 

Insurance and Bonding

To write a complete self-employed business plan, you have to include insurance and bonding activities. It’s totally up to you whether you will provide insurance and bonding facilities or not. If you will provide it, you need to clearly mention them in your business plan.   

Step 7: Illustrated Financial Narratives

This one is the final step to make a self-employed business plan. In this step, you have to write a detailed financial statement. Moreover, business plans are an essential component of strategic financial decision-making. 

They aid in the expression of ideas, the presentation of market data to support rhetoric, and the expression of the financial side of an argument. To make a complete financial statement, you have to include the following matrices in your financial statement.  

• Profit and loss statement 
• Cash flow analysis 
• Break-even analysis 
• Balance sheet 
• Benefit analysis 

Step 8: Adopt Automation Software

You might think investing in some automation software might waste your money but this is completely a wrong thought, specially for start-up entrepreneurs. Firstly you have to understand your niche before you accommodate any automation software.

Automation software is absolutely a helping hand for your business, work as an instructor, simplifies your work and shows the easiest way to be more productive. Now, there are lots of variant automation software available in the envato market, so you choose one, whichever matches your niche or you can customize your own software, where you can personalize everything your business demands.  

• Easy decision making 
• Raise up the productivity 
• Reliable data collection 
• Gain loyal customers
• Improve the customer service 

Self-Employed Business Examples

• Freelancer
• Independent business owner
• Food truck business owner 
• Gig workers
• Partnerships

How Necessary Is To Set- Up A Self-Employed Business Plan?

Of course, sketching a self-employed business plan assists you to glued yourself in the business plan you manifest to build. Without aiming any objectives, goals or deadlines, it becomes very difficult to stick to the problem you aimed to solve. 

There’re lots of necessity to write a self employed business plan:

• Initial plan to reach at break-even point 
• List down the strategies to reach the desired profit level 
• List the desire industry to target and a pilot client list
• The rates you’ll charge 
• List down the obstacles 

Since this is completely your own business, there's no hurry to chase the deadline or the targets you aim for. There is another advantage of setting up a self employed business plan, for instance you can take every step in the aware mindset, understand the perspective of customers, trace down the uniqueness of your products, and strategies to regenerate the customers. 

Having good self employed business ideas will not only help you to focus on the business plan, but also help to prioritize the project and task to reach the goal faster. 

• Sketching a defined target helps you to have a clear objectives of your goal 
• You’ll already about the financial boundaries and objectives 
• A full-proof excuse to analyze your business, competitors, and different external activities.  
• Help you to be focus and recognize your business opportunity

Wrap Up

This is not only an article, but also it will act as the basement of your business. Though it will not be easy to become self-employed and write a business plan for the self-employed, this article provides you with a guideline. As a result, you will get a direction on how you can prepare yourself.

So, it’s time to become self-employed and inspire others to also become self-employed

through following a proper business plan.  

Read Also

• 10 Futuristic Ideas for a Successful Coffee Shop Business
• Cloud Kitchen Business Model: Everything You Need to Know!
• Fast Food Restaurant Business Plan Sample Guide
• Business to Customer(B2C) Business Model and Examples