Carving Out Your Own Career Path

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When it comes to work, the majority of people find themselves working for someone else. This is understandable. After all, being employed provides you with a relatively comfortable lifestyle where your wages go into your bank, you know what is expected of you, and you complete the same work day in and day out. However, things can get a little dull after a while. What’s more? You’re working towards creating someone else’s dreams rather than your own and your hard work is ultimately profiting someone else! So, if you want to take the reins on your own life and steer things your way, you might want to consider carving out your own career path. Here’s how you can do this!

Setting Up Your Own Company

our first option is to set up your own small business. Now, this is going to require a whole lot of time and effort and won’t achieve success overnight. However, you really do place yourself in the position of the boss and can have full control over where the company goes. You can decide what field to work in, what kind of products or services you will provide, what demographic to target, as well as the complete branding and representation of your brand. As things expand, you can conduct interviews to choose your own staff, direct advertising and marketing campaigns, and choose what other brands or companies to collaborate with. If this sounds right for you, take a brief look through this guide to Limited company formations. This will help you to make your business official, bringing in investors, partners, clients, and other customers.

Freelancing

If this sounds like a little too much hard work for you to start with, don’t worry. You don’t necessarily have to start your own company to be your own boss. Instead, why not consider freelancing. When you become a freelancer, you become the individual who companies and brands outsource their work to. You never have to be tied down to a single contract and you can have a whole lot more control over the terms you work on. This also comes hand in hand with a regular change of scenery. You can have new contacts and colleagues for every project you work on. Your work will also change on a daily basis, as projects will shift and expectations will change from one client to another. In order to be a successful freelancer, however, you do have a little more work on your hands than a typical employee. After all, you’re going to have to get yourself off the ground by making a good name for yourself to start with and from this point on, you have to constantly be reaching out to new clients, forging new relationships, and securing constant work. But the benefits outweigh the extra effort. Here are a few steps to follow to get you started!

Registering as Self-Employed

First things first, you need to register as self-employed. Remember that if you’re working for yourself, you need to sort your own taxes out for the end of each fiscal year. The sums won’t automatically be deducted from your pay in the same way that they might if you were an employee. This means you’ll have to exhibit a little more self-control when it comes to your finances. You should deduct the relevant taxes from your own pay packet and store them in a savings account which you can then access to pay your tax bill when the time comes.

Gaining a Positive Reputation

In order to gain a good reputation and make a name for yourself, you need to start gaining positive feedback and recommendations. Your first jobs are some of the most important, as they will be where you can source these references. The better your reviews and recommendations, the more likely you will be to secure further business from others. Word of mouth goes just as far as advertising, as people will actively seek other real individuals’ opinions when they are considering trying you out themselves. So, make sure that you complete every job to the highest standard and deliver the best customer service possible at any given time.

As you can see, forming your own company or becoming a self-employed freelancer are career choices that really do have significant perks. Sure, things may be a little rocky starting out. But once you’ve established yourself, you gain the benefits of freedom, self-governance, and operating in a field that genuinely interests you!

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