Want To Be Your Own Boss? A Step-By-Step Guide That Helps You To Be Successfully Self-Employed

This is How It Goes

Lets say the ideal age to start looking at alternative professions is somewhere on the higher side of 40. Why particularly 40, because by this time you would have already worked for about 15 years, the kids will be in senior school and hopefully there would be some savings in the bank. No I am not saying that you hang your boots now and deplete your savings and deprive your family of the lifestyle they deserve and are used to. That will be abrupt and catastrophic. Instead, when you turn 40, start looking at options based on qualifications, skills and your interests and if possible, do test runs to gather data and experience but don’t take the plunge yet, there is still a lot to do. Lets go over the checklist that will adequately prepare you to take the plunge on the D-day;

The Checklist

List Out Alternative Professions/Occupations

There can’t be a one-size-fits-all type of list of probable alternative professions. It totally depends upon your skills, educational qualifications, interests and many other factors. It could be becoming a scuba diving instructor for one person and growing mushrooms for another. Although, like I said, the list of probables is highly subjective, I could suggest a few common occupations to trigger your thoughts. Here are some;

Consulting – The industry contacts, skills and the expertise that you have acquired in your area of specialization over these years can get you assignments with clients who could benefit from all of your attributes mentioned above.
Stock Trading – If you’ve got an analytical mind and some background, you could try your hand at stock trading. This gives you flexibility and puts the decision making in your hands.
Blogging/Vlogging – If you are passionate about writing, like myself, you could take up blogging or vlogging. This gives you a platform where you could be at your creative best and earn as well!
Freelance Teaching – Based on your qualifications and expertise, there will always be requirements in educational institutions for teachers who bring in first hand industry experience to the table. Freelancing will give you all the flexibility you need and a lot of room for creativity.
Travel Guide – If travel bug has biting you all your life, you could pick travel as your second profession and become a travel guide. You could start a company of your own or work for a travel company as a freelance travel guide. Best of both worlds. You get to travel the world and make money too.
Exotic Farming – For those with a green thumb, farming of exotic plants & herbs could be very satisfying and rewarding. You could grow mushrooms, bonsai, exotic vegetables or just about anything that catches your fancy and has a market.
Event Management – If you are good at organizing, can work at odd timings and love to socialize, then consider event management as an option.
Photography – Any form of photography whether social, nature, travel or food can be a good option if that’s what excites you.
Training – Since you have spent a long time in the corporate world, you, by now definitely are a master of your area of specialization. You could use all of this knowledge to train people in your area, either as a freelance trainer, or running your own training firm.
Cooking – If you love to experiment with recipes, ingredients and food combinations, you could try your hand at cooking, either as a food blogger, or as a recipe vlogger. You could even set out on an entirely different course by becoming a professional food supplier using a mobile app.

This list is endless. I could write hundreds of articles on the alternative profession options. If you need guidance with choosing the right profession, please contact me through contact us page and I would be delighted to help you.

Study the Financials and Commercials

The second most important step in preparing towards the transition is to study the financials and commercials of the prospective professions before shortlisting. Here you need to first identify your income requirements (be realistic though) and compare them to the possible earning potential of your favorite professions under your set of circumstances. Consider the gestation period and the timeframe required to build the desired stream of cash flows. Also look at the initial investment, if any. There are professions you can start with zero initial investment and then there are some that require a sizeable investment to start with. Look at the ROI, not only on the invested amount but also on your time, risk and efforts.

Shortlist Preferences

Once you have completed the above steps, you are now closer to shortlisting professions that could match the requirement. Go ahead and create your shortlist in the descending order of preference. Use your heart and mind equally in this process. Talk to family & friends, brood over it, ponder, do whatever you want and take however long you want to. This is one step that cannot be hurried.

Research Shortlisted Professions

Having come one step closer to your dream coming true after finalizing the list of probables, it already starts to feel like you are already there. Start researching the shortlisted professions. Watch videos, read blogs, connect & spend time with people already in those professions and whatever else you can think of, to gather information and get answers to your questions. Questions, you must have a lot of them!!

Finalize The Future Profession

After spending the required time getting answers to all your questions and familiarizing yourself with the probable occupations, its now time to finalize the profession you will be calling yours for the next few years, decades or the rest of your life. At this stage you will need to match your interests, skills, income expectations, time to building the desired cash flows, available time that you can invest, financial investment if any etc. to each profession. Choose the profession that matches your variables most closely. Connect with us through contact us page for a detailed Comparative Evaluation On Profession Attractiveness & Compatibility (CEPAC) for your chosen professions, based on quantitative techniques. The final outcome looks like this;

Test The Waters, Learn & Master

Now that you have a made an intelligent choice, after considering all aspects of the profession and matching them to your situation, its time to start practicing the new profession. This could be a challenging time as the demands of the existing occupation continue to be there and you also have to make time for the new profession as well. You cannot afford to go wrong here. These are going to be testing times. You are now trying to cope with the demands of two occupations. Worry not, this shall pass soon and at the end of it lies a world of your dreams. Every second of toil in this phase will be worth it. In the absence of this step, you will never be able to gather enough confidence to take the final step towards transition.

Plan Your Finances

While you are at it, it will be worthwhile to plan your personal and professional finances. Create plans to stay afloat during the transition phase. The following questions need to be addressed. Are you going to overlap both the occupations till you comfortably settle down in your new profession financially? With this option, you will need to juggle your time between two occupations for an extended length of time. Or is it that you are going to make a clean switch, in which case, you will need to figure out a source of cash flows to meet the subsistence needs of the family till the new occupation starts generating the desired cash flows? Do you have an alternate income coming in, like an earning spouse or a rental income etc.? Are you going to need an initial investment for your new occupation. If yes, how much where is it going to come from? Your savings or loans? Consider all these questions and their answers carefully to prevent any unpleasant situations. Well planned finances will also give you breathing space in your new occupation.

Plan Your Milestones

Be realistic while setting expectations and planning milestones. Give yourself time and space. Don’t set unreasonable targets for yourself because by doing so, you are defeating the very purpose of making the transition. Hence, set your benchmarks that can keep you on the right track and are not intimidating. Include both financial and non financial benchmarks and don’t expect to outrun your current profession with the new one financially, at least initially. Remember that this is not why you made the transition altogether. On the other hand, you may also need to put in some extra effort in the beginning till you get a grip of your new occupation and then you can set the pace for yourself down the line. Whatever you do, stay organized and write down things to avoid any loss of direction and ambiguity.

Make The Transition

Once all the above is done, it is very much likely that you are ready to set the ball rolling towards making the transition. As mentioned earlier, you have two choices here. Gradual Transition, where you keep your current profession for an extended period while you settle into your new occupation. The pros of this approach are; Security, Peace of Mind and The Option of Calling Off The Transition, if you don’t really like it. The cons are; Double Efforts, Having to Juggle Time, Potential Disputers With The Current Employer etc. Quick Transition on the other hand, is a situation where you make all the preparations, double check everything and take the plunge on the deep end. The pros of such a transition are; Faster settling down in the new occupation, More Focus, Clearer Vision and an Uncluttered Mind. The cons are; The Financial & Professional Risks, Income Gap, Burden On Savings etc. However if you examine both the approaches, both have their pluses and minuses. The final call will be yours to take.

A Piece of Advice Before You Take the Plunge

Before you make the transition, please be very clear in mind whether you are making a transition from an active job to an occupation where you are in control or are you making a transition from all forms of gainful occupations to a retired life. This article and the approaches mentioned and described are for only those looking to make the first type of transition. For people looking to make the second type of transition, such elaborate planning is not required. What you require in such a case is a careful calculation of finances to ensure that you will be able to sail through even without being in any sort of gainful employment.

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Coming back to the first type of transition, you have to be realistic in your expectations. You may become a star in your new profession one day but that will happen when it happens, for now be ready to accept a compromise on your income, sometimes status & other perks that you were enjoying in the corporate world. Everything comes at a price, right? Secondly, you might not be able to enjoy the spoils of your new occupation from the day one. Initially a lot of effort may be required for you to settle down in the new occupation comfortably.

So don’t fret and fume if you didn’t get to go on that fishing trip you always wanted to from the first day of the transition itself! It will happen, give it the time that it needs. Finally, be ready for some curious questions coming to you from the society like “Why did you make this transition when everything was going fine?” “How are you going to manage your finances?” etc. Always remember, its your life and only you have the right to decide how you want to live it. So go ahead and Live Life King-size.