Right now, it’s not an underestimation to say we are in a very precarious set of circumstances. The pandemic has ravaged so much of what we know to be the livelihoods of so many people out there. And whether you are someone who has already been struggling as a result of the pandemic or it was something that happened before all this hit you may find everything has been pushed into focus. Many people are taking the opportunity to truly reflect on what their lives are all about. But while lockdown and all these aspects of life have possibly made us realize what is actually important rather than aesthetically so, when we start to think about our livelihoods, we can either throw caution to the wind and do what we want to do because life is, well, short, or we may consider being incredibly careful. After all, the pandemic has caused so many people to lose their jobs and there will be struggles for many years. With this in mind, if you are someone who’s been looking to set up your own business or create a self-employed life, is now the opportunity to start crafting a plan? How can we build a self-employed life for ourselves after this has died down?

Go For The Services Everybody Needs
This is, in one respect hedging your bets. If you are are trying to create some sort of business or service that is somewhat left of center, when you go to the banks asking for a loan they will be reticent to support your cause. But on the other hand, one of the more cautious and sensible ways to go self-employed is to provide a service that everybody requires. When you look at e-commerce platforms like Etsy or Shopify, this is something that everybody has access to but it also becomes a very useful tool in learning the ropes of selling products to customers. In fact, you could find a Shopify Plus agency that can hold your hand through the entire process. And when you start to think about the common everyday products that people use, this is why so many people start at blogs and earn money through affiliate programs. Use these platforms as the opportunity to learn. Many people feel that they should start up a business that is completely different and yes, there are times when being far from the norm will net you a profit, but you’ve got to look at it in the grand scheme of what is going on in the world. People are less inclined to take risks, whether this is banks in terms of business loans or customers buying weird and wacky products.

Take Your Time And Plan Your Trajectory
It sounds straightforward to take your time, but when we’ve been working in a job that you hate or there is so much scaremongering around, it can throw us into a state of panic that we’ve got to go and achieve our dreams “right now” or be left behind. When it comes to a freelance or self-employed life, you can never underestimate the importance of taking your time. And this is not just because of the precarious financial situation out there, but it’s all about making sure that you are confident with every step you take. Right now, there is the potential for a massive recession. And this means that there will be people out there that go in all guns blazing into setting up a business. And if you look back to the last recession there was a huge spike in people that set up their own businesses because they weren’t getting employed. The importance of doing your research at this juncture in terms of business investments and going to the right authorities with a business plan is crucial. You are in a perfect situation right now to plan everything. There are so many great courses out there on starting a business that you can take advantage of these right now. Because there are so many resources offering courses for free you have to take everything you can. While you may not have the opportunity to go through every single course, it’s a good idea to take all this information and save it somewhere. It’ll all come in handy. With all these fantastic resources on creating a business plan, you’ve got to take the opportunity to get out of your comfort zone in an academic sense. There is a reason that 80% of businesses fail within the first year. It’s crucial that in the post-pandemic world that you have a comprehensive grasp of the situation.

Have A Mixture Of Employed And Self-Employed Income
We live in a world where people have more than one stream of income. This isn’t greed; it is necessity. People set up side hustles and numerous streams of income because they have to get by. In one respect, you could go and get a job that will pay the bills but when you start to think about the fulfillment of one stream of income, many people don’t feel that they get anything out of one job. You’ve got to be careful. Setting up any sort of business requires a considerable amount of effort but you also need to keep paying the bills. Having a mixture of self-employed and employed income is common sense. But it’s important to remember that when you have a full-time job, you have to focus on the bigger picture. Many people don’t put too much effort into developing a self-employed life because they already have one income stream. But you’ve got to look at how fulfilled this job makes you feel. This could be the motivation you need.

The Focus And Discipline It Requires
Ensuring that you have a steady stream of income is common sense, but if you want to build a self-employed life for yourself you’ve got to understand just how hard it can be. It requires focus and discipline. There’s plenty of examples out there of people that built up their own business from their garage and the late nights, early mornings, and tears to get everything set up. There will be people around you that’s not going to be very supportive, and it’s easy to see why because of the landscape, and you will have to work harder to keep yourself focused, work-wise and in a mental sense. But to those people, you’ve got to take their opinions with a pinch of salt. They’re only looking out for you, but it’s important to remember doing something you care about is just as important as earning some sort of money. As we head into a recession it can make us focus on the things that matter in life. When you start to worry about paying bills at the end of every month and wondering how you are going to be able to do this 18 months from now this is when you start to take matters into your own hands. Many people are going self-employed but it’s not just about taking the plunge. It’s important to create a livelihood for yourself that makes you feel happy and it is more difficult in this current climate. But you have to exert some common sense over the situation.

When all of this lifts and life begins to return to some sort of normality there will be financial repercussions. And there are people in the world that will fight for one little job but there are others that will use this trying time to understand what they are made of. It is now time to start crafting a plan.