If you’re reading this, then there is a reasonably good chance you’re thinking about making money with your own business. No problem, except – do you really want to?

Working for yourself is hard, with longer hours, more responsibility, needing a greater (and wider) knowledge of business, and so forth. Yet despite the extra work, many enjoy it and wouldn’t go back to a nine to five, choosing to remain at their ‘six to ten’ (6am to 10pm, that is). The key? Passion.

If you’re thinking about changing jobs, the one you’re moving to must, well, MOVE you. There are several reasons to pick a business revolving around work you enjoy. Everyone with a hobby knows how easy it is to learn more about that interest, as opposed to other, more general information. It takes a lot of inside knowledge to get to the top of your industry, or at least get noticed – the easier it is to pick up that know-how, the better.

Doing what you love gives you another advantage over other possible jobs. Many self-help and ‘how-to’ guides encourage you to visualize your ultimate destination – extra money, new house, a better lifestyle. While that’s fine, few focus on the trip to get there – enjoying yourself along the way. Considering how few people enjoy their jobs these days, why not spend some time to find out what suits you, before you launch that new career?

As a final thought, enjoying your work acts as a buffer when the going gets tough. Every business has slow days, and it’s unfortunate that the self-employed have the most self-doubts when this point arrives. Doing what you enjoy helps you get through – things may get bad, but ‘AT LEAST I’M DOING WHAT I LOVE!’

So sit down with family and friends, and list what interests you. Focus on your strengths, and narrow down the profitable from the not-so-profitable. And then someday soon, while your friends are talking about what they want to do ‘some day’, you can just sit back and smile!

So you’ve taken the plunge and decided to become your own woman (or man). Now what?

Arguably the timeliest advice I’ve ever read on the subject is to make your job situation work for you while you have it. Two main areas to remember are finances and health care.

While the health care situation differs around the world, many jobs do have some form of medical coverage attached, such as dental, life, or health insurance coverage. While you’re still working is the time to explore options for carrying that coverage over once you’ve left. For instance, my last 9-to-5 job had a life insurance plan that I could continue after work, and retain the same coverage. When I left, I kept it, and avoided having to go through the extra effort (and possible expense) of qualifying for a new policy.

Likewise, consider maximizing your earning power with credit. Now is the time to see about getting a line of credit with your bank, and getting whatever credit cards you qualify for. Avoid company cards, as they can often only be used at one business, and their rates can be higher (an exception is cards for companies you’ll end up buying from for work, like business supply stores). And of course, resist all urges to use them – you may need those empty cards later!

As well, it doesn’t hurt to plan to trim your budget. While you have income, consider cutting down on non-essentials, and putting away the money. This doesn’t have to be painful, but getting used to living on less now will make it easier later, when it may not be optional!

Until you get paid for your work, there’s little difference between self-employed and unemployed. However, you are in the enviable position of knowing when you’re going to be out of a job, letting you make the most of it. Work to manage expenses and build up your safety net, and you’ll find the effort and time was well spent when the day comes to set out your shingle!

It’s 1 am – before you shut off your computer, you check your emails one last time. And wouldn’t you know it, a customer is unhappy. What do you do? The hope of sleep flees away as you consider the options. Welcome to customer support, email style…

Likely from the very beginning of your company email played an important part. However, it isn’t until you’ve gained a few sales, or built up an online presence that the really interesting emails start pouring in. And if you want your company to grow successfully, those are the ones that especially need to be dealt with properly.

Customer support is the lifeblood of any company. An old statistic I heard is that if someone likes your company or product, they may tell about 12 people – but if they don’t like it, expect 18 people to be informed. Whether the numbers are accurate or not, we know ourselves that we’ll tell more people about bad service than good. So always keep this in mind when dealing with people: when a client has an attitude, you can speak your mind, but you’re winning the battle at the expense of losing the war.

This is very important to remember precisely because it is so easy to have bad experiences on the net. One major problem with emails is that the send button is too convenient: emails get written and sent first, and thought about later. Don’t be one of them. No matter how irate and bizarre the email is, you need to reply in a respectful manner. You can be firm when you need to be, but don’t antagonize or irritate.