Self employment!!!

[wrwarren112233]

I'm self employed and find the hardest part is getting work!!
Are any of you lads and lasses self employed?

What do you find the best method of getting work is. Except word of mouth. I get that already. But I want to drive it further.

 

[AUFred]

I have been self employed for 25 years. Word of mouth has served me well. My business is a service business not a hard product that you put on a shelf.

 

[Joe the meek]

I'm self employed and find the hardest part is getting work!!
Are any of you lads and lasses self employed?

Sincere questions…

1 - What type of work do you do?

2 - Exactly what is your cost of doing business in a percentage compared to your annual sales?

3 - What percentage of sales do you include in your job costs strictly for marketing, and how does that affect your gross profit on the sale of your service?

These are questions you should have the answers to if your a business owner and want to grow IMO.

You can find all the work you want and take all the market share you want, but if you don't make money doing it, sooner or later you will be out of business.

 

[wrwarren112233]

Sincere questions…

1 - What type of work do you do?

2 - Exactly what is your cost of doing business in a percentage compared to your annual sales?

3 - What percentage of sales do you include in your job costs strictly for marketing, and how does that affect your gross profit on the sale of your service?

These are questions you should have the answers to if your a business owner and want to grow IMO.

You can find all the work you want and take all the market share you want, but if you don't make money doing it, sooner or later you will be out of business.

Oh I make money.
I'm just after more of it! I'm just spending all my time in the business rather than the business.
I was wondering if people find leaflets work or paper adds? I use free media for all my work and word of mouth.

I do carpet and tile floor cleaning and general cleaning.

 

[Joe the meek]

I'm looking at my social security statement that just came in the mail the other day. 1978 was the first year the government has me on record making money. I made $557 and I was going to high school, and I had little overhead because I still lived at home with my parents.

I didn't ask if you made money. I made money in 1980. I asked what was your was your cost of doing business in a percentage compared to your annual sales.

If you do carpet and tile floor cleaning and general cleaning, what is the mix between residential and commercial work? Who are you trying to target for your business / market?

 

[The Man]

I'm self employed and find the hardest part is getting work!!
Are any of you lads and lasses self employed?

What do you find the best method of getting work is. Except word of mouth. I get that already. But I want to drive it further.

Ads..but word of mouth is best

 

[MLNewkirk]

I find that word of mouth works best for me. I also found Facebook and Instagram to be very useful. I offer private music lessons in the homes of my students and whenever a new student starts lessons with me I have their parents sign a contract agreement. In the contract there is section asking whether or not it is ok to post pictures and videos of their kids on my Facebook and Instagram accounts and you'd be surprise how many of them are actually ok with that. Many of my students' parents also become friends with me on Facebook or follow me on Instagram so I tag them. It's through the tags that I end up with more students because their friends and family sees what their kids are doing and they want their kids to do the same thing.

 

[MisterRay97]

You can try putting a banner in front of your home/office stating your work. I also suggest you to create a Facebook page and share it. You can also get some posters printed and paste them on walls in your neighbourhood (something like 'missing' posters, but advertising your business instead). Make sure those posters contain your phone number or email. I'm not self-employed, but I've seen a few people doing this and getting sales. In fact, I bought my current broadband connection seeing a poster pasted on a wall near my home!

 

[LitoLawless]

I'm a freelance music journalist and I can honestly say that finding work is the hardest part about most self-employment. There are times where you flourish, and times when you are in a "dry spell" of sorts. I think it's that way it is with most self-employment.

 

[Springtime]

I am a freelancer. I mostly get my jobs through word of mouth and referral. Other than that, I also post my profile on LinkedIn, and join trade associations for networking.

 

[Stardom22]

For me I have gave up the work of looking for job in my country. I would consider looking for a passport and fly abroad for work.

 

[Urvashi]

I think it is easier to get jobs as a self employed individual but the most difficult part would be consistently get enough jobs to pay bills.

 

[AUFred]

Being self-employed for 32 years, cash flow was always a concern. Slow pay customers were the worst.

 

[Lolita]

I don’t think it is possible to pay bills with self employment, I believe it is a difficult career choice

 

[Nomad]

I am a self employed individual and I have been self employed for the last 10 years