When looking at the organization of other people's businesses, I sometimes think that many think the answer to the question is, "no". The businesses we hear about on the news and in social media are those that have a few employees with the profit to sustain that kind of business structure.
Do you realize that 23 million U.S. business owners have a business structure that includes no employees?
The U.S. Census Bureau calls these types of businesses "non-employer businesses". I am a non-employer business and in some ways therm makes me think my business isn't as important or needed as an "employer business". Maybe it is the use of the prefix "non" in the title. Whatever the reason, I need to remind myself, as you need to remind yourself, that this feeling or opinion is not accurate. A non-employer business is just as relevant and important as other businesses.
About 24% of the non-employer businesses in the United States make $40,000 per year. That is also the median wage for most U.S. wage earners. I don't think that this is a coincidence. If you are one of those businesses, that makes enough money to sustain itself, then I would think that you are well on your way to being a great success.
What does a business have to do to get to the next level; to get to be an employer business? Here are a few tips:
1. Have a plan. You need to get your business organized. If you haven't carved out a plan for your business, then get started now. Develop a plan to structure your business in such a way that growth naturally comes from the work you do. Include marketing needs in the plan.
The plan should also include how to deal with taxes. Don't allow your business to just exist. Let it work for you; take advantage of the tax breaks that a growing business can provide.
2. Take your business seriously. In order to grow from a non-employer business to an employer business, you must take yourself and your business seriously. That means working the hours that need to be worked. Granted, it is nice to get up and walk to your office at the end of the hall without having to change clothes, but are you really taking yourself seriously when you do that? Do you take impromptu vacations or binge watch TV when you could be working?
Set up regular work hours. Get up, get showered, get dressed and walk into your home office just as you would a traditional office. When you take yourself seriously, everyone else around you will, too.
3. Call yourself what you are. I've had some people actually say that I'm not really a freelance writer because I didn't make more than a $1,000 last month. Don't listen to the naysayers. Define yourself. If you are a business owner in a certain niche, then call yourself what you are. Be confident in your skills, tell those around you what you do, offer to help others get to their next level.
4. Network. Who says you have to wait until you are making $50,000 a year before you choose to network with other people working the same business you are. Get out there and meet some other non-employer business owners! The most efficient way to increase your knowledge is to learn from others; from both their mistakes and their successes.
Whatever you do as your business, remember that you are only limited by your imagination. If you have a seed of imagination in your business idea, you are poised for success.
Now get out there and be the best non-employer business you can be!
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