8 Reasons To Give Self-Employment A Try

Are you thinking about becoming a self-employed professional? The thought of leaving behind the security of a regular job can be daunting for many aspiring entrepreneurs. Being self-employed certainly has its challenges, but if you’re confident of your idea, resourceful, and persistent, then you might have what it takes to grow a successful business. 

You are not alone in wanting to be your own boss. According to Forbes, self employment is exploding in the United states. Many aspiring entrepreneurs want to take the reigns of their future careers and also avoid heading back to the office or manual labor job they have dreaded for years.

If you are still on the fence, here are eight reasons why you should consider self-employment. 

1. You Have The Freedom To Choose Your Work Hours 

Being self-employed gives you the freedom to choose your work hours. You can start as early or as late as you want instead of working fixed hours. While being self-employed allows for more flexibility, it’s important to be disciplined in order to run a successful business. 

Striking a balance between work and life can be challenging, but being self-employed gives you the freedom to take time off when you need to. However, be sure to remain realistic. Self-employment provides many lifestyle benefits that you don’t usually get when you are employed. 

2. You Can Pursue Your Passion 

Successful entrepreneurs are rarely motivated solely by money. More often than not, their business worked because they love what they do, as well as the products and services they sell. They have a genuine drive to make their target market’s lives easier, better, cheaper, or more fun. Being self- employed allows you to pursue your passion and make money at the same time. 

3. You Can Take Advantage Of Tax Benefits 

Self-employed professionals typically pay 13.3% of their income towards Social Security and Medicare instead of the usual 7.65% for employees. As a result, self-employed professionals get to enjoy several tax breaks to encourage continued business operations. 

The IRS allows you to subtract business-related expenses from your revenue, such as meals and entertainment, internet and phone bills, health insurance premiums, home office costs, payroll taxes, transportation expenses, and interest on loans and credit cards. 

Check-in with a tax attorney or consult an accountant when tax time comes to know more about specific deductions. 

4. You Can Enjoy A Higher Income Potential 

When you work for someone else, you receive a fixed salary every month. Running your own business allows you to enjoy a higher income potential. Depending on your productivity, time management, and self-discipline, you can make as much or as little you want. When you’re self-employed, increasing your income potential generally means finding new clients or expanding your market reach. 

5. You Can Maintain A Healthy Work-Life Balance 

Traditional employees don’t often have the luxury of selecting their work hours. When you apply for a job, employers establish set working hours and you’re expected to arrive at a specified time. Self- employment gives you the freedom to work at your own pace and set a schedule that best fits your needs. 

For instance, if you prefer to work afternoons, you can take the mornings off and begin working after lunch. If you’re taking classes during the day, you can adjust your schedule and work during your free time. 

6. You Get To Choose Who You Work With 

Self-employment means you get to be your own boss, and being your own boss means you get to choose the people you work with. You get to screen and hire the people you work with, choose applicants with different skill sets than you so you can grow your business, and work with suppliers and vendors that line up with your objectives. 

7. You Don’t Need To Quit Your Day Job 

Leaving your regular job to pursue self-employment is a risk not many people are willing to take. However, you don’t have to quit your day job to become a self-employed professional. You can set up your business as a side-venture until you’re ready to focus on it full-time. Many self-employed professionals prefer having multiple income streams, so they continue working full-time while managing their business on the side. 

8. You Can Network With Other People 

Working in a company often means you’re working with the same group of people every day. On the other hand, self-employed people need to connect and cultivate professional relationships that will help them grow their businesses. Establishing relationships with other like-minded business owners is a great way to gain knowledge, get fresh ideas, and get career advice and support. You can utilize similar business budget templates with other business owners. 

The Bottom Line On Self Employment

Self-employment provides you with many benefits that you don’t often get when working a 9 to 5. Yes, you need to make sure that you budget effectively to survive and thrive while being self-employed. You have the freedom to work any time, and anywhere you want, choose the people you work with, and increase your income potential while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

10 Project Management Best Practices

Project management is not easy for any projects. It can be chaotic and stressful trying to manage employees, deadlines, and unforseen obstacles. Best practices help when trying to complete these as a PM or PMP. 

Read our below infographic on 10 Project Management Best Practices brought to you by Wrike freelance project management software:

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Freelance Business Plan: How To Write One

One of the mistakes many freelancers commit is failing to realize that they are into a real business. 

And since freelancing is similar to business, freelancers need to have a business plan in place. 

Sadly, most freelancers don’t create a business plan, and they experience a lack of motive, focus, and profits. They think simply being good what they do is enough — BUT IT’S NOT! 

As you are already here, I believe you understand the importance of having a business plan. That’s a great thing for freelancers! 

You may wonder what a freelancing roadmap looks like. 

Stay tuned until the end of this article. I will walk you through every component of a freelance business plan. 

Here are the things you should include in your Freelance Business Plan; 

Marketing Plan 

Under this section, you will give insights into the 4Ps of your freelancer business plan. 

Product / Service: Here, you will reemphasize the freelance services you provide. 

Place: You should document the location where you will offer your freelancing services. 

Price: In this section, you will give your freelance pricing or package details. 

Promotions: This is where you will explain how you would attract prospective clients. Is it going to be cold-calling, Email marketing, Direct messaging, social media platforms, Upwork, LinkedIn, Craig's List, etc.? 

Did you know email marketing is an ideal way to acquire new freelancing leads and retain existing customers? All you need is a healthy email list. You could use an email search tool like GetEmail.io to find emails quickly and accurately. 

Profile Overview 

In the profile overview section, you must include answers to the below two questions: 

• What type of freelance business are you operating? 

• What are your accomplishments in this field so far? 

Here is the significance of these 2 important questions and answers for your new freelancing business.

What Type Of Freelance Business Are You Operating? 

This gives clarity to your target audience on what to expect from you. They will whether you offer the service they are looking for. 

What Accomplishments Have You Achieved To Date? 

Documenting your accomplishments helps you greatly. 

For example, it gives you the confidence that you can do things on your own as a freelancer and that business owners can look up to you for the solution. 

Besides, showcasing your accomplishments will build credibility and help cheer new clients to collaborate with you. 

Industry Analysis 

You will highlight the type of industries you will work with or offer services. 

And also, research the current industry trends to ensure that you have the right skills to fulfill the present industrial needs. 

Customer Analysis 

In this section, you will define the customers you want to serve. 

A good understanding of who your ideal clients are and what they need will help you draw these clients’ attention towards you much more straightforward. 

Team 

The team section is where you will mention the other team members you have or will need in the future to achieve your projects’ goals. 

Financial Plan 

Your freelance financial plan should reveal your profit and loss projections for the next couple of years. 

You can showcase these projections easily using a spreadsheet. 

Final Thoughts On Freelance Business Plans

Armed with the information shared in this article, I believe you would be able to create a business plan for your freelance business. 

As I said before, a freelancer business plan will help you identify your goals and the best strategies to grow your freelance career, showing the best method for you to follow and giving you a clear roadmap to make money freelancing.

How Much Taxes To Pay As An Independent Contractor

It is believed that between 7% and 10% of all workers in America are independent contractors. 

Whether you are freelancing as your full-time job or as a side-gig, being self-employed can make paying taxes more complicated. 

How are you supposed to know how much to set aside for taxes? 

Let's take a look at what you should know about planning for taxes as an independent contractor. 

What Is an Independent Contractor? 

When you work as an independent contractor, you are working for someone else but not as their employee. You are therefore considered self-employed because you are running your own business and taking someone on as a client rather than working for an employer. 

When you work as an employee, someone else determines what will be done and the way it will be done. When you're an independent contractor, you're hired for specific work and paid based on the resulting work. 

Types of Independent Contractor Jobs 

There are a lot of different occupations that could lead to you filling out 1099 taxes. 

Tradespeople are frequently independent contractors. This could mean painters, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, wedding planners, hairstylists, mechanics, and many more. 

Consultants are another group of occupations that are often independent contractors. This refers to advisers in any sector of the economy such as financial, legal, health care, or personal services. 

People who work as artists will often also pay taxes as independent contractors. Whether they are musicians, photographers, writers, sculptors, glass cutters, or woodworkers, they are seen as having and running their own business. 

People who work in the gig economy are also frequently going to file independent contractor taxes. No matter what job you work, it is important to understand whether or not you're an employee or a sole proprietor, as it impacts how much you pay in taxes. 

What Is a Sole Proprietor? 

A sole proprietor is a business with a single-owner that isn't a corporation. If you are an independent contractor, you will be considered a sole proprietor when it comes time to pay your income taxes. 

Does Being an Independent Contractor Affect My Pay? 

When you are an independent contractor, you still get paid for your work but not in wages or a salary. Rather, your payments are taken out of the business's income. When you get paid for your work, the money goes into a business checking account. 

Since you are an owner and not an employee, you can take money out in the form of a "draw" but not in the form of a salary. You must pay taxes on all of the money you make, it doesn't matter how much you draw out of this account. 

Since you aren't an employee of another company, taxes haven't been deducted out of the money you receive for your work. Whereas for another job you might even get a tax refund come tax time, as a freelancer you're responsible for paying your own self-employment taxes. 

Saving for Taxes as an Independent Contractor 

The best way to save taxes for freelancers is to actually have the IRS do it for you. Every three months, you should be sending estimated quarterly payments to the IRS. This way, you're basically paying your taxes as the year goes along, the same way you would if you were employed by a company. 

The IRS can apply penalties if you don't pay quarterly taxes by the due dates each year. Paying quarterly also avoids having a big terrible surprise once a year come tax seasons. 

How Much to Set Aside For Taxes as a Freelancer? 

The recommended percentage to set aside for independent contractor taxes is 25-30% of your income. If this sounds high, it is because you're paying self-employment tax on top of income tax. The self-employment tax is the FICA taxes, which is the Social Security and Medicare normally withheld from your paycheck. 

When you are employed, you are only responsible for half of these FICA taxes while your employer is responsible for the other half. When you work for yourself, you've got to fit the whole bill. 

How to Calculate Your Income 

While this all might sound like a lot, don't forget that you can deduct the costs associated with running your business from your freelance taxes. When tax time rolls around, you will fill out a Schedule C form that documents your business expenses. You will be able to subtract your deductible expenses from your income, leaving you with your taxable income. 

The best way to do this is to keep track of your deductible expenses as the year goes on. Things that are deductible include travel expenses, office supplies, maintaining an office, and miles driven for business purposes. 

If this is only your first year freelancing, you will have to estimate taxes. It is best to estimate your income on the low side rather than too high with the IRS, but you can always make an adjustment the following quarter or year. 

Are you employed after all? Check out this salary calculator. 

How Much to Set Aside For Taxes: Final Thoughts 

There are a lot of advantages to working as an independent contractor as well as a lot of disadvantages. The tax situation is definitely on the 'cons' side of the list. 

If you value being your own boss and being in control of your own schedule, however, dealing with slightly more complicated and more expensive taxes can be worth it. It is just important that you understand how freelance taxes differ from employee taxes so that you aren't caught by surprise come tax season. 

Did you find this article about how much to set aside for taxes helpful? If so, be sure to check out the rest of our blog for more useful and informative articles!

Make Money Working For Yourself - How To Be Self Employed

Did you know that almost 30% of Americans are self employed in our current economy? There are plenty of reasons why people choose to be self employed even after years of working for someone else. If you have been looking into working for yourself, we put this post together to teach you how to be self employed. 

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about becoming self-employed. 

Make The Decision 

Before you can become self employed, you have to make the decision that you will be working for yourself. This might feel strange at first especially if you are used to being an employee and working for someone. 

When you make this decision you have to realize that you are the person that will have the final say on everything. You are the only one that can make the decision that you want to do it. 

What Is Your Niche? 

Next, you will have to choose what niche you want to work in. As a self employed person you can't afford to be in the business of everything like Google. You simply will not have the global reach that bigger companies have. 

Take the time to pick a specific niche that you are interested in. Ask questions such as "what will your product or service solve?" and "What kind of knowledge do you already have in this niche?" 

The goal is to get as specific as possible about what you plan to do. Being specific will give you more options because you will be able to focus on one piece of the market instead of spreading yourself thin. This will also help you identify your target market easily. 

Your Target Market 

Once you have your niche figured out, you want to get very specific on who you want to serve with your product or service. No one can truly serve everyone and trying to serve anyone that can benefit from what you have to offer will not give you any actionable insight into who your target market is. 

You want to have a specific solution for a specific set of people. Figure out who these people are, what they care about, and where they work. The more specific you are, the better you can serve the market. 

Finances 

Most businesses will require you to invest some type of money. You have to get your finances in order if you want to save yourself headaches in the future when it comes to managing your money. 

If you do not have experience when it comes to accounting then look for an accountant that is familiar with your niche and your line of business. We do not recommend you take the DIY approach unless you understand the ins and outs that come with accounting and bookkeeping. 

It is up to you to understand your business' finances and to monitor them. Even if you hire an accountant, you do not want to be in complete denial about the finances in your business. 

Take Care Of Legalities 

Next up is all of the legalities that come with being self employed. You will need to learn more about setting up business insurance to make sure that you are covered in case of any situation. This is also the time to decide how you will structure your business. 

Will you structure it as an LLC or as a sole proprietorship? Do you need any special permits or special licenses in order to run your business? 

Invest In Systems 

You want to figure out the systems that you will need in order to run your business effectively. If something looks like it would work, test it out to make sure that it is a good fit. When you are trying a new system, go into it with an open mind just because you are trying it does not mean that you are stuck with it long term. 

Look for systems that will help you stay on top of your day-to-day details. You also want system to bill your clients and to keep track of your losses and profits. Without the right systems in place, you will eventually become disorganized and overwhelmed. 

The correct systems will help you run everything like a well-oiled machine. Keep in mind that as you grow you might have to use new systems and change how you take care of things such as invoicing or emailing customers. The more organized you are in the beginning, the better it will be in the long run to not lose track of any important information. 

Market Your Business 

In order to stay in business, you will need to get the word out about it. You won't be able to attract customers if no one knows your business exists. This will be an ongoing process and there are endless ways to do it. 

In this digital age, you want to dive into content marketing, social media marketing, direct mail, SEO, etc. The more you market your business the easier it will be to stay in profits, which is the reason that most people get into business. 

Now You Know About How To Be Self Employed 

Although not everyone was born to work for themselves, many people are and they become very successful at it. If you too have the entrepreneur spirit now you know how to be self employed and can start taking action towards this journey. 

Did our blog post on how to become self-employed help you today? Visit the Business section of our Frugal Finance Blog to learn more about entrepreneurship. Please come back soon to never miss our latest, subscribe today!

Be Your Own Boss Today: 5 Ways To Find Projects As A Freelancer

Freelancing in the Philippines, especially after years of working for a regular salary, can be quite a refreshing and liberating experience. After all, it gets rid of nearly all of your daily work annoyances: the tiring daily commutes, the office politics, the gossip mongering co-workers, and so on. Moreover, as a freelancer, you’re more in control of your own schedule and time, allowing you to truly work at your own pace. All this leaves you a lot more free time to relax and to enjoy things with your loved ones. 

That being said, freelancing does have its fair share of challenges, and these include finding new projects to do after you’ve finished your previous assignments. It can be tough to do so, moreso if you’ve only started freelancing and your name hasn’t quite circulated the freelancing market yet. This could prove to be quite stressful. After all, your income relies on you finding a steady supply of projects to pay the bills with. 

Thankfully, there are ways to get through this tough challenge. To help you get started, we’re listing some tried-and-tested ways to find projects as a freelancing professional. 

Join One Of The Many Online Freelance Platforms 

Just like how you can find listings for literally everything online—from second-hand furniture and toys to sweet delicacies and pieces of art—so too can you find freelancing platforms that can either connect you to someone in need of your skills, or give you a list of projects to choose from. Just make sure to pick a reputable Filipino freelance platform because otherwise, you may find yourself inundated with bogus projects or fraudulent job requests. 

Do Temporary Pro-Bono Or Volunteer Work 

If you’ve just started out and you literally have no experience or network of contacts to fall back on, then one thing you can try out in a limited fashion is to do pro-bono work—essentially working for free. While this means zero—or in fact negative—income, especially if your type of work involves a lot of time and hard work, you are getting your name out there, and in a way that can really attract new clients and projects if you do an absolutely stellar job. 

One way to ensure that you’ll put out your best is to offer your services to an establishment or organization that you’re truly passionate about, ideally one that also needs help from volunteers and good samaritans. It can be your local community paper or even a charity organization such as an orphanage or an animal shelter. If you do an absolutely bang-up job of it, not only will you have something to put in your portfolio, but the people you worked for will strongly consider working with you again in the future for paid engagements. They could even set you up with people in their network who can provide you projects in the future. 

Promote Yourself On Social Media 

Another way to get new projects is to put yourself out there on social media. Yes, we Filipinos have that tendency to shy away from promoting ourselves, but self-promotion is one of the main features of social media, and as such, it’d be such a waste not to take advantage of it! Consider promoting your work using an account that is separate from your personal one, though. You don’t want your prospective employer to have to sift through all of your personal posts just to see what you’re capable of. 

Be Proactive In Making New Connections 

Just as you have to get over your shyness when it comes to promoting yourself online, you also have to do the same thing offline—that is, you shouldn’t be afraid of being proactive during networking events to make connections. You don’t need to completely change your personality and become an overbearing, self-aggrandizing nag; rather you just need to be more assertive in making connections and telling people about what you do and what you’re capable of. 

Hand out more business cards, and be more comfortable bringing up your work or talents when the conversation calls for it. Developing positive relationships with everyone you meet, even if it may not seem that it’ll benefit you in the long or short term, can help expand your professional network and put your name in the forefront of people’s minds. 

Work On Your Portfolio, And Make It As Professional As You Can 

Finally, fix up your portfolio, and make it look as best as you possibly can. Your portfolio should not only be a compilation of your best work, it should also truly exemplify what you’re capable of as a freelancer. It should also be easy to understand, browse through, and appreciate. This will highlight your consideration and attention to detail when it comes to your client’s needs. After all, it’s the document that can sometimes tip the scales to your favor, especially when you’re lacking experience or clout in the freelancing world. 

When You Build Yourself Up As A Great Freelancer, The Projects Will Come 

Freelancing is a liberating experience for anyone who’s been worn down by the regular 9-to-5 desk jockey position. However, those who just starting out may experience a drought of new projects to work on, which can be an unbearable source of stress. If you find yourself in the same plight, then take into consideration the tips listed above. Hopefully, you’ll be able to attract your own share of projects very soon. Good luck, freelancer!