If you are a Solopreneur, it can be difficult to stay afloat, especially in your first few years of business. However, with a little assistance from technology and freelance workers, you can become more productive and your business can flourish.
Get Organized
The organization is essential when you are doing it on your own. Use technology tools and productivity apps to keep track of to-do lists, appointments, deadlines, and other important information. Google Calendar and ToDoist are both popular tools that can organize your day and help increase your productivity. You can also use Dropbox to save documents, your banking software to automatically pay bills, collaboration tools like Asana to share projects with clients, and so on.
Buy the Right Phone
Speaking of apps, it’s vital that a sole proprietor has a reliable smartphone and service provider. In addition to using apps, your phone allows you to return messages from clients promptly, take high-quality photos of products for your website or social media accounts, and email newsletters, proposals, and other important documents. If you’re ready to go top-of-the-line and love Apple products, now is the time to look into the new iPhone 11 Pro Max, which boasts significant battery life and tons of useful features, in addition to an upgraded camera system. Not an Apple fan? Pick one of the latest Androids, such as the Huawei Mate 30 Pro or Google Pixel 4, instead. Use goal-setting apps to stay focused on your business aspirations and set daily or weekly reminders to keep you on track.
Embrace Social Media
According to Hootsuite, 45% of the world’s population uses social media platforms. That’s 3.48 billion people. Therefore, if you want to grow your business, you need to be on social media, too. Social media sites can help build awareness about your business and boost your visibility to a wide audience of potential customers. With the right social media strategy, you can build your company’s brand by communicating authority and showing authenticity on social platforms. You can also provide support to clients, answer customers’ questions, network with potential partners, and increase your sales.
Outsource Tasks
If you are ready to scale up but don’t want the overhead of full-time employees, you can hire freelancers instead. Because today so many people are doing freelance work, you can find workers with very specialized skills suited to your needs. A recent study indicates that by 2027, freelancers will account for the majority of the workforce in the United States. And thanks to job banks and talent-pairing platforms, you can easily connect with these abundant, available workers.
Hiring freelancers can be cost-effective for your company too. You don’t have to provide benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, sick days and paid vacation time. You also don’t have to pay for workers’ compensation and disability insurance or pay the employer portion of Medicare and Social Security taxes. Freelancers can take on almost any task including social media management, customer service, web development, accounting, advertising, project management, and just about anything else you might need. You can hire freelancers on contract for short-term work or by the project, allowing you flexibility depending on the demands and cycles of your business.
Running a successful business on your own isn’t easy. However, by embracing technology, social media, and the gig economy, you can become more productive and grow your business in a cost-effective manner.
