Greator

Incorporation: These 6 mistakes could cost you your livelihood

Reading time 3 minutes
Incorporation: These 6 mistakes could cost you your livelihood

As beautiful as self-employment is: There are fatal mistakes that can cost you your existence - and they don't necessarily have to be of a legal or tax nature. On the contrary, these mistakes usually creep unconsciously into your daily work routine and endanger your business without you noticing. And because the devil is often in the details, today we would like to show you six stumbling blocks that you should definitely watch out for as a self-employed person.

Mistake 1: You have no positioning

Defining the right target group and positioning yourself cleverly on the market are important levers for a profitable business. You could also say: The Positioning is the linchpin of your marketing. How else are you going to stand out from the competition? How are potential customers supposed to know that they've come to the right place?

If you're familiar with the subject Positioning have not yet dealt with, we have exactly the right thing for you: a Free Online SeminarIt will help you to find the right niche, attract customers magnetically and enforce your prices. Be sure to check it out! Afterwards, you'll be armed with new knowledge that will help you avoid the first mistake. to avoid.

Mistake 2: Your prices are too low

Speaking of prices and mistakes, the second trap that many self-employed people fall into at the start of their business is selling themselves short. Whether you work on an hourly, daily or fixed rate basis, your pricing should be well thought out and never set too low. Compared to a permanent position, you will incur significantly higher costs: For example, you will pay the full amount of social security contributions (unemployment insurance, statutory health insurance, nursing care insurance, pension insurance and accident insurance). In addition, there is trade tax and individual company insurance. That can add up quite a bit.

Also, during your vacation and sick time, you probably won't generate any revenue - unless you have an automated Business model with passive income. Also remember that your prices are interpreted as a measure of quality. Therefore, don't base your prices solely on your working hours, but also on customer value.

Mistake 3: You neglect acquisition

Your self-employment stands and falls with your order situation. If you acquire new customers only after the end of a project, you might have idle times without income. Therefore, already acquire new customers during a project or make sure that a follow-up order comes about. It's also worth building up a network or finding business partners with whom you can work on a long-term basis.

Mistake 4: You put up with everything

There are customers with whom cooperation is slow and not very harmonious. If you despair of communication, your invoices are not paid in full or on time, or a customer always demands more than originally agreed, then you should reconsider the cooperation. Remember: You don't have to put up with everything. Signal clearly if you feel taken advantage of or treated badly. As a self-employed person, you almost always have the good fortune to be able to choose your clients yourself and to refuse orders.

Mistake 5: You do everything yourself

As a self-employed person, you probably do everything yourself - from A for "acquisition" to Z for "monitoring incoming payments". In the process, it can happen that your actual core activity comes up short. To avoid this mistake, you should make sure right from the start that tasks that cost you a lot of time and do not generate any revenue are taken over by experts (e.g. a tax consultant) or temporary staff (e.g. a virtual assistant). You can find detailed tips on this in our magazine article "Self-organisation: Why you need to hand over tasks".

Mistake 6: You don't give yourself time off.

As a founder, you always have the feeling that you have to step on the gas even more - after all, it's called "self and constantly", isn't it? That's why the working weeks of most self-employed people are very long and breaks often come too short. If you allow yourself too little time off, however, it will be at the expense of your creativity and efficiency.

So in the long run, it's much smarter to stick to taking breaks and letting work be work sometimes. After all, you decided to become self-employed for a reason: You wanted to be flexible and manage your own day-to-day life. So make use of this privilege and take care of yourself and your health. Because only if you stay fit and motivated, you will be able to work permanently. be successful and avoid the six mistakes that could cost you your livelihood.

Are you already in?

GREATOR FESTIVAL 2024

Experience Europe's largest festival for personal development, fulfillment, business success and sustainability LIVE in Cologne! You can expect +150 speakers +10,000 participants +6 stages 
SECURE TICKET NOW

FREE WORKBOOK

10 Business Coaching Tips for Your Career

You want to get to the next level in your job faster?

Then get 10 free tips to help you succeed in management and leadership now!
REQUEST NOW FREE OF CHARGE
Reviewed by Dr. med. Stefan Frädrich

Like this article? Don't forget to share!

Recommended by Greator

GREATOR MAGAZINE
Greator SloganGreator Awards
Helpcenter
Imprint
Data privacy
GTC
Cookie settings
© copyright by Greator 2024
chevron-down