Hometown Bookkeeping

As a solopreneur, you’re the CEO, chief operating officer, client services lead, and marketing professional, all at the same time. While solopreneurs are typically well-versed in juggling multiple competing priorities, strategic use of freelancers, independent contractors, and technology can all help improve business operational functions.

Take your business to the next level with different business solutions from Hometown Bookkeeping. Reach out today to find out more!

Business Setup

When you’re ready to start a business in Illinois, it’s important to recognize the specific elements of your planning approach to operations. Developing a business and marketing plan can help you identify the type of services you’ll be providing, pinpoint your target audience, and establish a strategy for cultivating clients. This should start with a business entity, and most often, a limited liability company, or LLC. You can do this on your own, or you can connect with Hometown Bookkeeping to help set up your business.

Create an Operating Strategy

Writing a business plan is a good idea, and a necessity if you plan to apply for any type of small business loan. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, a business plan also helps you chart out business operations point-by-point. This includes developing a budget, estimating income and costs, and making determinations about how you’ll differentiate yourself in the marketplace. One of the best features of a business plan is that it acts as a roadmap for how your business operates and evolves. Regularly revisiting your business plan helps you determine if you’re on track, and you can adjust it as necessary to ensure you’re meeting both your short and long-term objectives.

Get Established

Whether you work from a home-based location or open a storefront or a commercial office, getting established before you launch is critical. You’ll need to ensure you have a branding and marketing strategy in place, as well as have essentials like a business license (if required), business bank account, and potentially, liability insurance. If you need inventory, find reputable and reliable vendors or suppliers, and get them lined up. An online presence is also crucial. At a minimum, an interactive website can help you get noticed, a robust social media strategy will help ensure your clients and customers can find you, and stay connected.

Hire Help As Needed

Even though you can juggle a number of tasks on your own, there may come times when you need to bring on someone in a freelance capacity to help with your workload. In fact, hiring someone with skill sets that differ from your own areas of expertise can be highly beneficial. You can find qualified professionals via online job boards, by word of mouth recommendations, and through industry associations. If you hire somebody, put all of your agreements in writing, and make sure that there’s a firm understanding of expectations.

Take Advantage of Technology

You can better manage your time and increase your productivity by utilizing technology to its fullest. This means having appropriate hardware and software, like a laptop or desktop, smartphone, and software programs and applications specific to your industry. This might include cloud-based storage, AI-enabled features, project management programs, and accounting and invoicing software. This can all make your life easier while keeping you organized and on track.

Retain Experts as Necessary

Just as it’s wise to hire freelance staff when you need help with the workload, hire out for specialty services as needed as well. It’s well worth the investment, for instance, to hire a bookkeeping service like Hometown Bookkeeping to help you keep your ledger straight and to assist with payroll, account cleanup and 1099 preparation. Not only can these kinds of pros keep you compliant with the law and reduce the amount of work on your plate, but they’re also experts in the field who can help you stay on the right track.

Working as an entrepreneur means you have numerous responsibilities that only you can manage. Use technology to your advantage and reach out to other professional service providers as necessary to ensure your business operates smoothly.