Be prepared to run every position of your company in the start, from advertising and networking, to financial planning and even the gritty hands on labor work or generally tedious work.
Keep overhead as low as possible for as long as possible. Expect long hours and little pay for a while, at least until you get ahead. Also plan to reinvest the bulk of your profits into your company, and the rest will likely go to living expenses if you even have enough. Hopefully you have some money saved, wouldn't plan on surviving on the revenue generated in the first 6 months.
I haven't gone out on my own yet but I have 2 close friends who have. One recently opened a smart phone repair shop and has been working so much he sleeps at the shop a few times a week. The other has been fabricating on his own for a little over a year now- maybe closer to 2 actually now that I think about it, but he has also been doing side work in which he built up the bulk of his clientele for over 5 years, really all of his adult life. He is moderately successful as far as finding work and generating a steady customer base but he is still reinvesting the bulk of his income on more tools and machines. He probably will be for the next 5 or more years but he can always liquidate so it wouldn't be a total loss were he to flop.
I agree to start slow and don't go too far into the red financially. Make sure you are building good relations with customers as well as other businesses. Competitors don't have to be enemies in all circumstances. best of luck!
Keep overhead as low as possible for as long as possible. Expect long hours and little pay for a while, at least until you get ahead. Also plan to reinvest the bulk of your profits into your company, and the rest will likely go to living expenses if you even have enough. Hopefully you have some money saved, wouldn't plan on surviving on the revenue generated in the first 6 months.
I haven't gone out on my own yet but I have 2 close friends who have. One recently opened a smart phone repair shop and has been working so much he sleeps at the shop a few times a week. The other has been fabricating on his own for a little over a year now- maybe closer to 2 actually now that I think about it, but he has also been doing side work in which he built up the bulk of his clientele for over 5 years, really all of his adult life. He is moderately successful as far as finding work and generating a steady customer base but he is still reinvesting the bulk of his income on more tools and machines. He probably will be for the next 5 or more years but he can always liquidate so it wouldn't be a total loss were he to flop.
I agree to start slow and don't go too far into the red financially. Make sure you are building good relations with customers as well as other businesses. Competitors don't have to be enemies in all circumstances. best of luck!