In a time when the way business is done has become more fluent, you can get creative with the ways you earn a living. Working a desk job from 9 to 5 is becoming more obsolete, especially for the newer generations. Working as a freelancer, starting your own business, and working from home are becoming more normal as more opportunities are available.
You might be from a generation where the average way of earning a good living was to first get a proper degree followed by finding a full-time job at a large corporation. This is still a valid way of building a successful business life in Nigeria, but for more and more people, the flexible life of working as a freelancer or having one’s own business is becoming more attractive, as part of modern life.
If you are already working in a full-time job and you do not have the courage to let it go just yet, even though you are not fulfilled, here are some ideas for how you can slowly transition to the freelancing or independent business owner’s life. You can keep your day job while exploring other options after hours.
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Create a webshop
If you want to get into the life of running your own business, then a good way to start and gain loads of experience is by starting a webshop. Running a webshop is like being a good old merchant – except it is online. Having it online is convenient for you, and your customers, as you do not have the hassle of finding and keeping up a physical location.
Webshops, however, differ from each other a lot, and you will need to decide what you want to specialize in. You will also need a name, to choose a proper business name for your shop, you can either brainstorm some ideas or simply use a business name generator that presents name options for you. It is an important task, as the name reflects the type of shop you are providing the customer with. A name can say a lot about a business, so choosing the right one to attract the right customers is vital. This is the customer’s first impression of you and should also tell visitors something about what you are selling or how you are doing it.
Online freelancing tasks
If you do not have the time to start up a webshop, then finding a freelancing job could work better for you, alongside your full-time job. The world is becoming increasingly more globalized, which means that more people need to communicate with each other, and large companies will need assistance in translating communicative material to a local language. That is where you come in.
Apply for an online platform that translates and localizes texts to start earning a bit of extra money. Visual material is also becoming more widespread and useful for a lot of companies, so if you have a photographer in you, go out and take some sharp photos to sell online as stock photos.
Use protection
Working online and living a digital life in any regard, means that you are more vulnerable to hacking. Every job has a risk, and when you work online, you need to protect yourself and your potential business with complex passwords. There can be a lot of passwords to keep track of, so it might be helpful for you to use a password-managing application.
Watch and learn
When you want to succeed in an area, it is helpful to see how others have done it. So, if you are unsure of what type of business to get into, whether you even want to work for yourself then read about how other successful Nigerians have built their business. Perhaps being a business owner is not for you. It is all about finding the right path and area to work within, whether that means working for a corporation or being your own boss.
