Finance for self-employed: tips to take care of your income

Keep up with market changes

Essential for any professional, people who work autonomously need to be always connected to what is happening in the economic scenario in order to adequately prepare for events that may impact their business.

The income of self-employed professionals tends to show variability over the months, so it is important to develop an analytical view of what is happening to the economy to identify important changes in both the short and long term .

Create special promotions

Self-employed workers need to beware of the classic pitfall of offering deep discounts to win a customer on price, without worrying about adequate compensation to pay for their work. Even freelancers who provide services and basically charge by the hour, it is important to know how much your time, effort and knowledge is worth.

In the same way that it is necessary to work out a sales value that covers all your costs and is still capable of generating a financial gain , considering promotions and special offers can help you earn an income in some situations. Once again, the importance of following market movements is clear, especially in adverse situations, so that you can maintain competitive prices and avoid losing customers.

Still using the context of the coronavirus as an example, it may be that a reduction in your prices or the offering of special benefits in some of your offers will help to guarantee the maintenance of business. Obviously it’s better to lower prices and still have some revenue than to maintain the values ​​and not earn anything, but don’t forget that this is an exception , not the rule that should guide your work.

Organize your finances well

When you act as a self-employed professional, organization is a fundamental aspect of your work routine. Not only is it important to take care of your personal organization, but especially the organization of your financial life.

To help you with this task, there are several platforms and practices to organize your personal finances and maintain financial health, and the important thing is to find the option that makes the most sense for you and pay attention to this matter.

It doesn’t matter if you’re going to use a specific application or control everything in a spreadsheet, for example, but be sure to carefully monitor how much money is coming in and how much is going out, as well as how you’re spending that money. Even if it seems basic, having this kind of financial discipline helps you classify what expenses are really necessary and also identify unnecessary expenses that can be cut and increase your earnings.

Build a strategic reserve

Not only is it important for all of us as individuals to have a financial reserve for situations of need, self-employed professionals must also take this kind of precaution for their business activities.

Dedicate a portion of your time to the financial planning of your operation. Keep a historical record of income, expenses, deadlines and other important information and, based on your specific needs, dedicate part of your billing to a financial fund to be accessed in case of emergency.

As much as we are very careful in planning our activities, there are times when everything can turn upside down and get out of our control, and once again the coronavirus is a great example of this type of situation.

Prepare for the worst case scenario. How long can your business sustain itself if you don’t have any revenue for some period? Have all your fixed financial commitments at your fingertips and build a security reserve that will sustain your business for six months or even a year. As the old saying goes: prevention is better than cure .

In addition to this type of reservation allowing you to maintain financial sustainability in difficult times, the habit of keeping some money saved allows you to also invest in possible opportunities , such as an important trip or even a course or equipment that are at special prices.