​
​Self-employment gives you the freedom to set your own hours and choose your clients. With this freedom, however, comes certain challenges. Leaving the world of 9-5 employment means letting go of a certain degree of security.

It's important to prepare both psychologically and practically for a more independent way of life. In particular, you need to consider certain financial realities. Let's look at the top 5 financial steps to help prepare for the adventure of self-employment:

1. Find the Best Business Structure for Filing Taxes

When you have a job, paying taxes if fairly simple. Taxes are withheld, you file, and you either pay what you owe or receive a refund every year. When you're self-employed, it's a bit more complicated. 

When you become self-employed, the Internal Revenue Service considers you a business. There are actually several types of business structures to choose from. Most freelancers start off as sole proprietors. If you have employees or partners, on the other hand, it may be advantageous to set up a Partnership, Corporation, or Limited Liability Company (LLC). 

If you're not sure which option works best for you, you should consult with an accountant or tax attorney. It's also important to note that as a self-employed individual you should plan to file your taxes quarterly. In fact, not filing quarterly can lead to certain penalties. 

2. Establish Business Credit

As a freelancer, you're in business for yourself. There are several advantages to establishing business bank accounts and establishing business credit. Doing so helps you obtain small business loans and other types of financing. Even if you aren't planning to apply for a loan right now, you may want to at some point.

Business credit can also help you get better terms from suppliers and vendors. There are a few steps to follow when establishing business credit:

• Obtain an employer identification number (EIN), also known as a tax identification number.
• Make sure you have a dedicated address and phone number for your business. If you operate from home, consider renting a virtual office.
• Open up a business checking account. This helps you separate your personal and business expenses, which is useful for taxes as well as keeping your finances in order.
• Apply for a business credit card. 
• Use your line of credit consistently but responsibly. Always pay promptly. This will help you build trust and credibility with customers and suppliers and gradually increase your credit limit. 

3. Obtain the Best Types of Insurance

When you're self-employed, you don't get benefits such as health and other types of insurance. It's now your responsibility to find insurance. The best plan will depend on many factors, such as your age, current state of health, and whether you're single or have a family or dependents. It's important to do your research and find a health insurance plan that meets your needs.  

You may also want to consider other types of insurance. As a freelancer or small business owner, there are several types of insurance worth considering to protect yourself and your property. Any type of business is potentially vulnerable to lawsuits. This is especially a concern if you have a physical business or provide a service that involves working on people's homes or property. However, no one is immune to lawsuits and even digital businesses should research insurance possibilities. 

4. Manage Your Cash Flow

One of the biggest challenges of self-employment is uncertainty. If you're accustomed to receiving a regular paycheck, it can be unsettling to have your weekly and monthly income rise and fall. Some businesses are seasonal and take in more money in the summer or during the holidays.

However, your cash flow can spike at unpredictable times. Many things outside your control can affect business: the general strength of the economy, competition, and industry trends.  When your cash flow varies, it's important to manage your money. 

• When business is good, be careful not to overspend. Create a budget and put aside money for expenses, taxes, and savings. 
• Bill your clients in a way that maximizes cash flow. For long projects, consider milestone payments rather than waiting until the end to get paid. 
• Consider invoice factoring. This is a system where you can get paid up front for invoices. Invoice factoring helps you maintain steady cash flow. You do, however, need established clients in order to become eligible. PayPal now offers a similar type of financing, offering customers cash advances that are paid back out of future earnings. 

5. Prepare for Retirement

It's a disturbing fact that many people are not adequately preparing for retirement. According to a recent study, one in three Americans has less than $5,000 in retirement savings. It's never too early or too late to prepare for retirement. When you have a job, you can arrange to have money taken out of your paycheck and put into a fund such as a 401K. When you're self-employed, it's your responsibility to make your own arrangements.

There are several ways to approach this. You can set up your own retirement account such as an IRA. You can also put money into other types of accounts such as high interest savings, checking, or mutual funds. The important thing is to be consistent about saving for retirement. 

Educate Yourself About Self-Employment

We've covered some of the most important financial considerations for the self-employed. There are many other adjustments you need to make, such as finding the best places to work, managing your time, and marketing your services. You don't need to feel overwhelmed, though. Don't feel you have to figure out everything all at once.

​You may need to consult with certain professionals such as an accountant or attorney if you have specific questions. You may also need to make certain adjustments based on experience. For example, you may start out as a sole proprietor but find it's advantageous to form an LLC or Corporation at some point.

You definitely need to pay closer attention to many financial issues when you work for yourself. Despite these considerations, self-employment is well worth the effort. Being your own boss allows you to create a more independent lifestyle, with much more flexibility and freedom.

The travel industry has gone through some huge changes in recent years. As so much research and booking are done online, travel agencies must engage customers with their website content and on social media, as well as in more traditional ways. The industry is also extremely competitive. If you want to be noticed and reach your target audience you need a strategy. Here are some of the most effective ways to promote your travel agency:

Find or Refine Your Niche

Before the internet, travel agencies were usually fairly broad in scope. Someone would call or walk into the business and book any type of trip or vacation. In the digital age, however, travel has become far more specialized and segmented.

If you want to reach the right audience, you have to identify your niche. If you're having trouble attracting business, one reason might be that you're not sufficiently specialized. You might, of course, have multiple audiences but you should appeal to them separately by criteria such as:

• Destination. Do you specialize in a certain country, city, or region?
• Type of traveler. Are your customers primarily business travelers, adventure travelers, seniors, students, or another demographic?
• Budget. Do you cater to budget travelers, leisure travelers, or those somewhere in the middle?
• Interests or focus. Do you organize trips based on specific interests such as sports (or a particular sport), art, religion, or culture? For example, there are weight loss cruises, foodie and wine tours, and trips for people interested in history, literature, and many other specialties.

If you don't currently have a specialization you should consider finding one (or more than one) so you can create a more segmented marketing plan.

Make the Most of Social Media 

Social media is crucial to promote any business nowadays. However, it's especially advantageous to connect with people on social media sites when you run a travel business. This is true for a number of reasons.

• Travel is an extremely visual business. Seeing photos of a skyline, mountain range, sunset, cruise ship, or elegant hotel room can give your followers the travel bug. 
• People often plan trips spontaneously. Seeing a post or photo can spur the motivation to head somewhere for the weekend.
• Your potential customers may have questions about destinations or modes of travel. Answering queries can help you attract more business not only from those posting the questions but to everyone following the discussion.
• Aside from interacting directly with followers, you can learn a great deal through social listening. This includes following industry trends, discussions about travel, and even your competitors' pages. 
• By posting engaging photos, videos, memes, and other content you can reach more people. Visual content is frequently shared on sites such as Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. 

Be sure to focus on the social media platforms that your target audience uses most. 

Reap the Benefits of a Host Agency

​There are several advantages to working with a host agency.

• Tap into a successful business model that includes marketing tools, expert support, and access to educational resources.
• Earn higher commissions than you could by operating independently. 
• Enjoy greater organization and efficiency. You can manage invoices from a single dashboard.
• If you're just starting out you'll have lower startup costs.
• Use the host's licensing and accreditations.

A host agency can save you time and simplify many areas of your business. 

Offer Add-on Services and Packages

Everyone likes to save money when they travel. People also appreciate learning about events and services that they might not be familiar with. As a travel agent, you can offer more value by connecting your customers with local tours, city passes, favorable rates on car rentals, transfer services, and other benefits. 

The more you can customize offers to the needs of your customers and seek unique services offered in different areas, the better. For example, in large cities with metro systems, travelers often like to get day or week public transportation passes. If there are popular museums, amusement parks, or other attractions see if you can arrange for discounted tickets.

Integrating with GDS systems makes it easy to locate such deals for your customers. You can also connect with local tour groups and business owners to provide your customers with deals and discounts. 

Optimize Your Website 

Even in the social media age, your website is still your digital storefront. This will often be the first impression potential customers get of your business. It's therefore essential to make sure it's engaging, informative, and user-friendly. 

• Use high-quality images. Using engaging photos makes your site more appealing and whets people's appetite for travel. It's best to use original photos rather than stock photos that are found all over the internet. 
• Be informative. This may sound obvious but make sure your website educates prospective customers about the destinations and trips you offer. Maps are always useful. Other information that travelers appreciate include transportation to and from airports, local attractions, packing tips, visa requirements, and any other particulars about a destination. 
• Have a blog. Blogging is a powerful way to build credibility and make your website more SEO-friendly. Blog posts give you the opportunity to reach a wider audience by ranking for keywords that are relevant to your customers. For example, writing a post about "Zipline Tours in Costa Rica" or "The Best Restaurants in Austin, Texas" will help you attract readers who are searching for these places or activities. 
• Connect to social media. Your website and social media pages should complement and link to each other. Make sure you have social media buttons on your website so visitors can easily follow you. Conversely, be sure to link to your web pages and blog posts in your tweets, Facebook posts, and other social media content.

Build an Email List

An email list lets you stay in touch with your customers and inform them about your latest offers. People who travel tend to do it regularly so it's important to do everything you can to attract repeat business. 

• Stay in touch with customers during their trips as well as when they're at home. You can alert travelers to upgrades and extras along the way. 
• Make sure your emails are mobile-friendly as this is how more and more people are opening their messages. Travelers will almost always be using mobile devices to access their email while away from home.
• Segment your email lists. Send information that's targeted to your audience. 
• Provide informative content. If you want to retain your subscribers, you should do more than just send them promotional material. Turn it into a newsletter and highlight destinations, activities, and upcoming events. 
• Use email to promote your other channels. Your email list is another way to send traffic to your website and social media pages. If you don't have enough content to create a long newsletter you can always just write a few lines and link to a blog post. 

These are some proven strategies to help you promote your travel agency. To reach today's travelers, you need to be in tune with their needs. This includes reaching them on social media and on their mobile devices. You also need to provide them with information that helps them find good value as well as find the travel experiences that keep them coming back to you again and again.  
























  

It’s scary taking the first leap into the depth of self-employment without any clue on where to go from there.
The good news is, you’re off to a solid start.

Nothing feels better than being your own boss.
In most fields, you need the infrastructure and support of a reputable corporation to reach anything beyond low-hanging fruit. In the travel industry, things are changing—and if you move now, you can catch the wave.