Picture by Lonely Planet
This post is for people who depend on themselves entirely for their own income. When an unexpected event occurs leaving you with pain or trauma, it’s difficult to know how you will maintain your business to the same standard you did before the mishap. The below guide has been put together to give you ideas on how to keep your business running, in spite of your injury. The primary purpose of the below tips is to provide you hope that all is not lost following an accident, it will just take some time adapting to get you back on track and maintain your income stream.
Organization
Sit down and look at your diary, future events, tasks to complete, upcoming work projects and write all of these down. Figure out the assignments you are still capable of doing and set these aside. Look at jobs you think you can’t do and try and develop solutions for these. For example, you may have a meeting in a different city you were going to travel to at the end of the month. At the moment your injury might render this as impossible, however, you could implement an alternative solution by requesting a Skype meeting. If the meetings not compulsory, you could rearrange this to a later date when you are feeling better. Once you’ve arranged the tasks you can do and the ones you can adapt to suit you, you should be left with a list things you may not be able to. This is where the next tip steps in.
Delegation
You’re the boss, and with that comes responsibility and power to make decisions, but you don’t have to make every decision on your own. It may be time to put your trust in an employee or to ask for help from a family member. Firstly it’s essential you trust this person to get the jobs you need doing completed to a good standard. If you’re a bit of a control freak, you may need to step back and let go of the reigns for a while to allow your new manager or replacement to find their feet and fulfill your role. For freelancers, this might mean delegating tasks to other freelancers or companies online. You could use sites such as Upwork, Fiverr and Freelancer to advertise jobs. You never know, collaborating with other freelancers could become apart of your business once your injury has healed.
Finances
While you’re unwell, it’s possible that your income stream will not be as lucrative as it was before your injury, which is why you should prepare for this. Now you have organized and delegated your work, you may need to source other areas of potential income to maintain your lifestyle. You have a few options you could consider, this may be asking family for financial support until you’re feeling better. It might mean seeking entitlements from the local authorities, to see if you can gain financial support while you are unable to work. Or you may consider contacting an attorney to gather whether you may be able to claim compensation. For example, if your business is suffering losses as a result of your accident, where perhaps a bus pulled out in front of you and hit your car, you could contact an attorney who will look at this case for you. See gbw.law/personal-injury/mta-bus-accidents/ for a free initial consultation, to find out whether you are owed compensation.
Using the advice above will help give you some ideas on how to keep your business running following an unexpected accidental injury.