A Day in the Life of a QC Inspector

When to hire? When you're turning away orders and leads go cold. Start with a part-time assistant. Build to a full team gradually. Hire slowly and invest in training.

The hardest part of the first SOHO year is surviving no-order periods. Cultivate 3-5 potential clients before leaving your job. Save 6 months of expenses. Your first order doesn't need to be big — complete the cycle.

Income fluctuation is part of SOHO life. Diversify across markets and products. Maintain repeat-order clients as your base. Continuously develop new clients. Never rely on one client or market.