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Climbing out of your comfort zone is always a big step, but the rewards of setting up as self-employed persuade thousands every year to go it alone. Success however needs a firm foundation, so here are some tips to get you off to a great start.
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8 steps towards
self employment success
1. Plan for perfection
You must treat your self-employment as if you are setting up a business
A good business plan is therefore essential
Write down: what you will be doingwho your target customers
arewho your competitors arehow you will promote
yourselfyour financial plan including
expenses and budget
your five-year goals
If you need to raise money from a bank or investor you’ll need a good plan to show them
2. Brand yourself
Come up with a good business name
Research what your competitors call themselves
Think about what your services will stand for
Think about where your services will sit in your market
Include your business name in your website URL
Include your business name on all your stationery
Open a bank account in your business name
3. Make sure you’re legal
Check whether you need a license or permit to carry out the work you will be doing
If you are doing something like child minding or street trading you will need a local authority license
Alternatively you may need certain qualifications
Make sure you have the right business insurance.Consider: Public liability & professional indemnity
Ensure you conform to any health and safety regulations for your industry
4. Creating a workspace
If you need an office:
where can you afford to rent?don’t forget about business rates is it close to your customer base?does it have all the facilities you need?
If you choose to work from home:
will you need planning permissionwill you still need to pay business rates?get dedicated business contents
insuranceinform your insurance companyfind a supplier for office
furniture/equipmentfind an IT support company
5. Tax obligations
Contact HM Revenue and customs to register your business
Failure to do so within three months of being self-employed could mean a fine of £100
Decide whether you will be a sole trader, partnership or limited company
You will need to complete a tax return every year
Ensure you set aside the right amount of money for tax from your revenue
If your revenue exceeds £64,000 per year, you will need to register for VAT
If you pay out VAT regularly you can register even if your revenue is under £64,000 to claim it back
6. Insurance for your business
You will need to take out business insurance. These are the main covers you should consider:
Public liability – covers you for incidents when a third party is injured or their property damaged as a result of your business activity
Professional indemnity – covers you for professional negligence. It will cover your costs if a client sues because you have given faulty advice or been negligent in your work
Employers’ liability – if you have 1 or more employees in addition to yourself you are legally required to take this cover. It will cover costs if one of your staff becomes ill or is injured at work
7. Balancing your finances
Being self-employed means there are financial issues to consider.
• Do you need start-up capital and if so, how will you get it?
• Who will do your accounting and what software will you need?
• Do you need to do payroll for employees?
• Understand your expense allowances
• Understand your capital allowances
• Manage your sales ledger and balance cash flow by looking into alternative funding such as Factoring
• Keep and update a financial plan to help you stay on track
8. Marketing yourself
It’s no good doing steps 1-7 if no-body knows about your new venture. Here are some simple marketing starter tips:
• Create a website and include examples of your work
• List your website on industry directories and sites
• Make use of old contacts – send them a personal update
• Start an email list
• Make use of social media where it is appropriate
• Get your venture in the local paper
• Get a listing on yell.com, bview.co.uk and any other popular listings sites. The ones that offer reviews are best
About SimplyBusiness.co.uk
SimplyBusiness.co.uk offers businesses of all sizes a way of comparing insurance quotes from a range of insurers, buying the policy and then managing it online.
In support of small business owners, Simply Business also offers a library of business articles covering all aspects of running a company.
Simplybusiness.co.uk also offers invoice finance quotes for businesses that need help balancing cashflow or with late invoice payments.