Going self-employed. Help!

[ExcitedButNervous0424]

I’m just here looking for some advice and guidance please as in a few months time I plan to start working on a self-employed basis and I’m in desperate need of direction. I have posted in various forums in order to get the most traffic as I don’t really know which forum is best suited for this thread.

Anyhow, I work in health care and for the last 8 years or so I have worked in a particular field but after finally being worn down by NHS politics and pressures I resigned from my post last year and I began studying for a qualification to enable me to work in a similar role but in the community and on a self-employed basis. The service will involve me visiting clients in their homes.

I have got my exam in 2 weeks time to get my qualification so I’m now at the point of thinking about the next steps so I am very eager to fear from people who have been through similar experiences.

I know I need to consider:

Marketing
Website set-up
Logo / brand
Uniform
Services / Packages I want to offer
Pricing
Accounting
Insurance

Is there anything else that I’m missing?

It all just seems very overwhelming and I would really appreciate advice and tips from anyone who is either going through the daunting process of starting up on their own, or someone who has been self-employed for a long time and understands the requirements well.

I don’t know anyone who is self employed so I don’t feel like I have a ‘support system’ as such, so virtual guidance would be a real help 😬

Thank you.

Get an accountant, at least for the first couple of years. They will guide you through what is needed, what you can claim, etc

GDPR stuff should be on your list. You will presumably need to register with the ICO as you’ll be dealing with people’s personal data.

What is ICO?

I kind of assumed you might put it into Google if you hadn’t heard of it 🤦🏻‍♀️

You’ve heard of GDPR, surely? You’re going to be dealing with personal data. You need to register as doing that. Go and look up ICO yourself now, because you really need to know about this.

Start here: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/advice-for-small-organisations/checklists/assessment-for-small-business-owners-and-sole-traders/

Well done on taking those first steps! We are in a similar position and maybe a few weeks ahead of where you are now. DH is setting up as self-employed. With regards to a website, I found wix to be fairly straightforward. There is a good YouTube video from 2024 that talks you through the basics. Even if you put something simple together, you can always add to it later. For a logo, business cards and leaflets, I designed it in canva and then used VistaPrint. I won’t lie - it has been really tricky and we are still not there yet. Expect it to feel like you take two steps forward, one back at times. For uniform, see if you have a local supplier (often school uniform suppliers also do workwear). You’ll need public liability insurance but because of the nature of your role, you may need different insurance on top of that. Try to find an accountant who has experience in helping people set up small businesses. They aren’t cheap but may be invaluable for that first year. Good luck!

I’ve been self employed for a few years and was really clueless (still am at times)!

Marketing - if it’s a local thing maybe a facebook place is the best place to advertise. You could do an instagram alongside it. There are now SO many marketing companies adverts that pop up at me on social media, it’s overwhelming. I ignore every one! I think most are probably a con. Yours sounds like something that you just need to get your name out there with people locally then have somewhere to post availability to keep you busy, rather than selling something like me.

Website set-up - mine is an ecommerse store so I have a shopify but think you can use it or godaddy for information pages, you can buy the domain name on either too so you’re ‘allowed’ to call the website that. I would just buy it wherever you’re setting it up, I bought one from go daddy then couldn’t remember the login and can’t find any evidence of it yet I’m paying an annual subscription now

Logo / brand - You could create your own on canva or there are lots of places that will do some options for you though

Pricing - just don’t start off too cheap, you can always run an offer later

Accounting - my BIGGEST piece of advice is to get an accountant before you start anything. You get quite a bit of time after starting before your first set of accounts are due (mine was a year and a half). It makes it easy to lose receipts and not keep track of everything though. It also means you don’t really know how much you’re actually earning as you never fully know what all your costs are.

It’s ultimately cost me hundreds of pounds that I haven’t been able to prove I’ve spent. You can do it yourself but an accountant can save you money. It’s also extremely time consuming, I have no idea how they do it! I now just fill a folder with each month’s receipts and a copy of my income and they do the rest. Set up a business bank account so it’s all separate, I just have a Monzo.

Register as self employed with HMRC
Think about a private pension

Also, whilst you don't have to have a separate bank account, it is easier to do so when it comes to managing your own money/business expenses and accounting/tax returns.

Keep on top of your accounts from the beginning, and do tax returns when they are due rather than waiting until January 31st, so many people do this and the stress and pressure is unbelievable. Easily avoided if you just do it in April when the tax year finishes. Personally I've never used an accountant but I'm confident in doing it myself.

Also one thing that caught me out - you pay a ‘future payment’ (my own made up name for it) in tax every January and June. So last year because I was disorganised my accountant didn’t do the tax return until near the deadline in January. I then owed the tax up til that point, plus they calculate half of that again to be paid there and then (for next year’s) and the other half of that is due in July. If your accounts were done in April you’d have way more notice of this though, for me it was a last minute panic! I have a pot on Monzo to keep my tax money in but I didn’t factor in the future half! I also didn’t factor in student loan. As I was earning over the threshold I owed over a grand in student loan that I had no idea I hadn’t already paid as part of my part time job in what my degree is in

The payment on account that @DiamondSS is talking about is what happens when your tax bill goes over £1000. You should only get caught out once though and another reason why doing your tax return in April rather than January is important.

Good luck. I ran a business for years.

The whole GDPR thing is important, look into that. The most likely thing you’ll need to do is buy some sort of compliant crm (software) to keep people’s details

I never got an accountant and don’t bother until/unless you have premises or staff. Literally had one spreadsheet for money in and another for money out. Keep all receipts and make sure you keep on track from day one. It’s not rocket science.

for marketing, Facebook and Instagram are your local friends. Don’t bother with anything in print media. Though get a few hundred flyers made up through vistaprint or similar.

once up and running get (nice) people to give you online reviews on Google. Sadly you may end up having a horrible person doing a horrible review due to a silly misunderstanding, like I did. This was the worst part of running a business for me - I took it very personally, obviously.

Thank you everyone for all these tips.

I’m such a technophobe when it comes to social media programmes but it looks like I’m going to have to branch into the world of Instagram then 😬

Hi

Congrats on the early steps for your business.

Set up a Google Business profile if you sell a local service

Website - wix or squarespace easiest for a beginner (squarespace is my preference) you can buy the domain name with them

Social media - create yourself some templates in Canva so everything looks the same brand. Use local hashtags. Use local fb groups

Email - try to collect email addresses. You can use the built in features of squarespace or Wix for sending emails

I work with small businesses and marketing is such a huge part of business success now it's really tricky as a whole new skill set to learn.

Message me if you want my Instagram page to follow I do a very practical no nonsense approach

I never did anything on insta but did a lot on Facebook. I think it depends on your target demographic to some extent. Under 30s and anything beauty related- insta is the way to go.

And yes Canva! For your fliers and (online) branding in the first instance.

Yeah that must be it. I had a bad one in January there having to pay my full bill (as the year before was only my first 4 months) and having to pay the future payment plus student loan that I’d forgot I’d owe. My next payment will work out a lot less as itl just be half a tax bill rather than 1 and a half 😅

maybe you don’t need the social media. A good SEO strategy so when people google ‘SERVICE in PLACE’ you’re coming up might be better than spending time on social media. Depends on the business really.

Congratulations on your venture!!
Me and DP set up in 2020. We've managed it really well. Haven't had any hiccups and have learned as we go (it's crazy how fast you pick self employment up and can be fairly simple if you don't overthink)

Some little tips I have from the way we've done things and started out are

Keep all receipts. Every one. Every time you buy something thats work related or you'll use at work - claim for it. A pen, laptop, petrol, a vehicle, the tax/MOT for the vehicle etc - then buy a folder with at least 12 polly pockets, label one for each month and every 1st of the month empty your purse receipts into the folder so they're separated for tax time

Get an accountant who will keep you right on all the legalities of being self employed. Then, when in doubt consult the account(ant)

Apply for your UTR then business bank account when you have your UTR so it is ready to go as soon as you have a client and you're not waiting on paperwork coming though. Also get business insurance on compare (read the fine print) when you have UTR

Set up business email address linked and check you can access it from your personal device if you are locked out

Don't buy everything to start with. Eg you don't need ALL the uniform, just a couple of pieces. Once you have banked a bit of money you can buy more and upgrade etc.
If using your own vehicle you can buy a magnetic of your logo design to stick on while you work

Write out your t&c's so they're ready to go. Make sure you're not overpricing but also never losing out. We only amend our terms in January so have to make sure everything is priced and written as we can't just change it any time

Do some research/get advice on google ads (I don't recommend Yell.com due to contract and not performing) and see if it is beneficial to advertise on there

Get an invoice generator app or play about with the one on Paypal l

I set up my business as a consultant for 25 years after becoming jaded with office politics, endless meetings and poor management.

My aim was to double then triple my salary but work only 3 days weekly. Take off all school holidays and have time for my family and hobbies.

From studying business at school, I knew how to keep accounts, set up record system and I could touch-type - a very valuable skill. I’d just completed an MBA so knew how organisations worked.

Marketing was done by word-of-mouth backed up by a short information pack for those that requested it. I did create a website but didn’t really need it. I agree that for self-employment instagram is enough.

As others have said, get an accountant or a savvy book-keeper for the first 2 years. They will advise you what to claim for use of your home as office, use of your car, and what proportion of your phone etc you can claim. They’ll tell you how to enter capital purchases such as computer etc and how to depreciate it.

After a couple of years, it’s easy to replicate how your tax return has been set up, and how to put together a Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss. If you are VAT registered, they will guide you with this also. When the VAT people wanted to audit my business, my accountant wrote to them stating my VAT was in line with income and expenditure which they accepted. No further audits were requested.

You'll need business cards so have very nice ones made.

Take care when sending invoices that they are correct and state that payment is due immediately or within seven days. A business bank account in your company name is professional.

Keep abreast of what others are charging and charge towards the top of the scale. Quite simply, do things to the highest standard, be extremely well prepared and professional. When you’re self-employed, you might occasionally feel unwell or be tired but no client will sympathise! They want you at your very best so you have to fake it.

Not a hardship when I’m setting off with my dogs the next day for a day in the Scottish hills with my dogs, a whole blissful day in the garden or meeting a friend for lunch.

Good luck - there’s plenty of work out there.

How do you plan to take payment?
Remember to allow for holiday pay and pension, NI etc.
Will you need to pay VAT? If so register for a number.
Are you going to be a sole trader or are you better of as a Ltd company?

Make sure you have a good contract for the services you offer with clear payment terms and deadlines.
Have a clear cancellation policy.
Ensure you know the rules and responsibilities for line working.
If you hope to employ people, do a course on employment law.

Thank you everyone for all your wonderful insights! I have booked an appointment with an Accountant next week so I have made that first step.

I will not have staff, it will just be me and it will stay that way.

With regards to being a sole trader or a Ltd company a few people have asked me this but to be honest I don’t know enough about it to make an informed decision yet. I assume there are positive and negatives to both?

My business will rely a lot on word of mouth and I think my target market is likely to be women in their late 20’s to late 30’s.

With regards to being a sole trader or a Ltd company a few people have asked me this but to be honest I don’t know enough about it to make an informed decision yet. I assume there are positive and negatives to both?
That's why you are seeing the Accountant! Set it up right in the first place and it will save time/money down the line.

I don't think anybody has yet suggested joining groups - industry-specific, small company (eg FSB), entrepreneurs, women-only, etc, etc. It can be lonely being the sole decision-maker so get yourself a network that you can bounce ideas off.

What is your business?

Sorry for the late response.

I plan to work as a community based Lactation Counsellor.

I have arranged to meet an Accountant tomorrow so that step has been made.

I have also booked myself ontraining courses for GDPR, First Aid and Safe Guarding.

I have made contact with businesses who deal with website development and logo creations and I am just waiting to hear back from them.

I’m now looking into Public Liability Insurance as that has been mentioned to me but it’s such a minefield!!