to ask what you do if you are self employed/work at home

[PocketFluff]

In a few threads recently people have talked about being self employed, some only doing a few hours a week, or being able to have a work at home job that fits around the children.

Can I be nosey and ask what it is you do and get a bit of the action myself?

I make pretty good money considering I only work 3 days a week (and barely that when you think of all the household admin and school duties etc that creep in). £20-25K in a year, but it does go up and down a lot and some people pay very, very late. TBH it would be difficult if I was a single parent - the fact that DP has a salary means we can absorb the feast and famine aspects.

Same here EyeOfNewt. DH has a regular salary so mine can fluctuate. I was freelance for 4 years before DD was born - I think I'd feel resentful if I'd gone freelance after having a child, as I do feel my career has stalled. I feel like I work, but I don't have a career - unless I go back in-house I don't have any prospects for promotion. That makes me a bit sad sometimes, but the benefits of flexible self-employment do make up for it!

its not only being in the office, but doing things THE COMPANY way

or having to explain myself. i am so much faster working by myself. decisions which would have to go through 15 people in a normal firm take 2 minutes while im washing up breakfast

I don't think of myself as a freelancer. I think of myself as someone who runs a small business that happens to be from home. I employ a pa and several freelancers myself. I have clients on retainers so the income is reasonable steady though it can sometimes take a while to get paid. And I make a good living which is a bloody good job as I am as single parent. I am out and about at meetings 2 or 3 days a week so never feel like I'm reclusive. Quite the opposite in fact!

Not all people working from home are in a lonely garret as someone else said.

Slow payers are the bane of my life. I'm doing some work for a big corporate just now who are banging on about their CSR in relation to their suppliers and I just want to shout 'just fucking pay us on time.' A. Lot.

Same here, eyeofnewt and dancing.

Consultant architect.

A lot of those who aren't employees earn quite a bit actually. Generally in the UK if you can own the business you tend to be better off not worse off than those paid under PAYE. Plenty of us will also pay others who do work in our businesses. So don't assume all self employed women earn peanuts. Kelly Hoppen is a sole trader and earns a fair bit just to mention one example.

I have a business selling seed subscriptions that I run from home evenings and weekend. I hope/estimate that in its second year (starting today) it will provide me with the same post tax income as my PAYE job and I won't have to live in London/commute to run it, saving £1000s a year.

I work 16 hours a week flexibly promoting walking and cycling to school. I work from home, but go to schools for meetings. I work around the school day and reduce hours in holidays.

I've been free range since having DD 15 1/2 years ago.
DH went free range 15 years ago.
We have no regular income.
Some months we pay off capital on the house, other months we load up the credit card.
But after relying on Tax credits for the first three years now we do not get them at all. And the mortgage finishes in less than a year.
BUT
the work could dry up too ... so we have become very careful with money as there is no salary safety net.

I'm not scraping a living by any means, considering the hours I work. But for me it was partly a lifestyle choice to spend time with DS as he has addition support needs so I'm not going at it full tilt. I think what I do is extremely lucrative in terms of hours available:hours actually worked:hourly rate.

Well im a freelance IT contractor but work 80% of the time on site at clients in London. Only I've lost it with train / underground delays and yesterday have given clients 4 weeks notice. I'm hoping to start my own web design agency locally. Other half is making comments about bills needing paying but the little person is asleep by the time i get home most nights so enough of the commuting malarkey.

Wish me luck please :-)

Good luck sim!

Free range Talkinpeace. ..are you an egg :o

I'm self employed as a Legal PA working from home. Last tax year I earned £9k, this year it'll be closer to £13 as I've got more clients working 3 days and a few hours here or there in the evenings, about 25 a week. Based on what id have paid working in the city 3 days together with train fares I'm much better off the way I am. Only downside is it's a bit lonely working virtually but on the upside I can catch up on TOWIE in my lunch break or put on laundry, etc.

Photographer mainly specialising in babies/children, first days at school, birthday parties etc etc.

Another freelance writer, editor and proofreader. It scares me that there are so many out there, just waiting to pounce on my work if I drop the ball.

Like most I started out in f/t work for a publisher and then went freelance and with a lot of hard work and a side helping of luck I have now found myself a really, really nice niche.

I earn good money and can fit it around childcare. I feel very lucky, but obviously there are things like no sick days, no paid holidays... and to be honest the eternal fear that it's all going to evaporate...!

I write project funding proposals for charities in a specific and quite specialised area. I did it for a charity for about £30 k full time salary, but the commute and childcare meant that I was paying out some £500 per month more than I earned after tax.

I am very ad hoc now.... I quit my job earlier in 2013 and would say I have earned about 9k since... before tax. I also do the admin for DH's business so we can have just a part time bookkeeper.

The freelance thing is not quite working so I am considering returning to study and branching out.

Ditsie, Ignoring your blatant advertising:

My first thought is that no way in hell would I pay £85 for three animal shapes which aren't at an amazing quality. Especially not when I can get something like this:
tinyurl.com/ngbfwy2
For significantly less.

Your shop isn't that old so that won't help, nor would having only one item, the more items you have the better on etsy. You need a shop description and picture. Your product needs a better description (and price!). Your shop name doesn't really make it clear what you do. Your tags are odd ("children's"). Have you got an etsy sellers team in your area? Might be worth joining for local advice, my local team are really good.

Ditsie/newbiemum13 I would agree with what's been said. Your price point is way way off. £85 is a price I'd hesitate at for a piece of art for my living room. I would never in a million years pay it for a picture for a nursery. I would have thought you'd be looking at the £20 mark.

Hi thanks for your advice. I'll have a look at all of those things. I actually thought I was private messaging someone on this forum but clicked the wrong thing (new to mumsnet!) I did then send the other mumsnet member the same message but this time through private messaging-phew!! No idea how you get a post deleted though! Does anyone else know?

If you report yourself MNHQ will delete your post.

I agree with Little RE price mark, £20 at most. You might get slightly more at local craft markets.