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?

How do we manage to juggle everything eh?! Don't forget to add your businesses' free listing to your local Mumsnet website to reach more potential customers in your area! Click on the Find your local Mumsnet site like top right of this page or the Post Code finder right.

I used to be a seamstress and dressmaker, thinking of going back into it.

I have to say, I am working full time and despite being self-employed I couldn't do it without reliable childcare in place. It doesn't necessarily give me more time with the dc's than I had when working full time at university.

However, I combine many aspects of my university role (teaching, examining, research, publication, involvement in current scientific developments) without the politics of academia etc. I like my boss better now too.

I run a events company. I run events, providing advertising on our website and now starting to sell party supplies. I love being self employed :)

OvercomeByGravity I'm intrigued: what does a freelance historian do? Not pinching ideas: I'm trying to set myself up as an operational analyst.

I work from home - part time hours around preschool - doing marketing for local businesses. Have a marketing background obviously!

Divorce solicitor

Work full time from home with full time Child care. But still means I see them more than I would if I had a real job.

Believe I am also unemployable mow

Ah yes, the joys of having been free range for so long that nobody in their right mind would try to coop us back into a full time office.

Then again, being able to juggle our own hours is quite cool.
Inset day tomorrow so we are all off up to London for the day

As my boss and I often joke, we are no longer fit for normal employment.

Overcome that sounds great.

I sell online at the moment - on eBay and Amazon. I also have my own website under construction. I have been "playing" with it for many years (the online selling, not the website) and have also been working part-time in paid employment to keep my income up.

However, at the end of this month, I am leaving my part-time job to dedicate more time & resources to the business. I am due to receive an inheritance which is enabling me to invest both time & money .

It is already profitable in a small way, but I am hoping to make it properly profitable - NMW x 30 hours PW - within a year or so. I already know my market & customers so fingers crossed!

so many interesting jobs, it is amazing how resourceful parents can be to create work!

Like many others on here I am a freelance non-fiction writer, copy editor, proofreader and indexder.

It has taken me a while to build up good contacts but things are starting to look a bit more consistent for me. Totally agree with previous posters who advised prospective editors to find a niche.

Baileys Thanks for your reply.

Just come back from a Christmas Fair and wondered if I shouldn't start to purchase some nice stuff in bulk, and then sell it on...

How do you find "nice stuff" to sell??

(Oh, and I'm not thinking about scarves or jewellery - they're being flogged to death round here...!)

I am a Market Researcher. Started off doing mystery shopping and still do some of that too. Has its down side, but on the whole I love it.

I teach art & craft and life skills

Proofreader

I have a small PR consultancy and work for various different companies - I'm based about 2 hours outside of London - most clients are based in London but only see them once a month/fortnight. Have one child at school now but when she was at home, had childcare 4 days/week - combination of nursery and grandparents!

School pick up is pretty early so make sure I work extra hours in the evenings!

*people will still be self employed but

• they will not get tax credits unless the business is viable (ie taxable profit equivalent to >24 hours at NMW
• they may well be restricted from offsetting losses against other income to reclaim tax

so if they don't make much, the state will not top them up : which I have to admit seems reasonable.*

This will put a lot of small businesses out if business/discourage more from starting up. What is cheaper, topping up through tax credits or JSA for an extended time (as it's not like they'll be able to just walk into a suitable job)

azteccamera snap!

itsallgoingtobe
but if you do not expect your main breadwinner business to make a net profit of
£6.31 x 35 x 52 = £11,557 per year,
then surely the answer is to review the business model

there is nothing to stop people starting a job while still working
or leaning on their other halves while starting up
but a taxable profit of under £12,000 should not be a big ask

Proofreader, translator.

I also buy and resell art.

I run a dogwalking agency, I'm self employed and so are all the others. Fits in brilliantly with school terms/hours, especially as we charge more for services provided outside term time. No more office politics to put up with ever again!

Violinist