Are you, or have you ever been, self-employed?

[MacMahon]

What line of work are/were you in?

What was self-employment like? How's it going?

AIBCI to consider it for myself?

Currently self employed cleaner for the last 9 years. Very happy. Hope I never have to go back to being an employee. Love working for myself, by myself, on my own terms.

Should you do it? Depends what you plan to do? Is it a viable business?

Been SE for over a decade, just sublet one business, hoping to sell another and just opened another...it's hard work, we open a business, work a ridiculous amount of hours to get it up to scratch then sit back and let staff run them. But you're never not working, you have to be struct with yourself otherwise you're responding to messages at all hours.

For me though, the benefits outweigh the hard work. I can do school runs, attend school events, holiday when I like, there is no way I could go back to work for someone else. I'm employed by my own Ltd companies so always know my wage

I am now - architect with own practice
I used to be a director at a larger firm but circumstances changed and I made the change to work for myself from an office next to my home. Made the change mainly to give me less commuting and more flexibility.
It's bloody hard work as I now do everything when I used to have staff but get paid significantly less than before - it does however mean I can stop to do pick ups/swimming lessons etc or work more random hours when I am ill (long term disability) which has its own value.
I can also pick and choose clients and projects but that's partly down to a good working reputation but they are smaller scale than I used to do.

@maisiedaisy64 and @CentrifugalBumblePuppy what's the usual payment lag for design work in the UK? In the US I can state a 2 week payment deadline and people for the most part pay it. Some clients are still on 30 day payment terms though. I haven't started taking UK clients yet so I'm interested in planning that out for when I start properly operating in the UK as a business.

As others said, very much depends what you’re thinking of doing. I’ve been entirely freelance since 2015. When I made that decision, I had a regular client who I knew would stay with me and another less regular (but better paying) client who I thought I could work with more often. Broadly speaking, that has worked out as expected. In addition, I’ve added another regular client in the same general field and a reliable once-a-year project that nets a handy bit of extra cash. So that’s gone more or less as planned.

What has been less encouraging is finding new leads outside of my initial client base (all four of the above relate to the same fairly small niche, and all are based overseas). I originally wanted to develop a stronger local base but I’ve been unable to manage that very effectively (COVID didn’t help, but it was a problem before that).

Positives: I’ve had much more time to be a hands-on dad for my 5yo, and helped my wife to get back into work herself. I’ve also enjoyed much more flexibility about when and where I work and absolutely don’t miss commuting. Pre-pandemic I had a nice mix of home-based work and traveling to events, and I’d like to get back to that if possible. During the pandemic, although my income was hit by things closing down, it wasn’t everything. Had I been with a single employer, the last 18 months could have been far more challenging.

Negatives: paperwork, accounts, taxes. It’s not actually all that difficult, but dear God it’s tedious. And the consequences of getting it wrong are huge. Irregular income, because my work is very seasonal and by the end of the off season we’re sometimes feeling the pinch – and you can guess when an unexpected cost drops on me! And time management isn’t always my strength, so that can cause issues.

Advice: if you’re going to do it, plan. If you have a client or two that you can make into a foundation for your own business, that’s a huge help. If you’re starting completely from scratch, plan, plan and plan again. And see what advice is available from business incubators and BIDs in your area. Speaking to people who have started their own businesses, it seems there’s access to a lot of mentoring if you ask around.

Yes for years. I like it really. I’m motivated and find it works for me. It isn’t for everyone . DH finds it baffling not to have someone tell you what to do and “look after” you in terms of unions and pensions.

I agree with others about how much it depends what it is.
Don't go into hospitality 😁

@JingsMahBucket I state 30 days from receipt of invoice. Of my 8 clients, I only have one who breaks that regularly, and most pay within days of getting their invoice. I would expect that if you put 2 weeks payment in your terms most people would adhere to that

I loved it, but the effects of Covid and the IR35 changes took away all business so I have had to go and get a job.

On payments - financial and government outfits tend to pay on time - some others can be awful. I tended to fire clients who can't be bothered to pay on time - they cost so much extra to service.

I was self employed in a consulting capacity in my field (research). It was fine, but I much prefer working with a team and not having the responsibility of also managing a business. But work-life balance is relatively similar in my field for those who are employed. I have been back to being employed for 6-7 years now and I have a lot of flexibility, work from home when I want, etc.

Dh is self-employed (well, technically he is the director of a limited company, but for your question, the distinction isn’t really important). His business makes products for the restaurant and catering industries. He loves it and now also has 4 employees. But it’s something he’s passionate about and he has a background in business and marketing, so knew what he was getting into when he started. It is hard work, there isn’t true division of work from life, but he does have a lot of flexibility. Can do the school runs, be at all activities for dc, etc. Same as me.

I think what matters is that we both have this level of flexibility and independence, and both really enjoy what we do. You have to have a passion and drive for something though, not just want to be self-employed to avoid working for someone else. There’s usually a few hard years of building a business and it has to be something you love.

I used to be a self employed barrister, dealing with criminal cases. It’s an incredibly hard way of life, not for the faint hearted.

I’m really glad I’m now employed in the civil service, even though on paper it’s less money (although in many ways it evens out due to overheads of being self employed, no paid leave, no pension etc)

I was a self employed child minder for about a year. I found the business side of things completely stress free. I stopped doing it as moved area and would have had to start all over again with new customers, so decided to get a job instead at that point.

Yes for years with PAYE jobs at certain times

I much preferred some of it- own hours, wfh which was rare back then, more money for fewer hours

The need to get ad hoc cc got onerous though - as I’d be requested on and off

I switched to ft and got a nanny which made life easier

Then now back to s/e

It can be good

4 years ago I built and now run a dog boarding kennel.
It isn't hard work but is time consuming and it is a massive responsibility looking after people's precious dogs.
Covid was a tough year but we have been busier than ever since July.

I love it and wish we had done it years ago. We would never have been able to afford our rural idyll without the business.
It was a massive risk as we invested about £100k to get it up and running with no guarantee it would be a success.

Yes for most of my adulthood, SE Beauty therapist, then SE pet care services, then SE in construction in various different roles.

It's stressful, but ultimately it's great and I love being my own boss. Slightly less my own boss now because my clients have quite a high expectation, and I'm treated more like an employee. I will eventually become an employee where I am because it will mean my earnings are more consistent. Ultimately last month I made £1000, the month before I earned £5000. I'd prefer to earn a fair bit less as an employee knowing I can count on my wages covering our household expenses each month.

Yes I'm a freelance designer, out of necessity really as I don't live in a location with a great range of creative jobs. It works well for me as it means I can be around for dd, and can pick and choose what work I take on to be flexible around other things.

It is very hard work though, and takes a lot of organisational skills and self-motivation. Ideally I'd like to work for someone else as I think it would be much less stressful.

I’ve been a freelance translator since 2018. I also do a bit of writing on the side. Absolutely love the freedom and I find my job really interesting too.

Pros: freedom, autonomy.

Cons: instability, long hours sometimes. You have to keep your clients happy and sometimes that does mean working evenings/weekends.

It’s a big change from regular employment, I think I took about 2 years to really get used to it.

In terms of me saying more about my business idea, I haven't' got one.

In the past I've dabbled with selling a couple of my skills, but as someone hinted at, I hated the self-promotion side of it.

I find myself now thinking of premises and services. But I know this would be very tying.

It's tempting to claim, "I just don't want to work anymore". But this isn't true. I just want to feel inspired and throw myself in to something. I am very envious of those of you who are in business with a partner. I miss being part of a team like that.

I'm self-employed. Love it.

I've set up a limited company, which is great from a tax perspective and means I can pay employer pension contributions from the business. I also earn much more than I ever did in full time employment in my industry, so I could never go back.

I've been incredibly lucky though, there are lots of self-employed people in my industry who really struggle and live week to week. I was fortunate enough to have on great day rates who will book me for one or two days a week, or four days a month or whatever, so my income is stable. I pay myself the same salary and dividends each month, so I know exactly what my cash-flow will be.

It is a balance though. I work incredibly hard, including evenings and weekends sometimes. I'm hyper productive and quick and responsible - even if that encroaches on my "free time". I can take unlimited holidays - BUT I often end up doing some work while away.

If two of my big clients had to drop me for some reason it would be very worrying and I'd be hustling like mad to plug the gaps.

The admin is a bore, but I have wonderful accountants who are worth their weight in gold, and also provide invoicing software which has made things much easier.

Clients who don't pay on time are infuriating. Fortunately, there's enough of a buffer in the business now that it doesn't affect my income flow. Even if someone is six months late the profits in the business should see me through.

When I was a sole trader on the other hand, one client's entire financial system went to pot and they owed me thousands and thousands of pounds and I was so worried I wouldn't be able to pay my rent. Super stressful,

Whether you should do it really depends on several things.

• what industry are you in (is there demand for the skill or service or product you wish to sell)
• do you have a start up customer base. (I had a couple of clients who wanted me to do work for them alongside my full time job, so I knew I had enough business to scrape by while I built up the rest. I was also well established in my industry and had the contacts to get freelance work straight away).
• how quick / productive are you? (If you're being paid by the job you're limited by the amount you complete. If you do high quality work quickly you'll have more scope to earn).
• how organised are you? How good at admin?
• How much competition is there. Can you pitch yourself well enough to land the good jobs?

Etc etc.

Typo: a couple of clients on great day rates (that should have said)

I have always been self employed. As a dentist you can work in someone else’s practice, sort of sub contracting. I had my own practice for 25years but sold up a couple of years ago. Timing was spot on with Covid. I now work very part time and will retire in a couple of years. I will probably carry on working privately for a few years because I like my job.
Running your own business is like having children, hard work and 24/7. Add in staff, customers and all that entails and it is high stress.
I would start with research into health &safety, regulations that will apply to your product. Financial regulations can be a minefield ie if you offer your product with credit facility.
Make sure you cost everything. Start with how much you want to earn on an hourly basis then add in all your overheads. This will allow you to work out how much profit you need to make. For example if you are planning on making cup cakes for example you may find that after working out everything you may need to charge £5 per cupcake to give you an income of £10 an hour. Don’t forget that you will have to pay vat and tax in advance many new businesses fail after 22 months because they are landed with a big tax bill and they haven’t set aside money for this.

Sorry that should be 12 months.

I am not but my husband and brother are. My husband is a consultant in a specific industry and went from around £45 when working for other people to around £180k self employed. My brother went from working for other people on £30-50k to running his own business on £200k+.

There are added pressures and costs, you have more areas you need to manage, accounts, insurance, regulatory requirements etc. but if you know the job it can often work very well.

Self employed,choreographer.

Love taking care of everything myself.