Newbie Freelancer - help needed!

[Mamahotfoot]

Hi there,

I have been unemployed since July '11 after being made redundant by my employer after returning to work following maternity (boo hiss!). I've moved on and am now trying to find work. I have been doing some voluntary work for various charities and as a result have two potential possibilities that could lead to paid work. I never worked freelance before so it feels like a bit of a minefield.

The first is that working with a local sure start centre I spoke to a number of mums and wrote a draft training programme targeting women returning to work after a career break. The manager of the centre was really enthusiastic and would like me to trial the training at her centre. At present she cant pay me but is doing some fundraising and hopes that she could commission me in the future. She has also asked if Id like to help write the funding bid.

The second opportunity is to write some funding bids for a very small new charity being set up by a friend of a friend. Again she has very little money to pay me (or even herself) at present - hence the need of some help. I have heard that some fundraisers work on a no win no fee basis.

My questions are:

1. at what point do I need to register as self employed and what status do I set up under ie sole trader or ltd company - Im worried about registering too early before having any income and then messing up my benefits (JSA) which at present is my only source of £.
2. Does anyone know where I could find a model contract or proforma that I could use to formalise my relationship with the Surestart Centre or the Charity? Where could I get this info from?
3. I dont really know what to charge - I realise to a certain extent I just need to set a price for my time and negotiate. However I wondered if anyone has any advice about how to do this. e.g. I have heard of fundraisers charging 5-10% for a successful bid - does this sound reasonable?

I have tried Business Link for these questions but didn't get the answers that I needed. Im going to try the Law Society helpline this afternoon. Any other source of help or advice would be very welcome. Many thanks in advance for any help that anyone can give!

MHF

Hi

Congrats on finding a new potential income stream. I am a freelancer, not an accountant...but to answer your questions.

1. You have to register when you start trading. Not sure what that means for JSA, I am guessing you won't be able to continue on that and register as self-employed. This link mentions funding/loans for the longer term unemployed. www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Jobseekers/LookingForWork/DG_173931 2)PCG offer various docs on their site - www.pcg.org.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=904&Itemid=1431
2. You need to take into account that as a freelancer you need to pay your own taxes, pension, sick pay etc.

As you might know...in this funding climate I would avoid payment by results. The charity sector is groaning due to public sector cuts and all funding/grant orgs are completely oversubscribed. Your work might be amazing, it might just not be good enough to compete with 300 other applications etc.

I am guessing you are offering your services for free to build up expertise/on the chance they'll convert to paid opps. However, if you are going to have to stop JSA, it is probably worth trying to find other opps that are more likely to pay in the short term?

Anyway, good luck.

HTH
WS

Meant to say re pricing. As you are alluding to, it needs to be affordable for the client, but also workable for you. When I started out I read a book which suggested working out a rate on the assumption you'll only be working on billable work a third of the time. One third will be development and one third admin/accounts etc.

When I worked for a charity we tended to pay anywhere between £400 and £1000 a day for consultant help depending on the expertise. Obv a small localy charity would need/want to pay less.

It could also be worth working out what it would typically cost them to employ a fundraiser of your level. Then add c15% on top for the fact there is no pension payment, employers NI and the general obligations that come with staff. At least that gives you some basis for your calculations.

Hth

You might need to be a bit careful if you are applying for grant funding on a 'no win, no fee basis' because many grants have explicit terms that would prevent the charity from paying you for work done in advance of the grant being awarded. Some clearly say that this includes payment for work to submit the grant.