Who wants to be an entrepreneur? Start here... (and those who are, help here please!?)

[WilfSell]

OK, I was inspired by the 'earn 1k a month working from home' thread, which turned into an inspiring if terrifying 'don't sell yourself short' thread. And wondered if, those of us who might like to work for ourselves but don't currently, could get started here? I aim to keep my job, and perhaps try to move to part-time at some point. I have some business ideas, some good, some over-ambitious, mostly attempts to roll-out my current skills into a private consultancy, not necessarily linked to my existing job (university research/teaching).

I know it is an incredibly tricky time to think about this, and I'm sure it is not easy or comfortable to make a living... But some people manage it, so why shouldn't more of us?

I think the point that you are missing is that HMRC treat 31 March as equivalent to 5 April as explained here so you don't have to do any additional calculations.

well, i didn't know they treatd 31st march and subsequent dates to 5th april as 5th april.

now i do, i can see it makes sense.
(still won't be dong it for me though because it just feels weird - i am a very literal person, so couldn' cope with calling 31st march the 5th april!)

(and it doesn't take much longer - the only months that are split like that are april and march, and Excel works it out for me)

Have read both threads now and would love to join the group.

I'm a freelance copywriter and also have done BTL in the past but no value here now, DH is a s/e accountant and bookkeeper but also does online betting and share trading. We're both part time with young children at home and take turns to work and do childcare. Lots of late nights but worth it.

We're hoping to move to Spain next year and continue working as we do now (not the betting though - can't do this online there, shares still good though) but would like to find something else we can do as well.

Reading this thread it seems lots of people lack and marketing and financial skills but have the business idea - I wonder if we might be able to fill a niche there offering both services to small businesses?

Hello all,

I've just found this thread and managed to read a fair bit of it (and get a few tips and a bit of inspiration already thank you!).

I am just starting up a business from home, primarily creating websites using Wordpress. At least I think that will be my focus but I'm flexible as to how things develop... Basically I have an IT background and want to find my brain again and use the skills that I know are in me somewhere! I live in a fairly rural area so am hoping to do a couple of sites for friends first of all so that I have some sort of portfolio and then I will look at whether to try for more local website work. Realistically I think I will need to get contracts on-line or from further afield eventually, I need to get a bit of confidence back first.

I've no particular questions at the moment - I'm going to a business gateway start-up course next week and am now starting to build my own website so I might be back for advice soon!

Well I never found the gains of having a company at my income level) having to take all the money out of the company alwyas were really worth the hassle and cost of having to have and pay an accountant and the privacy issues - your accounts are then public, your directorship is in the public domain. For me that saving even if your figure is right is not big enough to make me want to do it.
It is annoying in the press though that so many articles talk about people saving tax by having a company and the press completely over look that the money if taxed in the company and then taxed again when you take it out as dividend or salary.

On the VAT issue I did not realise we were talking about the flat rate scheme (don't earn little enough to be allowed to use it). It certainly saves people having to keep all their receipts etc . Obviously some people will lose out if they use it but as you say some can gain if what they can recoup is more than the VAT they have actually paid for purchases.

nc, I always just use 5 April, much simpler and then you are recording income simplky by the tax year.

Interesting letter in today's paper (Times or FT) about the new universal benefit. Apparently you will be allowed to try to get your business going for 12 months before it has any impact on your tax credits I think it says and benefits which will help people having 12 months to get started if they are currently on a low income or benefits.

Xenia these are your decisions and I am not saying there is anything wrong with them as I assume you have looked into the pros and cons - all I am doing is providing some detail so that others can be similarly well informed. The pros of limited company status are often underestimated (in particular the fact that the biggest percentage benefits are for those earning up to £42k - most people assume that Ltd Co status is only for millionaires) and the cons ofter overestimated - for instance you talk about your 'accounts being public' but abbreviated accounts do not show any turnover or profit figure, basically all that has to be published is how much profit has NOT been taken out of the company and how much is in the company bank account.

As for flat rate VAT, I understand that you earn more than the £150k that is the limit for these schemes, but if you have a number of businesses that can be genuinely separated these could be incorporated as separate companies and the threshold would apply to each.

If you mean the letter in the FT from Lord Freud it does appear to say what you said, but I think he didn't mean to say that (if you see what I mean): expect a retraction/clarification shortly.

Thanks, MrAnchovy and Xenia. I would be setting up with one or two others (so not a sole trader incorporating) and we'd be required by the nature of the contracts we would target to provide formal accounting information, so that would have to be done whether Ltd or LLP.

We'd file abbreviated accounts if Ltd (until such time as we weren't exempt, given that we are thinking big on this thread ).

Thanks all for your advice on VAT.

The turnover limit for abbreviated accounts is £6.5 million so you must be thinking REALLY big!

My brain hurts.

I try to manage the tax stuff, I really do. I believe in tax. I don't want to mess it up and get fined. But, it's soooo much easier on PAYE.

Sigh.

PAYE. I took you forgranted for all those years. Sorry.

Well, maybe give it twenty a couple of years!

Me too, Nanky. Trying to work out what to do - register as a company or not, pay VAT or not.

I don't think it will be worth it for me, since I am not going to get anywhere near the VAT threshold by April.

this thread has taken me quite a while to read, but it's fab!

I run my own business, and have done for over 6 years- I didn't set out to become 'an entrepeneur' but had an idea, designed a product, secured a design patent and now it's sold in independent shops all around the UK, and online stores. I've since added a couple of similar products, and although running a business is hard work, I still get a thrill from seeing my idea on shop shelves :-)

That's brilliant betty what's your product

We are trying on the thread to ensure women earn at least £1000 a day 365 days a year if we can so no problems with thinking big.

np, I don't think being outside PAYE is as complicated as it at first seems to people and on the whole you tend to pay less tax (lawfully) so actually it's pretty good and national insurance contributions are lower too.

I agree with MrA that at lower income levels you can pay less tax through a company (and often above that too) even once you have included the cost of an accountant. I suppose my general poitn was that is is not always a huge advantage and particularly if you take every penny you earn out of the company and are then taxed on it yourself it is not a huge difference. The biggest issue is that if what you supply is rubbish and you get sued you are protected if you have a company as only the company is at risk mostly and that is a huge advantage for many people.

I think it depends what you plan to do. If you are pretty sure your turnover may be quite low to start with it is probably not worth the hassle of registering for VAT or forming a company to start with. Then once you know if something is going to go well or not and decide later if you want to change to incorporate a company and/or register for VAT.

I wouldn't start a company to start with.

especially if you don't have any staff or liabilities outside of the normal insurable ones.

It means you're personally liable for any debt, but that's not a problem if you're not making thousands of items in order to hold a huge warehouse of stock.

I am a sole trader and it works perfectly for me.

LaVitaBellissima the first product was the Baby feed Wheel - (a 'new baby' card that has a dial so parents can also use it to keep a note of baby feed times) and I've also added cards to note medicine dose times to the (v small!) range.

Incidently, I started off as a sole trader- as I was bringing something new to market I couldn't really estimate what demand would be and how fast the business would grow. I formed the limited company a year or so later- mainly because I was then producing products in larger quantities, and they were being resold by shops, websites etc so as Xenia mentions above I wanted the protection of a Ltd company (not that my product is in any way rubbish )

nickel I'm not sure "debt" covers "physical items in a warehouse" - I thought it also included if you, the sole trader, are sued! At which point you would be liable for any insane amount a judge awarded!

covers just items in a warehouse

no no, i know, i just couldn't think how to word what i meant.

i have public liability insurance for all sorts of things - personal injury covers a million pounds, i think.

betty - that's a great idea!
does it also do a "left/right boob" ?

Bear in mind that you face potential claims for seven years or even more after selling something, so if you are a sole trader and you decide to stop trading or move into another line of business you need to make sure that you keep insurance cover in place. A limited company can be wound up or left dormant with no assets so you are not at risk from claims. If you are uninsured a claim against you personally does not have to have any real chance of success to cost you time and money defending it - your family's home is on the line.

nickelcognito no, it sadly it doesn't have a left/right indicator (yet?!).
I've really struggled to find something to note left right that looks good and is small enough to fit in the envelope with the card so that it's less than 5mm thick (and so doesn't need a 'large letter' stamp to be posted).
I'm experimenting with mini luggage labels to hook on the pram or dial at the moment, but they are a bit flimsy!