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?

Hi all, been catching up with RL job so missed much of this, but brilliant so many people are delurking.

And perhaps slight apologies for my PMT narky post about ads. I think everyone here should promote themselves a bit, but that post just looked a bit parachuted in opportunistically rather than a regular or would-be regular contributor to the discussion...

...But I'm not the Start-Up police, so I think new businesses should network here, so long as they offer summat and MNHQ let them! Just don't want endless outside advertisers googling the thread and posting at will, do you think that is fair?

TerraNotSoFirma, great idea. I think you could definitely do it. You will need an enhanced CRB check and perhaps some formal accreditation... I would have someone visit my house for sure, but have you also thought about offering your services to working women, in their office lunchhour (assuming they have one!). Working women are the ones with money to burn!

I would TOTALLY be up for someone doing my eyebrows and nails at my desk, along with a little neck and shoulders massage while I eat my sandwiches...

Lots of big companies have 'wellbeing' services for staff so you might be able to negotiate bigger contracts like this?

Betty that is brilliant and at Nickel for left/right. I have twins so had copious pages of notes of left/right and also how many wee/poo's - maybe you can do a poop card next, you know how PFB most mums are!

Just been catching up with this thread and the £1000 a day one.

I'm in a slightly different position in that it is my DH that is the self employed one, but I do most of his paper work, website (although it is very out of date) and social media stuff.

My full time job is in the Public Service, and while I kind of 'fell into it' it has become somewhat of a vocation - although I dream of the day I can build my own business, the reality at the moment is that I am the main breadwinner.

So the current plan is to get 'the business' we have got earning enough so that I can then consider starting something myself (although as yet, I have no idea what that would be - something related to my current job, decluttering, promoting crafters work, property development - all possibilities).

I understand that primarily this thread is about women starting up on their own, but I am pretty invested in DH's business - in fact, we view it very much as a family business, and all the issues seem to be largely relevant to what we need to do to get sorted after years of trying to sort out the mess from a couple of stupid mistakes. I also have a vested interest in getting it to be successful enough to keep the family if I ever want to do anything myself.

Both mine and DH's biggest problem is procrastination and wanting everything to be perfect (I totally understand what everyone says about not waiting for things to be perfect - just need to get my arse into gear to follow the advice!)

So I will be joining in with this thread and reading with interest.

I don't know if this has been posted, but I saw an advert for a programme on tonight about getting more women into business, thought it might be of interest to some of you. Its a documentary by Hilary (think that's her name?) From Dragons Den. Its on BBC2 at 9pm I think. I have always had hazy ideas of setting up business but always felt that everyone thinks I couldn't do it, so have never really pushed it. Really taking aspiration from you all, thanks for getting me out of my rut.

Oooh, thanks, fluffy I love Hilary - I think she's a really interesting woman, with an unusual ability to rock the shoulder pad look!

Oooh excellent flufflygal - I'll definitely tune in for that! If you want to join us, please PM me and I'll put you through to our group. :)

Thanks fg.

For CdT if the husband trades as a limited company and you do qute a lot of the work it can be a good idea to ensure you are both directors and both have 50% of the shares. It protects you too.

BettytheBuilder - your website and products are amazing!

What did you all think of the Hilary show last night? I was torn I think, between "yes, we can do more for women in senior positions" and thinking "oh fgs if you want to play dollies at home for 5 years don't come crying when you're not on the board". I think we can create more flexible working environments - but I'm loathe to dish out 50/50 splits when one of this splits doesn't have the experience or interest quite frankly.

(and I was Sooo envious of Hilary's clothes - you could see the quality of the fabrics on the tv screen!)

I haven 't watched it yet but I've always been a believer in employers should treat people the same. If I take 2 weeks holiday to have my babies in and go back to work full time as I did then I am no different than a man in work terms and not surprisingly I earn quite a lot. If I wanted to work 3 days a week and not really be very committed it would not take a brain surgeon to think that would be due to that.

There was a lovely quote in today's paper by a woman saying she felt women were most held back because at home they did not hav partner doing 50/50 but instead there was sexist assumption as women were female they had to do everything at home amd work.

What a great thread!

It's just what I need at the moment to give me a kick up the bum and get working on my business.

Tee and any of the other graphic designers here, I need two logos designed, feel free to PM me.

Could I have an invite to the Facebook group please

Ive not posted here for a while - actually getting on with real work but have read back and wanted to add my thoughts on a couple of issues:

portfolio working I have a portfolio of things that I do - some higher paid work for business clients, lots of medium paid work for individuals, and some free work (volunteering) just because I love it and also because it gives me some added 'expertise'. The variety is what keeps me going and motivated - I find that even in a job I completely love, too much of the same type of work day after day makes me a bit more lethargic and a bit less keen. Over the years I have also found that different elements of my portfolio have changed at different times. The work I currently do for individuals is an entirely new strand started about 18months ago, but I could manage the risk associated with that because other parts of my portfolio remained stable.

I also had a new corner to my portfolio, set up with a business friend about 5 years ago. It felt like it was an idea that was either too early or too late for its time but because we were both doing other things we just kept it ticking over quietly, bringing in very little money but just enough to pay for the occasional boozy lunch business meeting. Now it seems to have picked up and is something that we will both put more effort into over the next months.

website my personal approach is to have one website for each product type that I offer. Even in the same arena (e.g. the work I do for individuals) there are 3 distinct markets and I think that my clients choose me because they perceive me to be an expert in one area, rather than having the generic skills to cover several areas. That means I can target google ads and other marketing to the specific market. For example when I go to big exhibitions / shows my brochures, website etc all clearly target the specific interest of those people.

business structure VAT etc: When I started up the majority of my income was from business clients / large charities. I set up as a ltd co (which does save me money) and also registered for VAT. Now that most of my clients are individuals I have de-registered for VAT (and I choose to operate at just below the VAT threshold) otherwise I would cost 20% more than my other competitors or would reduce my profits. The charities I work for have been leased because I have been able to increase the day-rate that I charge them yet still offer them a reduced price. Win-win

fiftyfoot If you PM me I can put you through, although it might be quicker to PM tee as I'm busy all day.

greatwork I've heard that before, i.e., don't do one website saying that you can do 6 things (even if you're perfectly able) - people may assume that you are just desperate for work (even if you are! ). In fact isn't there a proverb or something? "Man who chases two chickens catches none".

I am starting up a product I hope to set up through notonthehighstreet and have a few qs about VAT.

I have read loads on this and decided that for now I want to be a self-employed. Is it possibel to be self-employed and sell your own product?

If I am planning on making only a few £k profit in the first year do I need to be VAT registered? Can I be VAT registered if I am self-employed? If I am not VAT registered do I have to charge VAT? Am I correct in my understandign that as long as you are below £36k in profit each year you don't have to be VAT registered?

@greatwork at which stage did you set up your ltd co? and why does it save you money? I can see the benfits of owning the co name, but if you were self-employed before, why did you decide to change?

Hi ethelb the VAT threshold is currently £77K so as long as you don't expect your income to be close to that level there is no need to register for VAT (or to charge VAT on your products). If you are below the threshold there is only an advantage if you have lots of major capital expenditure on which you could reclaim VAT.

I set up as a ltd co as soon as I started. I did it for several reasons: professional image (important in the field I was setting up in), limited personal liability, possibilities for expansion / taking on employees at a later date. For me (with my income / expenditure / profits) it is financially beneficial because I take money out as a combination of a small salary, and dividends as a shareholder, and for me a ltd co is the most tax efficient structure. But it depends on your own figures - mranchovy and talkinpeace who post on here may be able to give you their professional opinion.

Good luck with your venture - it's an exciting business being self employed.

Any women interested in self-employment, freelancing or entrepreneurship can register at www.womenoutsidethebox.co.uk for our free event in Bristol 8 Oct. Join 1000 women, 100+ businesses, 30 speakers for networking, workshops, funding and mentoring sessions and coffee and cake. Inspiring entrepreneurs tell their story and independent producers of cupcakes to corsets sell their wares. What's not to like, ladies?

bumping for myself to maintain momentum.
As I am in the ''starting out and faking confidence'' stage, thats where I have been focussing my efforts rather than the more lofty air of VAT/ Ltd Co status.
In time, those will become my concerns but babysteps.....

Compulsory VAT registration is based on Turnover (i.e. the amount people pay for what you sell), not profit. You have to register if your Turnover in the previous 12 months exceeds the threshold.

If you don't have to register, the decision as to whether it is worthwhile or not is usually simple (with one exception*) has nothing to do with capital expenditure. If your customers are businesses that are themselves VAT registered so they can reclaim the VAT you charge, you will be better off if you register. If they are private individuals (or charities, schools, banks etc that cannot reclaim VAT), you will be better off if you don't register.

I have just posted on another thread about the financial benefits of incorporation. However if I was manufacturing a product there is no way I would do this as self employed in any case. This is because of the potential product liability - yes you can get product liability insurance, but what happens in ten years time when you have sold it all for £5m and retired to a mansion in the Cotswolds so you no longer have insurance? There is the potential for claims for injury or loss due to a faulty product up to seven years after purchase, and if they bought it from you as a sole trader it is you they will sue.

• the exception is if you have a significant item of capital expenditure on which VAT will be paid and you are likely to exceed the threshold and so be charging VAT in the near future. If this is the case you should take specific advice.

I have recently become self employed, I am only just getting started and have invested some money into the business. Should I register for NI and Tax or do I wait until I am in profit can I do this myself or will I need an accountant?

Can anyone point me in the right direction, I skimmed the directgov website but it didn't clarify my questions.

You'll find Business Link more helpful than Direct.Gov.

You should register as soon as you start trading which in practice means when you have your first order or sale, although as it only costs you £2.65 a week in National Insurance there is little reason not to do it before that unless income is going to be very low.

If anybody says three months I will cry.

Knock knock, can I join you?

I've yet to read the whole thread, it's in my 'to do' list, but could I start with a question? Can somebody advice re business insurance? I am planning a baked goods supply to cafes kind of thing, what kind of insurace do I need? i just completed the 'comparethemarket' thing online and it says that based on my details they cannot provide insurance but that an agent will call me to discuss (!!).
Does anybody know how to go about choosing, kind, etc?

ouch!

i just received the most beautiful, well thought-out, well presented and full of good information CV and covering letter.
I was very impressed. She even addressed it to my name instead of sir/madam.
It was obviously a mail-merge (good on her, saves time), because she'd named my shop as another indie bookshop in the area. :(
[doh]

such a shame, poor thing!

I haven't got any jobs though, anyway.

on the other hand - me trying to decide how useful/important a smart phone is in this day and age.
every now and then, I go out of the shop to sell stuff.
DH has just suggested that I use my smartphone to check supplier's website while i'm at outside venues to see if i can order books for people even if i haven't got a catalogue.

how genius an idea is that!