Single mum to risk going self employed or look for new job after redundancy

[twentytwentyfour2024]

Single mum, two kids (4yo and 10m). 4 year old on school, no fees. 10m old in nursery, paying nursery fees.

Qualified nail tech getting somewhat regular clients but not enough for a comfortable months wage at all (do nails when I get chance around the kids sleeping being at nursery/school etc)

Being made redundant.

Do I risk going into a salon and building up clientele and take a loss for a little while(hopefully a little while) or find a new job&have nails as a side hustle??

Would I still get help with nursery fees if I was self employed? Alone they're close to £800 a month.

Thoughts please? Thank you x

For universal credit you have to be working 16 hours a week so that's your minimum.

You could do cleaning self employed to add to your hours?

On universal credit you can get a 12 month start up period. In this time they don't have a minimum amount they expect you to earn, and won't be making you apply for jobs (obviously you still can if you want to). After a year the minimum income floor is applied (have a look in the gov website). This would likely be 30 hours at minimum wage, but would depend on your circumstances.

Basically it gives you a year to build your business up to a proper wage.

You'd still need to show you were doing regular work, and making an effort to build the business. That sounds like it wouldn't be an issue.

Some nail techs earn really well. Are you talented? Do you have a strong social media presence? Building your brand and advertising is key if you are good at it.

What is your job at the moment?

Being SE would surely be better in the long run for your little family? I would give it a go at least.

If you think you can go self employed, do it! Just make sure you're paying into a pension. Social media is your friend here - Instagram is the first place I go to check out beauty industry work and how good someone is. Use a decent camera, work on showing how friendly you are, upload regularly (every day or every other day), do the occasional design that is a bit quirky/elaborate. The only risk here is if you're not that good or don't stand out, people might go somewhere else, but only you know how talented you are. Good luck OP!

Thanks for the advice. I have done a Christmas offer and had lots of nail design to add to my portfolio so that's helped and everyone has recommended and been happy with their nails I hope they mean it!😂 but I'd say I am good I do get good feedback however I know there's a long way to go

I always think that if there is a possibility to go self-employed it is better than to depend on the whims of an employer...so go for it!

Can you also add some new beauty therapy skills to what you offer (massage, make-up,...) by doing some additional training?

I would try going self employed.

No sick pay
no holiday pay
no life insurance
no pension

how can that be better for a young family?

@JollyHollyMe

Because being your own boss means more flexibility.

You can set up your own rates and hours and if you work hard you can rip the benefits of growing your business rather than put more more in an employer's pocket...

The OP has been made redundant which is a good reminder that a job as an employee does not automatically mean security.

I am in a nail adjacent field the market is saturated to earn more than minimum wage purely doing nails (the most unprofitable beauty treatment) you need to be busy, expensive, reliable and have low overheads. You can earn but this year has been the worse Christmas for many many techs.
Work out how much you need to earn, take off tax ni pension holidays then all your expenses and work out how many clients a day you will need and if its feasible.
Will you be mobile, rent a room, build a cabin or work from an existing room in your house?

I am just about to embark on self employment following redundancy. I will be classed as a business start up and therefore am entitled to 12 months of ‘free’ childcare. After that I will
need to earn the minimum amount. I can’t remember, but if you might earn more own month and less another it just needs to even out at the minimum amount per week over the course of the year.