Self-employment

Are you self employed? How long have you been so and how did you find it in the beginning? What made you decide to do it?

Thinking of doing it with my art.

Thanks in advance all, any comments welcome but do try to keep on topic if at all possible

Maria, I've been self employed since 2005, it was hard at first, I seemed to working my knackers off for very little reward.

It's been mostly good tbh, but last year wasn't great, had more downtime than I'd like.
I used to regulary have at least 2 months worth of work in front of me, but now I'm lucky if it's 2 weeks.
I am considering a change, maybe something totally different or maybe a kitchen and bathroom store, we will see.

I'd like something bike related but it would be suicide ATM to do anything like that I think.

My advice, try running it part time and get a part time job also, this takes a little pressure off while you build up the business.

Good luck with it anyway

[embee]

I've been self employed since 1991. It came about after taking voluntary redundancy so I had a decent lump sum to keep me alive.

Look carefully into the effects it will have on any benefits you may or may not rely on at some time, like unemployment/job-seekers or whatever it's called these days. Once you declare yourself self-employed it all changes.

Very few people make much money as a "one-person-band" business, unless you can create a niche with high value demand. Be realistic. Remember you have to run the business at the same time as doing the job. Keep overheads down "at all costs", otherwise you end up working simply to pay for the business to exist. Premises cost a fortune, avoid. Minimise stock/inventory, minimise your exposure to up-front expenditure. One bad job means you need to do 2 good ones to break even again, 3 jobs and no profit (may as well stay in bed). Don't be afraid to turn down work if it looks like it might not pay. Learn to recognise potential bad-payers and avoid; chasing them is stressful and takes up time you could be earning money, and you still might not get paid. Have very clear terms for payment.

If you absolutely need a certain income, S/E can be extremely stressful. If you have some cash float it can be very rewarding. Working for a salary is a much easier way to make a decent living, but if you can afford to be S/E it can be enjoyable.

If in doubt do a trial period in parallel to your regular job, you can do it perfectly legally either as S/E or on a casual basis. See if it can work.

Originally Posted by specialone

My advice, try running it part time and get a part time job also, this takes a little pressure off while you build up the business.

I only have a part time job atm and it's not degree related (funnily enough) however I'm wanting to build on my voluntary experience and travel too so juggling an art living with a part time job is do-able I reckon as it gives me the time and flexibility which will allow me to accomplish what I want out of it.

Originally Posted by embee

Look carefully into the effects it will have on any benefits you may or may not rely on at some time, like unemployment/job-seekers or whatever it's called these days. Once you declare yourself self-employed it all changes.

Keep overheads down "at all costs", otherwise you end up working simply to pay for the business to exist.

I don't claim any benefits atm so I guess I'm in no different a position whichever way I decide to go in that respect. And as far as overheads are concerned, they'll be kept low as I don't require much space to draw (i.e. all done in my bedroom ) and so really it's just the costs of booking craft fairs, getting to and from them and framing.

Definitely agree on the trial basis, I can always jack it in if it's not working.

Thanks for posting guys, much appreciated. And keep up the hard work with your own businesses!

I was self employed for 12 years after I left the Army. At the time I went self employed the trade I had chosen was in serious demand, so looking for work wasn't difficult. Getting started and building a reputation was a struggle at first which meant travelling long distances for little jobs and poor pay. But as time went on, I found I was in more demand and didn't even have to go looking for work. Work found me.

I employed a good accountant who sorted out all my finances. I simply gave him my books each quarter and he balanced them out and told me what I owed the tax man. (most of the time he managed to get the tax man to pay me, which was nice).

I think the biggest battle is getting your name out there. That involves persistency but doing so will reap the rewards. Once your reputation precedes you (assuming it is a good one) it becomes much easier to pitch for work and demand a better price.

I gave up self employment for two reasons. The first is everyone decided to jump on the band wagon (fibre optics engineer/technician) so the market started getting saturated. What made it worse were people were 'learning' how to do the job whilst being on site with these skilled people and went out marketing themselves as fibre engineers and under cutting us qualified people. The second reason was being offered a tidy wage to work on a lengthy project. Not having to do all the leg work involved in being self employed and just turning up to do a job and getting paid well for it was too good an offer to refuse.

Not sure if what I have said is going to be of any help to you, but that's my experience of working self employed. It was a nice feeling knowing I didn't have to answer to anyone apart from myself. But at the same time it added pressure knowing I only had myself to blame if I didn't bring food on the table for the kids to eat.

Self employed for around 15 years. I contract (presently NHS) so it is slightly different to you. Set up and knowing the rules is very important. Limited co or not. VAT reg or not. It can be a minefield. Some good advice above but being S/E is not scary.

A good "presence" is what you need to develop first. A functioning and up to date web site is key. It is your window to the world. A company bank account (or trading as) and business stationary and cards are also important. I commissioned a couple of pieces of art for a new build recently. About £40k worth in glass and perspex and the initial contact was because we found the 2 artists on the web that were local. It also gives additional commissions to put on their web site. So this is what I have been working on for the last year. Please note this is not me. It is the arcitects site. The art work is mentioned, but not shown Here

[Littlepeahead]

I agre about being self employed with regards to tax. My husband is a bricklayer foreman so he can claim for all sorts of things in relation to his business but it's pretty complicated. Luckily he met a chap who is a trained accountant and also a bricklayer so he knows the system well and ensures Stu's tax return is done properly. That way Stu can get on with doing the work and not worry about the tax man.

I don't think you'd want to hear my opinion

Not self employed, but as a mortgage broker if i don't win business i don't get paid, so a lot of the same ethics come into play.

All the above is fantastic advice and i agree with all of it, especially with getting a web site up and running, and business cards printed up. as for your product it is obvious from your profile pic's that you have one, (great art work by the way) so then it is all down to prospecting, and finding the business. its a horrid job but you will need to hit the phones, start calling round to art shops to set up meetings to pitch tothem you work to get them to sell your prints. try going into shops that sell postcards and see if any of them use artwork like yours, call the company that produced the post card (should be on the back) and try and organize a meeting to again pitch your work. once you have started to get a few jobs you should start getting recommendations come through and things will get easier.

also i would look into state help. There is a big push on at the moment for people to set up new companies etc, i think there is some tax relief available to you. (don't quote me on that though)

Originally Posted by Ed

I don't think you'd want to hear my opinion

quite, we've been listening to it for the last half dozen years on a virtually weekly basis