Becoming self employed... where to start?
Discussion
MrsT7 has pretty much peaked in her qualifications in her industry,( High end Jewellery) and whilst she loves the retail side, her options are extremely limited in terms of next move.
She is considering becoming a registered valuer, it will require 18 months of exams, and then she can start her own business.
Is there a decent resource, that will guide her on whats required and expected of anyone self employed.
Neither of us have any previous experience of this, and it is a little daunting to say the least.
I know they are many very sucessfull buisness owners here, hence the post.
Ta.
She is considering becoming a registered valuer, it will require 18 months of exams, and then she can start her own business.
Is there a decent resource, that will guide her on whats required and expected of anyone self employed.
Neither of us have any previous experience of this, and it is a little daunting to say the least.
I know they are many very sucessfull buisness owners here, hence the post.
Ta.
In general she can operate as a Sole Trader or as a Limited Company, generally a Personal Services Company if you're selling your time. Which you go for can be decided by a several factors but one of them is turnover & the other is the amount of personal liability she is likely to have. A Ltd Co is somewhat more involved in terms of accountancy & tax requirements so if (for instance) turnover was £10k a year then it's unlikley worth being a PSC & she could operate as a ST (or indeed a Partnership if you wanted to get involved).
The advantage of a PSC is that her personal liability would be limited wheras if she were a ST then in theory if she mis-values Charles's crown then she could be personally liable for any loss, although of course her insurance will probably get involved. There are other advantages around the amount of tax & NI paid by a PSC but these are less than they used to be.
The most important step is to find a good local accountant who can explain the pros & cons & guide her through the process.
The advantage of a PSC is that her personal liability would be limited wheras if she were a ST then in theory if she mis-values Charles's crown then she could be personally liable for any loss, although of course her insurance will probably get involved. There are other advantages around the amount of tax & NI paid by a PSC but these are less than they used to be.
The most important step is to find a good local accountant who can explain the pros & cons & guide her through the process.
Turn7 said:
Is there a decent resource, that will guide her on whats required and expected of anyone self employed.
I suppose the biggest difference between that and being a PAYE-person is that there's nobody telling you what to do, no structure, no support. Everything you do, you have to figure out yourself. Your are chairman, delivery boy and everything in-between.Knowing your 'job' - in this case valuing - is essential of course, but only one part of the picture. You also have to find the work, which means knowing you market and figuring out how best to sell to it, you have to be good at admin, you have to be good at dealing with customers, sorting out problems and of course dealing with the numbers/tax side. And as has already been mentioned, you need a plan to resort to in case something goes wrong. The better you are at detail and the more proactive you are, the less likely things are to go wrong.
Only launch the business when you're confident all the parts are in place.
Edited by Simpo Two on Tuesday 2nd May 11:46
Aside from the options on structure and setting up, something she will need to think carefully about is drumming up trade and the time (and cost) it will take to win sufficient business to cover her needs.
During the period she is taking her exams, she will need to blend in some time to do a bit of networking, get a decent website up and running and generally make her market aware that she exists.
And ahead of all that is the need to sense-check the idea. The downside to a single person operation is that you are limited by the physical time you have to do the work that you do. So considering the time needed for non-chargeable but essential work, is there sufficient capacity for revenue to be achieved to a level that makes it worthwhile. Will she need to add other things into the mix such a trading jewellery, or repairing it (which she could sub-out).
Assuming she can't legally trade until she has completer her exams, 18 months is a nice period of time to get ducks in a row.
During the period she is taking her exams, she will need to blend in some time to do a bit of networking, get a decent website up and running and generally make her market aware that she exists.
And ahead of all that is the need to sense-check the idea. The downside to a single person operation is that you are limited by the physical time you have to do the work that you do. So considering the time needed for non-chargeable but essential work, is there sufficient capacity for revenue to be achieved to a level that makes it worthwhile. Will she need to add other things into the mix such a trading jewellery, or repairing it (which she could sub-out).
Assuming she can't legally trade until she has completer her exams, 18 months is a nice period of time to get ducks in a row.
At the moment I would suggest that she concentrates on getting the exam and qualification out of the way first. Once that is done, then she can start exploring the various ways in which she can turn her qualifications and skills into a decent income for herself.
Use the training time to find out as much as possible about the business and, most importantly, finding out who is important in the business and making contacts.
Use the training time to find out as much as possible about the business and, most importantly, finding out who is important in the business and making contacts.
The business side of starting & running a small one-person business isn't actually that hard; by far the most important part is building up a client, or potential client, list so that she has a number of sources for work. As said above networking is vital and try not to burn any bridges.
This forum is rather focused on IT but there are a lot of useful guides & documents that are applicable to any line of business:
https://www.contractoruk.com/
https://www.contractoruk.com/first_timers (look at the left-hand side for more guides)
This forum is rather focused on IT but there are a lot of useful guides & documents that are applicable to any line of business:
https://www.contractoruk.com/
https://www.contractoruk.com/first_timers (look at the left-hand side for more guides)
Thanks for the input gents.
To add some details....
She has been in the trade for 25+ years, is well knoiwn and regarded.
Has been attending the registered valuers conference for mnay years, so is on good terms with some well known people.
Is also friends with the current top person (Chair/president) of the National assoc of jewellers, and is trying to sort a lunch to discuss this.
Will continue with current retail role during the exam period, whilst obviously networking like crazy.
Has a huge passion for the industry, as well as very detailed knowledge and understanding of gemmology.
Has pretty much all the required gem testing kit here already.
The business side I can guide on, as I think I have a fair understanding of whats required. Tax type stuff , assume something like Intuit would be a good thing to use.
As I said, its exploratory mode currently, but neither of us can see a route that will grow both her salary and career.
To add some details....
She has been in the trade for 25+ years, is well knoiwn and regarded.
Has been attending the registered valuers conference for mnay years, so is on good terms with some well known people.
Is also friends with the current top person (Chair/president) of the National assoc of jewellers, and is trying to sort a lunch to discuss this.
Will continue with current retail role during the exam period, whilst obviously networking like crazy.
Has a huge passion for the industry, as well as very detailed knowledge and understanding of gemmology.
Has pretty much all the required gem testing kit here already.
The business side I can guide on, as I think I have a fair understanding of whats required. Tax type stuff , assume something like Intuit would be a good thing to use.
As I said, its exploratory mode currently, but neither of us can see a route that will grow both her salary and career.
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