Going freelance

[manillafairy]

Hey, my names Kat and I'm looking to start freelancing part time.

I'm looking to do tank/ pond maintanence/ installations as I have over 2 years in the industry, gained some qualifications and helped run a store yet left recently.

I'm hoping to work full time and do this in the weekends or evenings, but having trouble finding what this actually involves for this type of business.

I'm aware I need some kind of insurance policy, and to register with the HRMC. I don't need any start up costs. How is this possible, and what sort of costs am I looking at?

Thanks in advance!

[virtuallysorted]

Hello

An excellent place to start would be the Business Link site www.businesslink.gov.uk/

They are really helpful when you want to start up. You'll need to register as working as self-employed with HMRC, but again it's really easy and just one phone call usually.

Sounds a really interesting business - you will probably be able to get lots of work through word of mouth or niche suppliers like shops etc.

Good luck!
Caroline

[Nicola J]

Hey, my names Kat and I'm looking to start freelancing part time.

I'm looking to do tank/ pond maintanence/ installations as I have over 2 years in the industry, gained some qualifications and helped run a store yet left recently.

I'm hoping to work full time and do this in the weekends or evenings, but having trouble finding what this actually involves for this type of business.

I'm aware I need some kind of insurance policy, and to register with the HRMC. I don't need any start up costs. How is this possible, and what sort of costs am I looking at?

Thanks in advance!

When you say you are having trouble findling what this involves what do you mean? Is that the running of the business?

Business Link is indeed a really good site to get some general information about setting up a new business. They also run a lot of free courses on numerous topics.

An accountant will be ideally placed to help you with the accounts/tax side of the business and matters such as registering with HMRC etc. They will also help you in many ways.

Being really honest you may find it a struggle to run a business whilst working full time - part-time makes it easier. You may struggle to portray a professional image and need to consider how customers will contact you etc.

[virtuallysorted]

When you say you are having trouble findling what this involves what do you mean? Is that the running of the business?

Business Link is indeed a really good site to get some general information about setting up a new business. They also run a lot of free courses on numerous topics.

An accountant will be ideally placed to help you with the accounts/tax side of the business and matters such as registering with HMRC etc. They will also help you in many ways.

Being really honest you may find it a struggle to run a business whilst working full time - part-time makes it easier. You may struggle to portray a professional image and need to consider how customers will contact you etc.

Not necessarily - we had a client last year who was running a 3 day course and needed to work full-time whilst he was promoting it. Basically we acted as his office, answering queries via phone/email according to a list of FAQs. We also invoiced/chased payment before the dates, so when he went on the course, he knew everything had been paid for, he just took holiday days from his job. No one ever knew the difference.

The point is when you are using a call answering service, it shouldn't be obvious that they aren't part of your business. They should be fully briefed and know the answers to the questions that callers are mostly likely to ask and that a normal receptionist would be able to answer - this is where most message taking services fail.

[Nicola J]

Not necessarily - we had a client last year who was running a 3 day course and needed to work full-time whilst he was promoting it. Basically we acted as his office, answering queries via phone/email according to a list of FAQs. We also invoiced/chased payment before the dates, so when he went on the course, he knew everything had been paid for, he just took holiday days from his job. No one ever knew the difference.

The point is when you are using a call answering service, it shouldn't be obvious that they aren't part of your business. They should be fully briefed and know the answers to the questions that callers are mostly likely to ask and that a normal receptionist would be able to answer - this is where most message taking services fail.

Very good point Caroline - using services such as yours is definately a very worthwhile consideration especially for a new startup, MUCH better than an ansaphone or using just a mobile number.

In my experience that said you do still reach the point very quickly where you cant do both - work fulltime and try to run a business - one has to give.

[PERSPEX Fiona]

Hi Kat. Best of luck with your new venture. Many people start out this way and as long as you can find creative ways of balancing the demands of your full time job with your sideline it can be done. There are challenges though. Ultimately your customers will dictate when they contact you and when they need the work done. If you only work evenings and weekends, can you turn this into a unique selling point for your business proposition? Are there prospective customers that would see this as an advantage? If so, try to focus on them. If not, consider how you will be able to compete with other businesses offering the same service who are available all the time.

Communication is also essential and I'd definitely recommend a service like Caroline's in your case. After all, miss the call and you lose the business - new or ongoing. It's an essential part of client care. You will need to build the cost of this into your business plan.

You mention not having start up costs. I've helped many small businesses start successfully on a shoestring budget but there will certainly be some initial expenditure if you want to let people know who you are and what you do, and to do business on an equal professional footing. As a minimum you will need to create for yourself a professional business image - a logo and business cards might be a good start. Also, have you thought about how you will attract customers? Or will you use existing contacts? Take care to check out whether your new venture will lead to a conflict of interest situation with your employer - some contracts prevent you from having private work in the same industry as a sideline - for obvious reasons.

It sounds like you have a fair amount of work to do before you launch your new venture but preparation is really important if you want to avoid making costly mistakes and giving your new business the best chance of success. Best of luck!

[Global Assistant]

I think that you will struggle to get your business off the ground by working full time aswell. You say you would undertake the work evenings/weekends. Unfortunately evenings have already started to draw in, so really I think you are looking at weekends only before long. I'm not sure that most people would be confident to use someone who is only available weekends.

It is scary to take the plunge and become self employed when you are used to the stability of a regular income. Is only working part time an option?This would at least give you Thurs/Fri/Sat and Sun to work on your new venture and to undertake any work that comes in without raising clients suspicions.

[digirank]

Try doing the setting-up part in your spare time (e.g. website, marketing) whilst you are still in full time employment.

Once you get clients you can then reduce your hours to part-time as you build up the freelance work.