A Guide to Becoming Self-employed

There are many reasons why people considered becoming self-employed - besides the fact you can dedicate your time to doing something you really enjoy, often on your own terms. Self-employment is a path that a growing number of people are beginning to follow, which could be why there are now 4.69 million self-employed people in the UK. During a time like this, becoming self-employed can appear as both risky and a fantastic idea.

There is a lot of information that needs to be gathered and a lot of research to be done when it comes to becoming self-employed. This can include analysing your market, building a successful business model and plan, sorting insurance, opening a business account and finding the best way to manage your financial records accurately. In this guide we will give you some tips on becoming self-employed.

What are the main considerations for becoming self-employed?

1. Staying Connected

One of the biggest challenges people can face once self-employed, is feeling isolated. If you feel energised by sharing a physical space with colleagues, or you enjoy the conversations you have a busy office environment, working by yourself might prove challenging.

It can be difficult to spend so much time in your own company at the best of times, but during this time of social distancing and isolating, this can be even more detrimental to your mental health.

This shouldn’t be a reason to discount self-employment, but it does mean that you will need to give some thought to how you will stay connected with other people as well as give yourself time for hobbies and socialising.

2. Staying On Top Of Your Finances

Working for yourself means you need to be disciplined enough to save money every time you’re paid by a client, as your taxes will not be automatically deducted. You will also need to file a tax return every year.

This can be made easier by appointing an accountant. Sometimes the best advice is to be honest about your limitations and outsource the tasks you cannot do or dislike doing, otherwise, admin uses up your value earning time, and you could be much happier with it being done by someone else.

3. Enjoy The Flexibility Of Self-Employment

The ability to choose when you work and where you work from is priceless and for many is one of the best things about being self-employed. But this doesn’t mean you won’t work hard. Being your own boss will mean committing more hours than a 9-5 job as your work becomes something you think about around the clock. It is, however, worth noting that working for yourself is worth the extra hours as you will be doing something you have a passion for!

4. Learn How To Promote Yourself

Self-employment demands that you’re good at marketing yourself and your services if you’re going to entice clients in. This isn’t something that comes naturally to most, but as a result of promoting yourself, your confidence, self-belief and self-worth will grow as well as your income.

5. Planning, Timing and Preparation

As with anything, spending time planning and researching when it comes to making this big decision is so important.

At a time like this, we find ourselves with more time to really think about how to utilise our time. Having time at home can be a fantastic opportunity to discover or re-discover something you are passionate about that could become a viable career option. Keep your options open and think about whether starting up your own business could be the best next step for you.

During this difficult and unexpected time of uncertainty, please rest assured that Paramount Formations is still operating as normal.

If you would like more information please browse our company formation products or to get in touch with us, please speak to us on our live chat or use our contact form. We are here to support your business formation needs in any way we can.