|
Working for yourself
Does the idea of working for yourself sound appealing? Maybe it is something that you would love to do but just don’t know how to go about it, or perhaps the idea has never crossed your mind. There are thousands of people who have decide to take the plunge and become self employed so that they can dictate the terms and conditions of their employment. |  |
Self employment allows you to take control of your life. You make the decision about:-
• When you will work
• Who you will work with
• What work you will do
• Where you will work
• How much money you will work for
|
|
Of course like everything in life there are also disadvantages to being self employed. You are no longer guaranteed a regular wage with set hours; there is no sick pay; holiday pay; or pension. Suddenly you find that you are responsible for arranging your own pension and insurance against illness. You are also responsible for filing a tax return form which not only covers your income but any allowable expenses that are off set against your earnings.
|
There are a variety of jobs where people can work from home. These positions are becoming increasingly popular as people recognise the need for flexibility to allow professionals to be retained rather than lost. Technology has also allowed for many of these jobs to be carried out in the home. Consultants are able to audit professional services, access information from established databases and the Internet, allowing them to write protocols, reports or articles. Many IT companies contract work to develop software packages which can all be done from home. With the use of video conferencing professionals can be based at home while they make presentations to industry or educational institutions. Charities and industry often approach self employed professionals to help set up 24-hour telephone services for their patient groups, so that competent nurses can give specialist advice over the phone.
There are many opportunities for people with a background in training and education to work as self employed trainers or consultants giving advice on training needs. You can choose to work alone or as part of a national organisation offering a whole variety of services such as:-
|
• providing information
• developing coherent curricula
• validating courses and materials used to teach students
• designing high quality educational multimedia materials
• conducting research
• developing health education materials | |
Once you have become self employed, one essential thing to do is keep strict records of your income and outgoings. You may want to employ an accountant or book keeper to help you, although this is not essential. Ultimately it depends upon how willing you are to learn about tax and the complexities of your business. You might like to consider using a computer programme such as Quicken where you can easily sort your expenses into different categories. Having been self employed myself for several years, I have found that the best solution is to enter all income and expenditure immediately onto my computer programme. Consequently when my tax return forms arrive I have all the data instantly available and I do not spend hours sifting through receipts. It is in your interest to keep your expenditure precise since you only pay tax on profit after you have exceeded your personal tax allowance. As soon as you become self employed you must inform your tax office immediately otherwise you will be fined. The Inland Revenue provide excellent training days for people who have become self employed and I would certainly recommend that you attend. As a self employed person you are liable to pay national insurance contributions. Depending upon your earning you may qualify to pay the lower rate of contributions.
|
|
Seek professional and independent advice before leaving your pension scheme and joining another. You may be forced to leave your current pension scheme, but not always. If your income is variable you can negotiate with your new scheme to make periodic payments according to your earnings. Remember that since you are self employed you will no longer benefit from employer’s contributions so the contributions will need to be raised. From April 6th 2006 British laws now allow you to contribute 100% of your income into your pension although prior to this it was approximately 20% according to your age.
|
I have never regretted becoming self employed. It has allowed me to work around my family commitments, whilst expanding my career into new and exciting territories. I am able to decide how I will expand my business. It has been a huge learning curve but well worth all the time and effort. There are many challenges to face as a self employed person as often you can no longer rely upon a fixed salary. If you think you have got what it takes to become self employed, why not give it a go. You will never know until you make that leap of faith into a whole new world!
|
