Self Employed
Planning
- If you are leaving another situation to become self-employed make sure you are ready for your new situation before you leave the old one!
- Make sure you can communicate your ideas clearly. Plan your ability to sell your product or service. Make sure you know your product and the potential market. Research - use the internet and ask for advice from others.
- Not all ideas are good ones! Make sure you've thought through and costed your ideas thoroughly before you spend good money on them.
Budget
- Draw up a budget. (For an individual budget calculator go to www.moneybasics.co.uk and click on the budget calculator.)
- Make sure bills and expenses get paid first.
- Employ an accountant.
- Get advice from enforcement agencies - useful sites are: www.oft.gov.uk / www.dti.gov.uk / www.tsi.org.uk
Taking the risk
- Be patient and careful.
- Be creative.
- Let pressure lead you to innovate not become hemmed in.
- Don't be afraid to ask for what you want.
- Be prepared for starting off small and then growing.
Persevere, but know when to stop
- Plan some ‘walk-away' points - situations in which you will have to take the tough decision to give up with the business before you have serious problems.
- Make sure the business is working, don't let it become an expensive hobby.
- Tell people about the business!
Create your company culture
- Learn from others without simply copying.
- Remember that people notice when you deliver excellent service.
- Customers pay the bills - look after them!
- Don't overstretch yourself - look to develop links with other companies.
- Focussed businesses are more likely to succeed and an effective business constantly looks to improve.
For more info...
The Citizens Advice Bureau self-employment checklist
The Prospects Guide to starting up a business
If you get into difficulties with money then talk to someone about it
Call for free advice from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service on 0800 138 1111
