Going self employed

Stacey

Well-Known Member
I know this isn't entirely deer stalking related, however I am planning on going self employed doing deer staking/pheasant rearing/lambing etc...
Does anyone have any advice on how to go about becoming self employed? as this is all new to me, I am still studying part time at university although only 1-2 years left before I get a degree.

any advice will be appreciated

thanks
stacey
 
If your intention is registering as a Ltd Company its a doddle with the help and companies advice available on the internet..

To be succesfull however i hope you have a thorough well thought out plan in place...
 
Thanks, well I currently only work part time anyway and I have been booked for 8 weeks of lambing starting at the end of February (which I wouldn't be able to do if I keep my current job). Which would cover almost all my wage from my part time job I have at the moment, I'm planning on expanding my pheasant shoot and hopefully have time to do more with the deer stalking and vermin control that I have.
I'm just unsure how to start the self employment etc..
stacey
 
I know this isn't entirely deer stalking related, however I am planning on going self employed doing deer staking/pheasant rearing/lambing etc...
Does anyone have any advice on how to go about becoming self employed? as this is all new to me, I am still studying part time at university although only 1-2 years left before I get a degree.

any advice will be appreciated

thanks
stacey

Ive been self employed the biggest part of my working life apart for a few years ,it is all down to continuity of work I've found much of the work I had was what the people didn't want to do themselves ,how things have changed in the last 5 years .

Ive had enough now looking for someone else to take the hassle and the let downs, I don't recommend it to anyone due to the undercutting of prices the underhanded back dooring methods being used by the unscrupulous to gain work .

Think about it hard it's not all collecting cash weight up insurance costs, transport costs, material costs, fuel costs ,accountant costs, the list can be endless oh! Don't forget your responsible for your own tax and national insurance.

Never a dull day trust me ,after being out in the element all day coming home to sit and price or invoice for people you know don't have the cash for the job in the first place .
 
Easy enough to regiter as self employed just phone HMRC and tell them thats the easy bit. then you have to work all hours doing the work then invoicing, pricing ordering parts along with Tax NI and self assesment.

I am self employed but leately I have been thinking I would be better off working for sombody. turn up for work go home job done. I would possibly be worse off finacialy but richer in time to do what I want to?
Rant over.

Think long and hard is my two pence woth.
 
I know it won't be easy but I thought if I was going to go for it i would try being self employed while I'm younger (don't have a mortgage etc..) and if it doesn't work I'll have my degree in a couple years to fall back on.

thanks
stacey
 
as has been said not all its cracked up to be, I have to have an operation on my shoulder very soon and have been told I will be off for 9 months to a year will be interested to see what I will get on the sick
 
Easy enough to regiter as self employed just phone HMRC and tell them thats the easy bit. then you have to work all hours doing the work then invoicing, pricing ordering parts along with Tax NI and self assesment.

I am self employed but leately I have been thinking I would be better off working for sombody. turn up for work go home job done. I would possibly be worse off finacialy but richer in time to do what I want to?
Rant over.

Think long and hard is my two pence woth.
I reckon that is the answer to the question which was asked.
I am now self employed, but having been employed for many years i could never go back to answering to some boss, and by the way, there aren't many jobs these days where you just go home and forget about work.

Best of luck which ever road you take.

Cheers

Richard
 
up until 8 years ago i was employed on paye ,went self employed and for me it was one of the best things i ever done . the worst thing for being self employed for me was having my tax bill fall on the floor three days ago ha ha
give it a go and if its not for you then at least you tried
andy
 
Best thing you will ever do!!

your decision is between self employed individual or limited company,
the options are based on whether you are investing in large a lungs of hardware and what level you expect to earn.

its a game
learn the rules and play them hard
you will find yourself paying significantly less tax if any, you can put a huge amount of stuff you would normally pay for out of net salary through as expenses and if you get into the joys of VAT registration you get up to 20% off everything you buy for work!!

no brainer

you just have to make the money yourself!!
 
I reckon that is the answer to the question which was asked.
I am now self employed, but having been employed for many years i could never go back to answering to some boss, and by the way, there aren't many jobs these days where you just go home and forget about work.

Best of luck which ever road you take.

Cheers

Richard
+1 you are lucky to have any type of employment these days whether it be self empolyed or employed . always try and have something to fall back on. your degree and youth will give you that . just have a go mate and all the best
 
Thanks for the advice I think that if I'm going to try it now would be the time, I have worked out 'worst case scenarios' and I won't be any worse off financially since I'm only doing part time work at the moment roughly 21hrs a week

thanks
stacey
 
Well worth geting an accountant on board early doors to set you up and give guidance. If you have a bit knowledge on book keeping, invoicing etc so much the better.

All the best with this venture Stacey.
 
Thanks, I'm going to speak to an accountant after Christmas. I'm really good with paperwork as I do finances and invoicing for the pheasant shoot and in my current job.

stacey
 
Make sure your "worst case scenario" includes sickness. When i was self employed i worked like a dog and didn't take time off when i was sick - this lead to the sickness getting a lot worse resulting in a "heart attack like event" (myoperricarditis). Result was a forced couple of months off and not being back to full strength for over a year. I was cutting in the forest, so pretty physically demanding. Don't rely on statutory sick pay - its naff all. I ended up using up the money put aside for the tax bill and then being pretty stuck paying that off many months after... It really was a difficult time - would have been completely avoided by working for a firm.

Not saying don't do it, the freedoms SE can bring are great. Just make sure your planning includes the worst - insurance would help here.

Make sure you use professional services too. Well worth paying fees; my solicitor only charges £4 to send out a chasing letter, for example. Its amazing how quickly a client settles outstanding invoices when a strong letter from a solicitor lands. Also, if you want to find finance/mortgage etc in the next couple of years you need good books, end of year statements etc, to support any applications.

Good luck - going SE is a real game changer.

Mick
 
Yep, get an accountant involved before you start. He will explain the advantages and disadvantages of going LTD, LLP, Sole Trader etc, and you will start out on the right foot. I've been SE for 14 years and I just dived in, made loads of mistakes and made things far more complicated than they needed to be. I got an accountant to straighten me out after about two years in. It would have been far better to have consulted him from the start. He's worth his weight in gold to me now and HMRC are far less likely to interest themselves in your affairs when they are dealing with a professional accountant.
Pick someone from word of mouth recommendations, preferably from people in a similar line of business. An accountant familiar with your type of work is a finger on the commercial pulse. They can offer very useful advice.
Do it right from the start and self-emplyment is the best thing you can do.
 
Been se for many years, mainly chasing sheep around the world with a view to cutting all their wool off ,also do lambing general farm work and pest control , so similar to what you are planning , my advice would be to keep good records of everything you do and all your bills and receipts, get an accountant and don't be afraid of VAT, if your dealling with farmers they are all registered so wont effect your billing , unlike somebody that not and you are having to charge them an extra20% , downside is around now when your mates are on a fortnights payed holidays and you have to show up for couple of hours every morning and that's all you get paid for:(....good luck, more ups than downs if you can keep busy
 
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