Join in if you are self-employed and work from home

cheekymonkey20

http://www.msofficeaccounting.co.uk/
Very good software.

downshifter

Horace wrote: »

Cashflow forecasts are always scary and they are there to give you an idea really of what you hope to earn. When you do your business plan you need to work out what you need to survive and then include this in your cashflow forecast (if I remember rightly, I haven't looked at mine for a while:eek: ). I worked it out for mine that as long as my bills are paid I can get away with earning £11K a year which isnt a lot but I can survive on it.

Yes I agree with this way of doing it. I used the proceeds of my house sale to pay off every credit card and other debt I had when working so I had no debts at all. I then calculated that I needed £800 a month to live on, so just under £10k a year. I just about scrape by with slightly more than that coming in so I'm fine about it.

In terms of packing in your job, I actually did it the other way, I set a date in the future, like you, for handing in my notice and did just that and left. It forced me to look for other means of support and I got little jobs here and there and then the more substantial contract I have now. I think otherwise I would never have made the jump.

Obviously everyone's circumstances are different, I have no dependants (grown up) or husband (left him!) any more and live in rented house in a stunning part of the country (I could never afford to live anywhere like this if I was buying) so that I only have responsibility for myself if it all goes bellyup and I'm living in a tent somewhere, but I like that feeling of complete freedom and being my own mistress which is something I think we can all identify with. Good luck!

skintjenny

hi guys,
thanks for the advice, am feeling slightly calmer today-i think it was just panic in the face of information overload!
i agree with you wordsmith on the packing in my job front, ive become so used to working for someone else that i know if i dont set a date and jump i probably never will.. and i also have no dependants to worry about, and a rather snazzy tent, so thats not really a huge worry
i think im going to sit down this afternoon and work on my personal needs, then work on my actual business, and leave my cash flow till tomorrow- i know normally procrastination is very bad but i need to be remotivated as to why im doing this!
thanks again for all the help- how is everyones day going so far?

downshifter

skintjenny wrote: »

hi guys,
thanks for the advice, am feeling slightly calmer today-i think it was just panic in the face of information overload!
i agree with you wordsmith on the packing in my job front, ive become so used to working for someone else that i know if i dont set a date and jump i probably never will.. and i also have no dependants to worry about, and a rather snazzy tent, so thats not really a huge worry
i think im going to sit down this afternoon and work on my personal needs, then work on my actual business, and leave my cash flow till tomorrow- i know normally procrastination is very bad but i need to be remotivated as to why im doing this!
thanks again for all the help- how is everyones day going so far?

That's an excellent plan, yes information overload can be a problem at the beginning as you haven't learnt enough to be able to filter out what doesn't apply to you at this stage. If, like me and a few others on here, you find you may not have enough, get a small job as in a local shop as we have done which gives you a few pennies to kick along with. That sort of job also stops isolation and can give you contacts. Without telling them your plans, is there any way at your present job that you can put out feelers for any possible work you can follow up after you've left? I followed up some contacts I'd made at work and one came back with some good writing work which at the time I decided not to take. But it's out there still I'm sure.

Today I'm going to finish the research enquiry I've been working on all week, it has to go in the post today and the last post is 12 midday. Also more on the exit strategy, I'm going to write some procedures for what I do today. And some work on a software package that is doing my head in but must be done. But first I'd better get dressed!!!

Anyone else?

Horace

I got up early this morning to play a daft game on Facebook - Be A Tycoon which is highly addictive:rolleyes:

I need to wash my hair and get dressed, I am off out on visits today:

The marquee company to drop off some business cards
The day spa (same site) for a treatment and maybe some lolling about - its a great place for thinking and networking
2.30pm I have a meeting (a free one with an accountant and fellow MSE)
Oh and I shall carry on working on my assignments - I am getting bored with them now so shall probably do the bare minimum to get a mark:rolleyes:

Wordsmith

Morning all.

Welcome to Purpleroses: I hope your meeting went well yesterday – let us know; Gwynnington: sorry to hear about your troubles and I hope things start picking up soon – don’t hesitate to have a moan on here as we can all be sympathetic; TCM and AKA2021 – let us know how things are going; Yetanotherben – stay with us and ask anything you like – I’m sure there are people who can help with your queries; hello Wigglebeena; Nelski – thanks for your posts; Freyagirl – my dogs were a deciding factor in my going freelance, too – and aren’t they great for talking to (they always give the right advice) and bouncing ideas off?; lynn5854 – hang in there and well done for not giving up – a lot of us are in the same boat here so hopefully we can keep each other afloat.

Seaxwyn – great work yesterday; are you going to continue with it today?

Sashanut – keep at it, girl!

Downshifter – you are making the right decision, I think. And being so grown-up about how you are going about it! They don’t deserve you, but someone else does, so look forward to the future. It must be a weight off your mind having made the decision and so hopefully the rest of your time there won’t be so stressful.

Horace – thanks for the info. I’ll signpost your message in post 1. Hope your meetings are productive.

Tyllwyd – have you tried looking at the on-line directories of the Society of Indexers and the SFEP to get names of indexers?

Cheekmonkey20 – sounds like you’ve had an awful time. If you can, I’d give it a bit longer to see if it gets any better, but if it stays the same I wouldn’t blame you at all for leaving. However, you are entitled to breaks (morning, lunch and afternoon, so long as you have worked a certain number of hours), so do insist on them – you probably won’t get paid for the breaks but you need them for your health’s sake. Let us know how you get on.

Well, I have another day out of the office - I am spending more time at other places than I am in my favoured environment - not what I like but if I have to go to the money then I will go to the money. This morning I am going to a lady to do some filing for her (she works a lot at a lot of different things and the paperwork has been building to monumental proportions) - if only she saw my office, she might offer to come and do my filing in return! This afternoon it's off to the shop - part shop girl (and today I promise, absolutely promise, not to nick sweets out of the pick and mix; I glare at children when they go to do it, honestly is there no respect these days? ) and part bookkeeping. When I get back tonight I have to work on a web site that I created for someone ages ago but it now needs finishing off.

Nelski gave us the name of a book he found useful (thanks, Nelski - can you let us have the ISBN - I looked up the title on Amazon and it came back with thousands of books) - if you have titles that have helped you (business or life in general) can you let us know about them? I will collate them and put them in the first post or create a new one so that it can act as a resource for when we need help on anything.

Have a good day, everyone. Hope to hear about lots of progress when I get back today.

sunshine_girl_2

Hi all,

May I join in too please? I'm self-employed and working from home, I find it quite isolated and like others on here find motivation a big problem at times. Sometimes I feel I would prefer the security (?) and social life that being an employee can offer, or maybe I've just forgotten how stressful and soul-destroying it can be! Anyway my main reason for working from home is that I've been a single parent for 7 years (with fairly young children - 7 and 11) and find working (as an employee) during school holidays impossible. Like others I spend far too much time procrastinating and also find the internet a big distraction so looking for inspiration to get on with what I'm supposed to be doing!

Wishing everyone a productive Friday.

Nelski

Wordsmith wrote: »

Nelski gave us the name of a book he found useful (thanks, Nelski - can you let us have the ISBN - I looked up the title on Amazon and it came back with thousands of books) - if you have titles that have helped you (business or life in general) can you let us know about them? I will collate them and put them in the first post or create a new one so that it can act as a resource for when we need help on anything.

.

Certainly as long as next time you say I am a girl:o

OK so heres a few that are my bibles shall we say. (should all be available at the library for the msers:D )

The Secret.............Rhonda Byrne 9781847370297
This is great for setting your goals and a little bit more;)

The Answer............John Assaraf and Murray Smith 9781847372147
Similar principles to the Secret but specifically for business

The Mind Gym..............9780316729925

Success Principles............Jack Cranfield 9780007195084
Love this its a real dip in and pick a tip of the day book

The Unfair Advantage. Sell with NLP......... Duane Larkin 09679162
Very expensive so please get from the library but its great for sales tips

NLP Business Masterclass............David Molden 97802736501164

Anyway hope thats a start. I will add to it as we go along. If there is anything specific you want a book on give me shout with an office stuffed full of them I probably have one I can recommend:D Amazon send me christmas cards:rotfl:

Right thats my procrastination over for now time to hit the to do list which includes a few phone calls and emails ( I would list them but that would take me a while and would just be an excuse for no work!)

Purpleroses

*dances around the room* [URL="javascript:emoticon(':yay:')"][/URL]

shoe people called this morning confirming their order woo!! Crikey, can't quite believe it! even said I could have a pair at reduced rate when they're done yay!

anyhoo back to work, not too much to do today:

update accounts
send out invoice
clean, pack and post suit
e-mail agent
finish last sample card
tidy shop

should take too long to do. Right, best get started

skintjenny

have had a really great morning and feel much more settled again- i met up with a friend who has been self employed doing various things for years and she gave me some great ideas and approches for projects that i have wanted to do. i also made friends with the guys that own the coffee shop we met in, and arranged to go in and chat to them tomorrow about arranging events with them.
i think my problems stemmed from me feeling like i needed to spend a huge amount on the business in the beginning months, after looking at all the cash flow examples but thinking about it, they were all for people setting up businesses totally different from mine, that required huge initial outlay.
in reality i only need perhaps £100 to start up, then £1000 per month to cover my personal and business expenses- is that still a lot?
does everyone on here have a business account and a personal account? because we were told on the course to have seperate ones, but im wondering if thats really necessary?
looks like everyone is having a very productive day- go us!