As 2013 Approches, Would you consider Self Employment for better furure

dktreesea

AP007 wrote: »

If it was easy to be self employed we all would be. You need a trade first.

Heaps of self employed people don't have a trade.

For example, window cleaners, people who walk dogs, people who mow lawns (they aren't all fully trained landscape gardeners), people who trade in some kind of product, professional film extras, people who sell whatever they can get at markets, people who sell on the likes of Ebay, scrap metal dealers, debt recovery agents.

Why do you need a trade in order to be self employed?

tiger_eyes

OK. I started out 2012 on Jobseekers' Allowance living with long-suffering parents. I'm ending it running a freelance business from my own flat. It's been a very challenging, sometimes stressful and scary year, and I'm not sure if it would have been possible without my supportive family. For example, when I did my first job, I dutifully declared my £60 - and due to a Jobcentre error my benefits were stopped for six weeks without warning over Christmas. Ouch. If I'd been dependent on benefits for survival I would have stopped trying to build a business right there.

tiger_eyes

flexrider wrote: »

So back to my original question do you think starting out as self employment would be lot better then being unemployed? and if you had a idea how would you start it?

I was unemployed for several months prior to going full-time self employed, and although I now live with constant stress, financial insecurity, crazy working hours, unpredictable clients and an uncertain future, I would never go back to unemployment. I get a huge amount of pride and satisfaction from running my own business. Although I'm still at work at 1.30am on Saturday night, so it's swings and roundabouts.

CKhalvashi

dktreesea wrote: »

Heaps of self employed people don't have a trade.

For example, window cleaners, people who walk dogs, people who mow lawns (they aren't all fully trained landscape gardeners), people who trade in some kind of product, professional film extras, people who sell whatever they can get at markets, people who sell on the likes of Ebay, scrap metal dealers, debt recovery agents.

Why do you need a trade in order to be self employed?

It's still technically a trade, though.

I started up whilst working full-time (I used to be a teacher), and within a year was employing 8 others, and decided to leave teaching.

We're now one of the few specialists doing what we do, and we're an international network of about 3000 staff (our trading group makes up a 64% market share and about 900 staff), however opportunities are limited in this sector of the industry we're in, as it's literally a barrage of red tape.

Get it right, and it can go well, but make sure you can recover if you get it wrong.

CK

dktreesea

CKhalvashi wrote: »

It's still technically a trade, though.

I started up whilst working full-time (I used to be a teacher), and within a year was employing 8 others, and decided to leave teaching.

We're now one of the few specialists doing what we do, and we're an international network of about 3000 staff (our trading group makes up a 64% market share and about 900 staff), however opportunities are limited in this sector of the industry we're in, as it's literally a barrage of red tape.

Get it right, and it can go well, but make sure you can recover if you get it wrong.

CK

You can't "make sure you can recover" if things go wrong. It requires being able to predict the future.

The considerations for someone going into self employment who has a relatively well paid and secure job, like teaching, are probably a bit different to someone who is unemployed, because the teacher is giving up a lot more.

I would have thought, for long term unemployed people faced with workfare, turning to self employment would be a no brainer. For the first year you not only get working tax credit if you have low earnings, but also get a £40 a week top up from DWP and get to keep whatever you make, the first part of which probably would leave your benefits intact, i.e. if the earnings were lower than the applicable amount for housing benefit.