Self Employment & Benefits - Help Please

Gothpugs

miduck wrote: »

Have you done a business plan, have you worked out how many parties you need to do to make a reasonable income? Do you have insurance in place?

HMRC are cracking down on people using WTC to supplement an unrealistically low income. They will allow it for a start up period, but after that they will ask for accounts. There have been many reports of WTC being stopped in circumstances such as this, and under Universal Credits it is a certainty.

But what is deemend a start up period? a month? 6 months? a year?

And yes to insurance and all relevant licencing etc.

notanewuser wrote: »

I don't think I've ever been to a party that involved animals (well, not of the non-human kind).

Are you sure there's even a market for this? What animals are they?

Yes there is a market, and competition and exotic animals, snakes etc.

miduck

Gothpugs wrote: »

But what is deemend a start up period? a month? 6 months? a year?

And yes to insurance and all relevant licencing etc.




Yes there is a market, and competition and exotic animals, snakes etc.

The start up period is not defined, but it is not indefinite.

You still have not said how many parties you would need to do to bring in a living wage?

Gothpugs

miduck wrote: »

The start up period is not defined, but it is not indefinite.

You still have not said how many parties you would need to do to bring in a living wage?

Parties are not the only part of the business, there will be other sides to it including educational, but not including other avenues parties alone 8-10 a month depending on the size / attendance as price will vary depending on head count and distance and other factors.

miduck

Gothpugs wrote: »

8-10 a month depending on the size / attendance as price will vary depending on head count and distance and other factors.

How much are you charging for each party? It will have to be a fair amount for two people to live off when you consider the high overheads involved.

Gothpugs

miduck wrote: »

How much are you charging for each party? It will have to be a fair amount for two people to live off when you consider the high overheads involved.

£100 approx, with optional extras available and higher prices for higher attendance

BigAunty

notanewuser wrote: »

...

Or to put it another way, HMRC will expect your business to make profits of at least £360 per week (60 hours at minimum wage). Are you sure this business can achieve that in the not too distant future?

People with low incomes can get WTC - are you talking about proposed changes under the Universal Credit system which is trying to wean the self-employed off long-term benefit dependency by setting an aspiration that they can achieve at least the NMW with it.

BigAunty

Gothpugs wrote: »

£100 approx, with optional extras available and higher prices for higher attendance

But what does your business plan say about future cash flow - profit and loss? I believe the Business Link website used to have good BP templates and info on running a company - marketing, finance, accounts/record keeping, company structure, etc but I know their site has changed so I'm not sure how good it is.

The job centre run a new Enterprise Allowance Scheme though I think this might be for long-term unemployed people - this offers help with a business plan, mentor, loans and payment of benefits during the start up period.

Also, if you are under 30, the Princes Trust helps people into self employment.

Do also read up on the criteria for claiming WTC - as mentioned before, some self employed claimants have come a cropper because they think that being busy is sufficient to achieve the hours threshold and haven't actually twigged that they should be doing it in anticipation, not hope, of receiving payment.

For example, an online swimwear seller reported on this website forum that he fell foul of the HMRC and had to pay back masses of WTC. While he only sold 2 items in the year, he felt that spending most of his time doing website maintenance and being present for potential customer support was enough, the HMRC totally disagreed. We've also seen reports from book sellers and vintage wear sellers on ebay along similar lines, plus a graphic designer with virtually no customers and a person who sold things they made at bootfayres.

miduck

Gothpugs wrote: »

£100 approx, with optional extras available and higher prices for higher attendance

In which case, £800 - £1000 a month, minus your business costs, is not going to make for a viable business in the long term.

ALIBOBSY

miduck wrote: »

In which case, £800 - £1000 a month, minus your business costs, is not going to make for a viable business in the long term.

Will they both give up their jobs to do the business. It might be better for one to do the business full time and the other to keep working (full or part time-most childrens parties will be after school and weekends so surely the working partner could help after work and at weekends).

Once things start to take off the working partner could reassess?

Regarding the HMRC thing about hours, wonder how they would judge something more ethereal, like being a free lance writer. For that type of work you could spend hours/days/weeks prepping an article, story, novel without definately knowing it would sell straight away, where some other work would be a set fee per word-BUT only if your final article is accepted by the company you are writing for.

I can see a plumber or simular could only justify a certain numer of hours on a website/advertising/quoting for jobs/pushing leaflets, but things like writing/artists and stuff where you may submit a "product" to a company for a job which is then rejected and you get no pay?

I suppose they take it on a case by case basis, but I wonder if the big issue is how much you make over the year, as one of the posters above says if HMRC see it as lots of hours for virtually no pay they may decide its not really working.

Mind you that figure above would be around NMW for one of the couple.

Ali x

soolin

Gothpugs wrote: »

But what is deemend a start up period? a month? 6 months? a year?

And yes to insurance and all relevant licencing etc.




Yes there is a market, and competition and exotic animals, snakes etc.

My sons keep exotic pets including snakes and other reptiles and would be hard pressed to spend 5 hours a week looking after them. Most of the time they need no daily maintenance at all apart from some fresh veg or live food a few times a week for certains exotics.

As I am used to these animals I must say I am uneasy about them being used as party props, even under supervision, and with the known issues around salmonella and I hope you have insurance in the millions if children are getting anywhere near them:

http://www.cdc.gov/features/salmonellafrogturtle/

Young children are at increased risk for Salmonella infection because their immune systems are still developing and because they are more likely than others to put their fingers or other items into their mouths. Therefore, families with children aged 5 years or younger in the home should avoid keeping reptiles or amphibians as pets.

Personally I woudl think your insurance costs alone would make this business unviable, and never assume HMRC are daft- they can tell a business apart from someone trying to get WTCs