Starting own petsitting business - sole trader or limited company?

davidbennett1819

Apologies in advance if this is in the wrong place.

I've recently decided to start up my own pet service business, focusing primarily on petsitting, dog walking, behaviour advice and grooming. I've already got a good client base baked in from my network of contacts.

Apart from my own wage, the overheads would be 0, and I already have £3,000 in savings so there's virtually no chance of the venture failing in the traditional manner.

I'm hoping to use the profits to save up for a Master's degree, either in 2017 or 2018.

Which do you think would be better for such a venture? As I understand it, I'd pay slightly less tax and have less admin if I became a sole trader. Can't see a difference a far as insurance goes.

On the other hand, though the business "failing" are slim to none (neutralizing the need for limited liability) running a limited company would give me skills I could use in management/higher roles later in my career, as well as experience of starting my own company.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

motorguy

Sole trader.

A LTD company for what you're proposing would be overkill.

There are no skills involved in the admin of a ltd company that would later benefit you in a management role.

Crazy_Jamie

davidbennett1819 wrote: »

Apart from my own wage, the overheads would be 0, and I already have £3,000 in savings so there's virtually no chance of the venture failing in the traditional manner.

Really? What are you intending to groom the dogs with? You might also want to consider getting some appropriate liability insurance.

In any event, it does seem that the sole trader route would be better for something like this.

missbiggles1

davidbennett1819 wrote: »

Apologies in advance if this is in the wrong place.

I've recently decided to start up my own pet service business, focusing primarily on petsitting, dog walking, behaviour advice and grooming. I've already got a good client base baked in from my network of contacts.

Apart from my own wage, the overheads would be 0, and I already have £3,000 in savings so there's virtually no chance of the venture failing in the traditional manner.

I'm hoping to use the profits to save up for a Master's degree, either in 2017 or 2018.

Which do you think would be better for such a venture? As I understand it, I'd pay slightly less tax and have less admin if I became a sole trader. Can't see a difference a far as insurance goes.

On the other hand, though the business "failing" are slim to none (neutralizing the need for limited liability) running a limited company would give me skills I could use in management/higher roles later in my career, as well as experience of starting my own company.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Do you have any qualifications or training in these?