New Enterprise Allowance - has anyone done this? 4 January 2017 at 2:33PM in Small Biz MoneySaving 4 replies 5.7K views

Keedie

Hi All,

I am currently on Job Seekers Allowance & due to various reasons, I am unable to work full time and I am struggling to find a flexible part time job with a decent pay rate. I have therefore been seriously considering freelancing, and I have a few leads for potential clients (I will be doing HR consultancy).

Apparently if you are on benefits you may be eligible for a New Enterprise Allowance to help you set up your own business. Has anyone taken this route, or know anyone that has? And if so, would you recommend it?

https://www.gov.uk/new-enterprise-allowance

I have been looking at so much stuff on this forum and online in general about starting a business as a sole trader and I am still a bit overwhelmed by it all , and so it would be good to join a scheme that provides support. However, I can't find a lot of information about the Enterprise Allowance, and how it works in reality.

Any advice or help would be appreciated.

Keedie,
xx

lstro1

As much as I'd like to say the New Enterprise Allowance is a positive, entrepreneurial enticing experience I have to say the opposite. The mentoring at the very beginning is extremely helpful if you're not knowledgeable of business plans and cash forecasting, however when you are referred back to your Job Centre, it becomes very troublesome.

The main issues are that to be entitled for the allowance, you have to provide continuous proofs. This can work really well for businesses such as face to face enterprises, however if your startup is internet sphere; I'd personally avoid entirely.

The information the Job Centre requests initially is proof of trade. Internet start ups are very different to physical startups (f2f) in that there is much more involvement in building and developing your internet presence and this is something that cannot always been quantified and proved.

In my experience, the Job Centre staff were unable to understand the extent of work that goes into making a business and that there is an awful lot of planning needed. For example, upgrading a website or application can take in excess of 2 weeks if working on it full time. The job centre required a minute by minute account of what I was doing and screenshots.

As you can imagine, the experience has been so awful, that it would put any individual off pursuing a future past benefits.

Keedie

Hi lstro1,

Thanks for responding to me and giving me your honest experience. I don't think it will work for me, as I would want to online/virtual PA work. As I don't physically have the energy to commute to various places of work, hence I've been moved from JSA onto ESA as I am unable to work at all at the moment. I am getting seriously frustrated with having no money and being so ill that I can only lay on the sofa most days .

I think when my health is on the mend, I will just go back to trying to find a part time job. As I think the stress of trying to set up a business and deal with the DWP at the same time will just send me into one big relapse! :rotfl:

RoryJWebb

lstro1 wrote: »

As much as I'd like to say the New Enterprise Allowance is a positive, entrepreneurial enticing experience I have to say the opposite. The mentoring at the very beginning is extremely helpful if you're not knowledgeable of business plans and cash forecasting, however when you are referred back to your Job Centre, it becomes very troublesome.

The main issues are that to be entitled for the allowance, you have to provide continuous proofs. This can work really well for businesses such as face to face enterprises, however if your startup is internet sphere; I'd personally avoid entirely.

The information the Job Centre requests initially is proof of trade. Internet start ups are very different to physical startups (f2f) in that there is much more involvement in building and developing your internet presence and this is something that cannot always been quantified and proved.

In my experience, the Job Centre staff were unable to understand the extent of work that goes into making a business and that there is an awful lot of planning needed. For example, upgrading a website or application can take in excess of 2 weeks if working on it full time. The job centre required a minute by minute account of what I was doing and screenshots.

As you can imagine, the experience has been so awful, that it would put any individual off pursuing a future past benefits.

Couldn't agree more with them ^.

I was going to start up a web design company and all was extremely helpful in the beginning until I had to start giving continuous proof at the beginning. The Job Centre work coach seemed to think that building a website would be an afternoons work, when in reality it takes months. Therefore she started to make me feel stupid and my confidence took a turn and I really went off track and just didn't want to do it.

The Job Centre are awful and their staff are not well training at all. They are employed to help but half the time they just make you feel worthless and come out with the same outcome "Go work in a warehouse" or something.

Things have taken a better turn though and I set up a completely different company and now business is booming. No thanks to the Job Centre though.

Mr.Generous

Worked for me and I know 3 others who did it successfully. On one renovation we used a carpet fitter I met on one of the courses, tax I think.

The money is so little I would have gone ahead without it anyway, but after all that tax paid over the years I thought why not.

Job centre staff were absolutely fine with me, but someone else doing almost exactly the same business plan got hassled to continue looking for a job - I didn't. Must be my dazzling smile.