A Guide to Self-Employment in the UK
Many people would say that you will never be rich if you work for another, rather you should work for yourself and you can do this when you register as self-employed. It is quite easy to register with the UK government as self-employed and this means you have to file your own tax returns and manage your books.
Contents
Marketing
Whatever your skillsets, you need to market your services and the best way to do that is to contact King Kong, a leading UK-based digital marketing agency that have all the answers. They can tailor their services to suit your business and localised SEO is probably something you need. Create a marketing plan that includes social media and maybe even pay per click advertising and let the agency manage the campaign.
Essential tools & equipment
Whatever your chosen trade, you will need a suite of tools and some essential equipment and you should take out insurance that covers you for loss or theft. We don’t recommend that you leave your tools in your van overnight, as theft is a big problem in the UK. It might be inconvenient to store them every night, but it is better than having your essential gear stolen.
Outsource bookkeeping
There are local accounting companies that handle self-employed people’s accounts and if you need to register for VAT, so be it. Don’t make the mistake of getting behind with your bookkeeping, as this could cause a serious issue further down the road. Make sure you file your tax returns on time and you won’t be hassled by HMRC.
Government support
Not all self-employed people can receive government support; search online to find the UK government website that handles such requests and you can act on that information. The government does offer freelancers a lot of assistance and you might also get some tax concessions. You won’t have to pay any tax until the end of your second year, which really helps.
Building a reputation within the local community
If you are working in a local community, word of mouth counts so always go that extra mile to ensure that the customer is happy. If you adopt a customer-focused approach, this should ensure that you get a lot of recommendations.