UKC

I'm looking for help, I've been in the outdoor industry for 5 years, and just going self employed/freelance

I'm after any advice etc in starting out, like what I can claim etc

Thanks

In reply to ride_998:

It's probably worth having a chat with an accountant and you may want to look at options between forming a limited company or being a sole trader as different tax provisions can apply.

In reply to ride_998:

First heads up, you don't get to claim anything. What you can do is offset certain costs against your profit to avoid paying tax on said profit. You don't get free money off HMRC.

You actually have to spend money to avoid paying tax - it's a distinction some people get confused by. You'll hear people say "I'm buying all this kit to claim against tax". What they're actually doing is spending their profit, paying tax on said goods anyway, and one presumes they're living on whatever the personal allowance is.

Research 'duality of use' so you don't come a cropper should you ever get called in. It nearly caught me out.

Keep good records and receipts. Expect periods of downtime where you're living on fumes. Get a good reputation.

Good luck.

In reply to ride_998:

I made the same decision in December last year – well I made the decision long before but it took time to get my ducks in a row. I'm a freelance designer / developer but some things in my blog post about it might cross over to what you are doing. Essentially, prepare and then go for it.

http://www.steveperrycreative.com/going-solo/

In reply to ride_998:

Most tradesmen and folk such as yourself who go self employed fail because they lack business knowledge. You've been given some decent advice so far.

So find out about marketing yourself. How are you going to get people to know you exist?
How are you going to make yourself different? Why hire you?

How much are you going to charge? Will this include travel? Include gear too? Are you going in high or low?

Tax has been mentioned. You need to brush up on that obviously!!!!

Are you intending to be a sole trader or Ltd company?

In reply to ride_998:

All I did was register as a sole trader, created an invoice template, sent out a load of CV's to various companies and kept a record of my income and outgoings. registered for online self-assessment.

You might want to consider public liability insurance as many companies in the outdoor industry will require you to have it.

In reply to ride_998:

Couple of links that may be of interest...

Facebook freelancers group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/50023471821/

My route to becoming freelance: http://www.jbmountainskills.co.uk/how-i-became.html

Be prepared to work hard!

In reply to Stuart (aka brt):

I believe it's costs against charges( i.e. what you invoice people for) what is left is profit or surplus
and is what you take as your income and potentially pay income tax on.

Get an accountant who is familiar or prepared to become with the outdoor industry.

Don't forget to pay your monthly self employed National Insurance contribution, it's not much.

In reply to ride_998:

You will have to be prepared to work harder and longer (hours) than you are probably used to.
You have to do the jobs of about three people - whatever service you are offering; sales, marketing, publicity; secretary/accountant.
You have to keep good accounts: receipts for all legitimate business expenses, proper invoices for every job, and income/expenditure accounts (monthly spreadsheets).
You will have to spend a lot of time promoting/marketing yourself. A website will definitely help (depending on what you are doing).
Don't expect any great success overnight. It takes a long time to get established. Depending on how good your network of potential clients is already, it could take at least a year, possibly longer before you are earning a comfortable living/making an adequate profit. Every day you are not working halves the profit you made on a day you were working.
There is no safety net.
It is immensely satisfying if you are successful (i.e make a enough to live on, comfortably). You are your own master; you decide when and how you will work; when you take time off/holidays etc (very few in practice)
I've been freelance all my life, for 39 years.
Good luck.

In reply to ride_998:

What outdoor qualifications do you have?

In reply to ride_998:

You might want to consider some sort of creditor protection if possible. Not sure of it will be possible in your case but things like putting you house in you spouse's name (if you have one)might be wise.

I would (god forbid) talk to both an accountant and a lawyer. On that note, not all professional services are the same and you get what you pay for.