While rewarding, the jump to self-employment can be hard. Let us make it easier for you with 10 important considerations in our freelancing startup guide.
Striking out on your own is becoming an increasingly popular career choice in the UK. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of self-employed people has risen from 3.3 million in 2001 to 4.8 million in 2017, which comprises 15.1% of the total labour force. Clearly, freelancers are on the rise.
While the freedom and flexibility offered by the freelancing lifestyle sounds idyllic, the transition from a full-time job, a recently-finished higher study course or even a spell of unemployment can be a difficult one. With that in mind, this handy freelancing startup guide aims to point you in the right direction and ensure you don’t overlook any of the least glamorous but most crucial aspects of the business when it comes to setting up your own.
With so many plates to keep spinning, it can be difficult to remember everything that must be undertaken in order to make a successful fist of this freelance malarkey. To simplify matters, the checklist below should keep you on the right track for taking your first steps into a life of self-employment and ensure you don’t veer off course.
Knowing your intended audience is paramount for success in any business venture, but it can even more important when operating alone. With less time and resources to devote to both your marketing efforts and your client portfolio, you’ll need to ensure you’re targeting a market that will welcome and value your services.
Having pinpointed your audience, you’ll need to make them aware of your presence. Online is everything in today’s marketing terms, so a user-friendly, informative and engaging website is a must, while an active social media presence can also go a long way to raising brand awareness and spreading the word about your new venture. A portfolio of your work is also an effective way of demonstrating your abilities to those interested in your services.
With the rise in freelance culture, there have sprung up a number of sites dedicated to uniting buyers and sellers online. The competition may be fierce here, but they can be an excellent place to start your search and access a whole new database of prospective leads, rather than waiting for them to come to you.
When starting out on the freelance scene, it can be difficult to know exactly how much to charge customers for your work. Will you operate on a per-project basis or set an hourly or daily rate? Get a good idea of what the current marketplace climate looks like by checking out your competitors’ rates, then set yours accordingly. Remember, undercutting with cheaper prices might be tempting, but could leave you overworked and out of pocket in the long run.
With freelancers interacting with so many potential clients on a near-daily basis, it can be tempting to create templates and use the same pitch for multiple leads, time and time again. While it might be acceptable to replicate certain messages for like-minded targets, you should still take the time to personalise every email you send to show the recipient that you are serious about working with them and willing to devote the time to securing their custom.
Once you’ve landed your first few customers and completed a job or two, don’t rest on those laurels. Ask your customers to give you a review which you can use as valuable marketing material, while encouraging them to refer you to their colleagues or acquaintances can be a superb way of driving business and increasing outreach. If you perform every job with the same, care attention and ability you’re capable of, your client list will swell in no time.
While securing income is one of the most crucial aspects of starting out as a freelancer, looking after your outgoings is equally important – especially in relation to your tax obligations. When registering with HMRC, you’ll need to decide whether you want to become a sole trader or set up a limited company. The former might be less stressful and involve reduced paperwork, but the latter offers impressive financial benefits and greater protection.
A third alternative to the two options listed above could be to contract the services of an umbrella company. These professional firms essentially “hire” you as an employee, issuing you with a wage, offering you statutory benefits not normally available to freelancers (such as holiday pay, sick pay and maternity or paternity leave) and handling all of the difficult administration, in exchange for a weekly or monthly fee for their services.
Regardless of whether you opt to work as a sole trader, set up a limited company or go with an umbrella company, you’ll need to flex your budgeting muscles. Freelancers are far more in charge of their own finances than employees of other companies, meaning you’ll need to set aside funds for stock and equipment, premises on which you’ll work, your tax obligations, your personal pension and any other costs which might arise. An umbrella company can take the strain off some of these duties, but a prudent approach will always serve you well.
One other financial overhead which is often overlooked by freelancers new to the scene is insurance. As well as protecting your assets, it’s quite probable that there are certain other forms of insurance demanded by your job, depending on the industry in which you operate. Professional indemnity and public liability are just two such policies which you may be required to take out, so make sure you cover yourself in the face of any eventuality.
Our freelancing startup guide should help with most of the essentials in your journey to self-employment. For everything else, you can rely on an umbrella company. With Umbrella Supermarket, you can compare leading umbrella companies in minutes and get quotes tailored to your monthly income. Give it a try today to find the best deal for you.
Any contractor considering switching to an umbrella company will want to know how to find the best provider to work with.
Although you could spend your precious time and energy searching the web for the best umbrella company, there is an easier way – using an umbrella calculator.
In this guide, Umbrella Supermarket explains why every contractor should use an umbrella calculator in 2021.
If you are considering contracting you will need to decide on PAYE or umbrella.
It can be a difficult decision to make and contractors will inevitably be questioning which option will be the best for them.
To help every contractor get on the right track for them, in this guide Umbrella Supermarket looks at PAYE vs umbrella, outlining the key differences and how this will impact you.
There are many reasons that contractors across the UK opt to work under an umbrella company.
Umbrella companies offer an easy way to contract and remove the need for the contractors to worry about the burdens of admin, finances, tax and IR35, all things that limited company contractors have to deal with.
For this reason, many contractors will be weighing up their options and questioning whether it is worth using an umbrella company in 2021. To help make the decision that little bit easier, Umbrella Supermarket has put together this guide on the pros and cons of using an umbrella company.
Any contractor that is considering operating through an umbrella company in 2021 will need to understand Umbrella Company fees - from why an umbrella company charges fees, how they are paid to how much the contractor will pay.
In this guide, Umbrella Supermarket answers those all-important questions to help every contractor know exactly where they stand when it comes to umbrella company fees.
If you’ve made the decision to contract through an umbrella company in 2021, you will next need to find an umbrella company that’s right for you.
After all, there are lots of umbrella companies out there, so how do you know which one to choose?
To help you find the best umbrella company for you, in this guide Umbrella Supermarket outlines what makes a good umbrella company, so you can rest assured you’re making the right move.
One of the many advantages to operating through an umbrella company for contractors is that they become an employee of their chosen provider.
In turn, this means that the contractor will be automatically enrolled onto the umbrella company’s workplace pension scheme.
To help contractors find out more about umbrella company pensions Umbrella Supermarket has put together this handy guide.
If you are considering contracting through an umbrella company you will naturally have questions and queries over how they work.
After all, making the move to umbrella can be a big step for contractors. To help, in this guide Umbrella Supermarket explains how to get started with an umbrella company and share our top tips for using one in 2021.
PAYE or umbrella is a question asked by every contractor. Which one you opt for will have a big impact on your contracting career and lifestyle. So, it's important to make the right decision for you.
To help makes things a little bit easier, Umbrella Supermarket has put together this guide on PAYE or umbrella, outlining the key differences between each, to help you make the best and most informed decision for you.
One of the many benefits to working through an umbrella company is that you will receive holiday pay as well as a range of other statutory benefits including sick pay, maternity and paternity pay.
To find out more about umbrella company holiday pay, and how to calculate how much you will be entitled to, Umbrella Supermarket has put together this handy guide.
Contractors must make several decisions throughout their contracting careers. One big decision contractors have to make is how they will operate.
One way that contractors can work is through an umbrella company.
Umbrella companies have become an increasingly popular way to contract in the past few years, offering many benefits to the contractor. But, how do you know whether this option is right for you?
To help every contractor make the right decision for them, in this guide, Umbrella Supermarket explains when not to use an umbrella company.
There are tons of benefits to using an umbrella company, which is why they have become such a popular option for contractors in recent years.
After all, an umbrella company takes away the stress and hassle of operating through a limited company whilst offering contractors a range of advantages, such as statutory rights, paying them a salary, deducting correct tax levels and National Insurance, and taking care of tasks like expense processing and invoicing.
However, as more and more contractors opt to use the services of an umbrella company, more providers have started to claim that they are HMRC approved.
To bust the myths around HMRC approved umbrella companies and get straight to the facts, in today's guide Umbrella Supermarket look at whether HMRC approved umbrella companies really exist, so you know exactly where you stand.
If you're considering making the leap to contracting, you will understandably want to know how much you will have to pay in umbrella company costs. After all, this amount comes directly out of the contractor’s pocket, so it’s important to be clued up on how much you should expect to pay.
To help contractors, in this guide Umbrella Supermarket answer the all-important question of how umbrella companies cost in 2021.
