Self-Employment - The Essential Guide

Working for yourself provides an alternative to getting a job, particularly in certain industries or when you have the kind of skills that are suited to self-employment. It can be rewarding both personally and financially, but it can also be very tough and many small businesses fail in their first year.This book helps you to decide if you are the right kind of person to venture out on your own, and looks closely at both the advantages and the pitfalls of working for yourself. It also outlines the practical and emotional aspects of setting up on your own, such as: • The ups and downs of self-employment and whether you are really suited to it.• Why you might want to work for yourself, what you could do and having a ‘portfolio’ career. • The places you could work from – from home to serviced offices.• Your obligations in terms of tax, National Insurance, pensions and insurance. • Marketing and networking – the lifeblood of any business. • Setting up and running a website for publicity or as the core part of a business.• How to get financing when banks aren’t lending much. • A Help List and plenty of recommendations about work you can do, and organisations that can provide guidance and information.