March 2014 in the Life of Ben (Blog)
Start Freelancing…How? (1th March 2014)
The very first things to know about working for yourself in the web industry.
Accountant
They will do your company setup and tax arrangements. Each year (or month) they will do more tax stuff and expenses.
First thing really is to find an accountant. You can do this online but might need to meet them or talk on the phone.
You can probably start without this…but it might become a problem later! Some accounts are only online now, like the company Fiona uses.
Recruitment Agencies
They will find work for you.
Ecom
They are usually busy so they’ll probaby have work for you. But they will try and push your price as low as possible when first start there, in my experience.
Digital Gurus
Much nicer but can go silent for long spells at a time. You have to keep in contact with them if you want to work often:
Umbrella Company
Creating my own Limited Company was too daunting at first. Now that I’ve done it it’s a lot of paperwork which takes a lot of time. The advantages are subtle but add up over time.
It basically means you use them for all your financial stuff. You still have to find work but you can use a recruitment company. You pay the umbrella company about £20 per timesheet and they do all the paperwork for you. (Including your expenses.)
Policy Bee Business Insurance
As I’m a Limited Company my liability for things going wrong is, well limited. Very basically there are two kinds of insurance you will need to work at the more organised places:
- Public Liability Insurance
- Someone has an accident or something gets damaged.
- Professional Indemnity Insurance
- Something about your work makes your client want their money back.
Remember to tell them I referred you when you fill in the online form! (Either Ben Millard or Site Surgeon Limited.)
Only the First Step
That should get you started.
Be honest with everyone and be humble. Once you prove yourself, you can ask for better roles and more money.
If you agree to a difficult but find it too hard…they might not send another job to you!
Starting with easy jobs takes the stress off you and the money is still OK.