creative maverick

I was asked for input into an article for Look magazine this week, apparently the UK’s best selling women’s magazine. It’s to go with an article about recession-proofing your career and my bit is a beginner’s guide to starting a business as an alternative to staying in a dicey job market.

Here’s what I wrote:

• Self-employment can be safer than a job because you can have multiple clients rather than one employer but you must choose the right line of work to start
• Make sure your business solves genuine problems experienced by a large number of people at a price they’re willing to pay
• Don’t look for a business with no competition - there’s probably no market. Do something people need and do it well.
• Choose a business that’s growing in demand, not one in decline. This is not the time to open a record shop!
• Build your business around work that you will enjoy doing - it’ll make the hard work more fun and your passion for the work will attract clients
• Creating multiple income streams means you won’t be dependent on one line of work that might disappear but you’ll need to be very organised to manage it all.
• Launch one income stream at a time. Once one is running, you can start another. Be clear which line of work is your cash cow and prioritise it.
• Aim for passive income when you can - create the business so that once it’s running it requires little or no input from you.
• Look for people to collaborate with on each part of your business who have different skills to offer and then only do the part you are best at on every project.

• If you are providing services on your own, you can register as self-employed. You will need to submit a self assessment tax return every year.
• Limited companies provide more protection if your business gets into trouble but come with more paperwork and accounting. Speak to an accountant to help make the decision.
• An accountant or company formation agent can register your company. They will typically charge a fee between £25 and £150.
• Unless you are fearless about paperwork use an accountant to do your limited company’s accounts. They will charge from £100 a month upwards.
• Related income streams can run through one business.
• You can register multiple businesses with yourself as Director of each one.

• Get clients quickly - be clear who your target customer is. Work out where they hang out and offer to give a free talk there.
• Set up a free website for your business at weebly.com
• Choose a good domain name that is easy to remember and spell
• Save money on advertising: write an information-packed article on your area of expertise and submit it for publication on related websites. Include a link to your business’ website and you’ll get a better response than an ad - all for free!
• Google adwords provides a useful way to bring visitors to your website within minutes and you can limit how much you spend per day
• Business Link provides lots of free business advice and training