Ah, the self-employed life. There can’t be many people who haven’t dreamed of ditching the nine-to-five in favour of a no-more-Mondays, master-of-your-own-destiny future involving days hammering away on a laptop from a seat at the garden table.
It’s a lifestyle that more people are going after than ever before. There are currently 4.8 million people (that’s 15% of the labour force) working for themselves in the UK. They’re happier: research by Sheffield and Exeter universities revealed the self-employed had higher levels of job satisfaction. They could also be wealthier, with one 2018 study finding self-employed workers earn an average of £33,000 a year – £5,000 more than the UK average.
Yet going it alone and being your own boss comes with heavy caveats. There is no safety net. There are no steady paycheques. Then there are the self-esteem-shattering knockbacks, the got-to-pay-the-rent panics and long stints of working alone. Not everybody in the UK’s growing army of the self-employed will be successful, but there are a few tricks to make it work.
Don’t give up the day job (yet)
“It might take six months or more, but do as much as you can before handing your notice in,” says career coach Carole Ann Rice. “Build your website during evenings or weekends, and have a few clients lined up. Otherwise, you’ll be under lots of pressure to make the business work from zero. You’ll get panicky; not a good way to run a company.”
Rachael White founded fancy dress/children’s accessories firm Thingimijigs with her husband, Colin, in 2004, selling their kids’ unwanted toys on ebay. At the time, both had full-time jobs. “It enabled us to save money for three months’ worth of bills, and meant we could research the business with the security blanket of our wages,” she says. After six months of non-stop work, both quit their jobs. Today, Thingimijigs has a £1.3m turnover.
Simulate the office environment
Sitting around in your pyjamas may seem like a home-worker’s inalienable benefit, but dressing smartly is key for developing a professional mindset when toiling away in your spare room. “Mentally, it’s not good to work in your pyjamas or pants, plus you may get caught out on Skype,” says Rice. “Don’t use your bed as your office: you need a proper working area where family, dogs, or children can’t come barging in.”
Embrace first-year frugality
Clare Haines started Lingerie Outlet Store from her garage in 2009 by trading goods on ebay. Her first year was tough. Having spent £15,000 on an initial shipment of lingerie – “it was a gamble; the deposit to a house I didn’t have yet” – she reined in her spending. “I didn’t pay myself for 12 months,” she says. “For a year, I ate beans. I didn’t buy any clothes. I would sit by my window on a Friday night and see my neighbours go down the pub while I was there working.” It paid off. Today, the firm employs 26 staff and is predicted to have a turnover of £12m this year.
Learn the art of self-promotion
“Never assume the phone’s going to ring and commissions will come in,” says Rice. “You need to market yourself like a proper business.” Many self-starters have a very British phobia when it comes to splashing their wares on social media. “When people say: ‘I don’t like marketing or sales’, I say: ‘Don’t be in business’, because nobody will buy your hats or cakes otherwise. See yourself as a commercial business, get out there and network. Hustle.”
It’s also worth using the reputation of any big-name firms that you work with. “We marketed on ebay and people knew that if anything went wrong, they would step in on the customer’s side,” says Haines. “The ebay link provided assurance to customers that they could buy from us.”
… but don’t let social media take up all your time
Your laptop might be all you need to run a business, but it’s also a device where you can stream Netflix shows you’ll never watch, plus get sucked into Wikipedia wormholes about the history of fax machines. Ration your time online (try productivity-improving internet-blockers such as Freedom or StayFocusd) or follow the advice of career coach John Lees: “Design a business that runs itself, so you’ll be fed by word-of-mouth connections. [Your clients] don’t have time to spend on social media or your website.”
Try to maintain a healthy work-life balance
“Many people end up becoming the worst boss they’ve ever had – putting in 16-hour days or not giving themselves sick leave,” says Rice. “They soon find they’re not exercising or eating properly.” Her advice? “Plan breaks, have a proper lunch hour and set a time to finish. It’s very easy to be stuck on the computer until midnight … Even Richard Branson and Warren Buffet have time to play golf.”
Millions of people are using ebay to start a business, make more of a hobby or carve out a new career. Find out more here
