Sometimes a business only needs one person to succeed.

The urge to take control of your own destiny and work for yourself may be a life goal, or out of necessity. Regardless of what drives you, self-employment can be tough to navigate, and a clear direction can stop you taking too many wrong turns along the way.

An employee can take many things for granted, such as:

• A finance department
• A HR department
• An IT department

Even a monthly wage!

But when you are self-reliant, you must deal with all these challenges, and countless more, yourself.

If you are starting out on your own, either as a sole trader or a contractor, I can help you avoid the mistakes commonly made by others.

What financial problems do you have?

Going self-employed means wandering into the great unknown. Everything can seem daunting and complicated. An experienced adviser can therefore become a friendly, familiar face in a big crowd of strangers.

The most common issues I encounter with self-employed people are:

• Not knowing how to trade; sole trader, a limited company or a partnership?
• Having trouble separating their business finances from your personal finances
• Cashflow issues
• Not tracking expenses and revenue properly
• Long term goals. Many make plans to survive through tough periods, but you’d be surprised how many aren’t prepared if their business is a runaway success
• Employees. You may need to employ staff, which can come with its own set of hurdles
• How to cope with the unexpected; you don’t have sick-pay or death in service benefits to fall back on
• There will almost certainly be less paid into your pension as you will have lost those valuable employer contributions. How will this affect your retirement plans?

How can I help?

I know how overwhelming the financial side of business can seem. I can advise you how to make the right decisions, and more importantly, avoid the wrong and expensive ones.

• I can help you identify what type of business you need to trade as. There are advantages and disadvantages to setting up a limited company and I can ensure that you make the right choices
• Many people find themselves falling into self-employment, and can delay setting up a business bank account and a solid infrastructure for their finances. I can help you keep business and pleasure apart so that you don’t get tied in knots when it comes to do your tax returns
• Having a solid cashflow is important, and I can help you find ways to make sure that you have enough cash on tap to pay for any costs that need paying
• Keeping hold of receipts and invoices is a hard habit to form, but it saves you time and money when it comes to handle your taxes. I can help you to know which information is important to keep
• What happens if your business does better than expected? More money means more tax and I can ensure that you make the best decisions to keep both you and the taxman happy
• Handling employees is an artform, and if your one-man band starts to become an orchestra I can help you make sure everything is put in place for them
• My advice will ensure that if the worst happens and you become ill, or die, you and your family are financially secure
• I’ll also make sure that your retirement goals are not sacrificed on the altar of self-employment

Setting up your own business is tremendously exciting. But, the financial side of things can soon wear you down.

Don’t let your passion and drive die because of a tax return or a complexly worded document. I’m here to make things as plain and as simple as possible so that you can pour your energy into the thing that matters; your trade, your clients, your craft and your future.