If you have a good business idea and are prepared to implement it then working for yourself (self-employment) could be the answer. Self-employment can be very rewarding but can also take a lot of hard work and dedication. Luckily like this article there is plenty of FREE help and support available for new budding entrepreneurs in 2012.
TYPES OF SELF-EMPLOYMENT
There are several types of self-employment and these include:
• Sole Trader (working alone)
• Partnership (with two or more people)
• Limited Company (business has a separate identity)
• Franchise (buying the right to run a branch of a business that
someone else has set up)
UPSIDE
If you get it right, being self-employed can be exciting and rewarding. Advantages of being self-employed include:
• Being your own boss
• Turning your hobby/passion into profits
• More flexibility
• Unlimited earnings
• Getting the praise and rewards for your achievements (not your
boss)
DOWNSIDE
Going self-employed can be very challenging and as with all things has a downside. We have added some possible solutions to the disadvantages of self-employment, allowing you to make the most of your business:
• Not
having a regular income
• Getting
finance/grants
• Keeping
and submitting business accounts
• Marketing
your business
• Making
your business productive
FINANCIAL HELP FOR NEW BUSINESSES
Find information regarding support and advice on grants and finances for new business ventures.
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT 2011
So far 2011 has seen significant support from the government in encouraging people to become self-employed. You can find free information, advice and support to help you start, maintain and develop your business.
FINANCE SUPPORT
• How to attract investment
• Managing your cash flow
• Improving your cash flow and businesses performance
• Expert financial advice
GRANT SUPPORT
• Grants Overview
• Government support for businesses
• Business support finder
• Government guaranteed lending schemes
• Innovation, research and development grants
• Support networks and facilities for innovation and R&D
• Find support for inventors
• Work with UK universities and colleges
For more information about FINANCIAL HELP FOR NEW BUSINESSES, please visit DirectGov...
NEW ENTERPRISE ALLOWANCE APRIL 20011
As well as the general help and advice available from Business Link, Business Gateway and Business support Wales, additional support is also available for jobseekers through Jobcentre Plus.
David Cameron "It is vital that we ensure businesses, and those people who find themselves out of work but have the drive and desire to set up their own businesses, have all the advice, support and mentoring they need."
The New Enterprise Allowance will be established from April 2011. It will give Jobseeker’s Allowance customers access to business mentoring and a financial package Budding entrepreneurs seeing self-employment as a viable option will receive allowances equating to £1,275 over six months. They will be paired with "volunteer" mentors drawn from the local business communities who will vet business plans and if they prove strong enough, Jobcentre Plus will provide a loan of up to £1,000 to cover start-up costs.
For more information about the NEW ENTERPRISE ALLOWANCE please contact your local Jobcentre Plus personal adviser.
WORKING TAX CREDITS
When you initially start your own business money can be tight, you may qualify for Working Tax Credits, as they cover individuals on a low income and best of all they are non taxable. Visit the Direct Gov website and use their online calculator to see if you qualify.
For more information about WORKING TAX CREDITS, please visit DirectGov...
BUSINESS PRODUCTIVITY
In businesses life new or established, efficient productivity is the key to success. ICT (Information Technology Communication) covers a broad selection of essential applications vital in the modern workplace to help improve a businesses productivity. Essential business applications covered include Word-Processing, Spreadsheets, Databases, Presentations, IT Security, File Management, Internet and Email. The efficient use of these ICT applications can help a businesses effectiveness, enabling it to expand and enhance it's customer base and services. All these vital application skills can be gained via home study courses and can be incorporated into several globally popular qualifications including ECDL and ITQ.
For more information about IMPROVING YOUR BUSINESSES PRODUCTIVITY please visit learn-new-skills-from-home...
MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS
For many years the internet has been a vital tool for marketing businesses, via a company website. Some businesses simply put a website on-line for the sake of having a web presence but generally, most particularly SME (Small Medium Enterprises) use and need the web to get essential business, which allows them to grow. The web has potentially millions of customers looking for businesses. These consumers are able to view there desired products and services at a mere click of a button.
BUSINESSES AND THE WEB
Getting your website noticed by major search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo is the key to success but how do you overcome this major obstacle? Well there's one thing for sure and that's there's plenty of websites (hundreds of thousands) out there saying, if you use their SEO (Search Engine Optimization) services they will increase your websites status using their techniques. These services can be effective but also very costly. The main factors of good SEO are good and original content, good keyword density, good site navigation (user friendly) and of course plenty of one-way quality backlinks. All these factors of SEO can be achieved by DIY (Do It Yourself) SEO. Even those highly sort after backlinks can be achieved via DIY SEO by using the following methods. Look for good quality related sites in other words, if you have a site that is educational look for similar blogs, forums, articles and EDU websites to add your details too. Try and add unique constructive material to these sites as that will help enhance your backlinking further, most important of all DON'T SPAM, as your site could get penalized. With DIY SEO you can have control of what's happening to your site on the web and don't become a more and more common statistic of a site with thousands of backlinks but no page-ranking.
For more information about MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS, please visit our Marketing Your Website page:
KEEPING AND SUBMITING BUSINESS ACCOUNTS
As a start-up business you may have thought you weren’t big enough to warrant the use of an accountant. If you’ve come this far without one, that decision has perhaps been justified. But now you’re up and running, the likelihood is you’ll need professional advice sooner rather than later. You may be inclined to wait for that time to arise, but there are plenty of reasons why it makes sense to talk to an accountant straight away.
Today’s accountants aren’t simply figures people. An accountant can provide your business with not only bookkeeping and financial services but also a wider overall package of business advice and consultancy. A good accountant will offer take care of your accounts but also offer advice on how to free up cash flow, make savings and raise capital for expansion. They’ll know tax laws and legislation inside out and will be able to suggest ways that you operate more efficiently and tax savvy. Regardless of how good you think you are with figures, an accountant will find new ways to save money.
SELF-EMPLOYED
Facilities available to Self-Employed (Sole Traders):
• Full Tax Calculations
• Refund Claims
• Revenue and Customs Correspondence
• Tax Questions
LIMITED COMPANY
Facilities available to Limited Companies:
• Bookkeeping
• Monthly management accounts
• Monthly payslip's for your staff
• End of year payroll returns
• VAT returns, if registered
• Dividend administration
• P11D’s
• Personal and Corporate Tax Planning and Advice
• Personal Taxation
• Corporate Tax Returns
• Year end accounts
• Unlimited support and advice from your dedicated accountant
For more information about KEEPING AND SUBMITING BUSINESS ACCOUNTS, please visit Accounting Freedom....
