Yoiks! I\'ve quit my job

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lono

New member
The title says it all really. I\'ve just handed in my notice and will be working the last day of my nice comfortable desk job at GW HQ on 22nd September. After that I will no longer have access to a regular income, no more chance for sneak peeks at all of the cool looking new stuff, no crazy staff discount and I will be a freelance website developer!

Am I excited? You betcha!

Am I shitting my pants? Oh hell yes!

Even though I have been thinking about it for months and have several web jobs lined up I\'m still not quite sure that it\'s a terribly wise decision. I am, you see, one of the least motivated and organised people in the world.

\'So, what\'s the point of this thread?\' I hear you cry. Well, I was hoping that some other self employed members of this board, particularly those in the UK, could give me some top tips for coping in this new situation. Things to do, taxes to pay, accountant services to look into, all that boring stuff that I haven\'t really considered in the rush to no longer be workin for the man!
 
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hakoMike

New member
Wow, that takes some big brass ones, and I wish you the best.

How are your potential clients going to find you?
 
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EricJ

New member
good job, it\'s always nice to be the your own boss. I started my own design business (but in the US, so I can\'t tell you about any tax/administrative details in the UK), but just didn\'t quit my other job, so now I just work twice as much, which has it\'s advantages.

The BIG issues is motivation, when there is no one to answer to but yourself, then you have to be tougher on yourself than you might expect. At first I thought it would be great, no boss! But there has to be a boss, and it has to be you, and you have to lay down the law to yourself.

The first time I tried to be self employed I didn\'t do this, and it went horribly, I got almost no work lined up, did that work slowly, etc...I was too lax with myself and it failed, but was a good learning experience.

Anyway, good luck, it\'s an awesome feeling when it works out, so make it work! :)
 
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Spacemunkie

New member
There are LOTS of people out there doing what you intend to do. Advertise. An ad in BT\'s Phonebook will set you back 200 quid but would be worth it I reckon. Flyer local businesses too. Self employed friends are a great source of income too....

Go to the HMRC site and register yourself as self employed. You have to file a tax return once a year, and this can be done online with relative ease.

I say relative ease because it\'s only easy if you organise ALL your expenses and income. You need invoices and receipts for EVERYTHING! Remember that you can claim lots of things legitimately as business expenses if you work from home, so keep everything!

You will have to pay NI which works out at about £9 a month (Cool huh? :D)

It depends how many jobs you intend doing, but filing a return is a doddle once all the paper is sorted into tidy piles, so an accountant may not be worth spending money on to start with.

Oh, be prepared for your tax bill in January. That means saving some of what you make. Or it can be quite painful.

All in all, the numbers end of it was easier than I thought. Which was nice :)
 
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lono

New member
Cheers all. I don’t know if it was really bravery. It just seemed like the right time so I thought it through for a good long time, lost a bit of sleep over it and eventually just got to realise that it still seemed like the right time. More so in fact because I had some work lined up now too.

Thanks for some good stuff there Spacemunkie. I do tend to hoard receipts and paperwork anyway, and compared to most of my collections it is all pretty organised so that\'s one hurdle crossed.

As for how I\'m going to get business, it’s a plan so simple it may just be genius:

Now until September 21st
Work on the layout and content management system for my first freelance website. Continue to save wages through this period and make sure I don’t fritter any cash away.

September 22nd
Finish my job. Possibly have some booze. If booze touches my lips, probably fall over (I haven’t drunk for about three months now and will be lightweight beyond belief). Drinks should be on everyone else. Don’t get generous. Spend no money!

September 24th
Go to Games Day (Perhaps with a Golden Demon entry as I can enter any category now and have a moderate chance of final cut, which would be cool.) Do NOT spend any money!!

October 1st
Launch first website, receive payment for it and get my last pay cheque. DON’T WASTE IT!!!

October to December
Two more websites underway, one another paid job, one to be my online portfolio.
Possible ebay action on the go to survive!
Throughout this period I will also be busy trying to pimp the first website out to other clients (but with their identity and content of course) and (it gets a little speculative here) filling up the next year with jobs.

2007
More websites based around the build of the first site and two more personal website projects that may or may not work out.

2008
Realise my money has run dry, I’ve battered my ISA and that it is time to return to regular employment.













As if!

As if I\'d end the story like that.

We should do the mega happy ending!

2008
Stumble upon an amazingly undiscovered great idea or get a lucrative government contract. Kick back on a beach somewhere with Tia Carrere in a bikini (that’s me in the bikini. I’m with Tia Carrere, I wouldn’t want you getting the wrong idea ;) ).

OK, I lied at the start, it isn’t really a simple plan. It’s a tangled web of hope, dreams, ifs and maybes, but at least I’ve thought about it a bit. Felt good jotting it down too somehow.
 
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Mr.S.Marbo

New member
Ok the boring stuff a lot of which Space munkie has covered:

Register with HRMC - within 3 months of starting self employed work to avoid a £100 fine.

Class 2 National Insurance is £2.10 per week and gives you credit for your state pension and other benefits. If your profits will be low - ie approx £4000ish pa (exact figure is a wee bit higher but can\'t remember it) you can ask for a form to exempt yourself when you register. If you do this though you won\'t get an credit for your state pension or for certain benefits.

Keep your P45 and invoices and receipts for the business. If you start on or before 5 April 2007 your first tax return will be for the year ended 5 April 2007 and you\'ll have until 30 September 2007 to complete it and send it back in time for HMRC to tell you what to pay (if anything) in time to pay it. Get it in before 30 September unless you have an accountant or can calculate your bill yourself. Otherwise you won\'t know what to pay in time to pay it.... and being nice people they charge interest and possibly a surcharge for late payments.

Your first payment date will be 31 January 2008. Save as spacemunkie says... if you owe £500 or more you\'ll be asked to pay 1/2 of that amount again as a payment on account to count towards the next tax year.

It\'s not really too bad though... HMRC also offer free courses to tell you how to do it in local areas. Good luck hope it goes well :) I often wish I was self-employed :)
 
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lono

New member
Originally posted by Godlikebuthumble
Actually, sounds like you were covered just fine working for GW ... :rolleyes:

Sorry, couldn\'t help it :D
Click to expand...

Oh how I wish there was a function on these forums to block people from making these GW bashing posts.

It\'s not clever, it\'s not funny, it\'s not true, it\'s just not necessary and with or without smilieys could well be taken as offensive, so why bother?

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I just think it was beyond pathetic months ago.
 
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vincenti

New member
Just DONT forget to stash money away for the tax man:cool: Every blessing on your new venture & I hope it proves successful lol. GOD bless ............VINCENTI
 
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