Do You Want To Become Self-Employed? This Guide Will Set The Record Straight

There are many advantages to becoming self-employed. Not only do you get to choose your working hours, but you can also determine your wages. At the end of the day, most people who earn using this method can earn as much money as they like. It all comes down to have much effort you’re willing to put in. There are lots of disadvantages to self-employment too. For instance, you won’t receive any holiday pay, and you won’t get a penny if you fall ill. With all that in mind, you’ll need to weigh up all the pros and cons before making your final decision. This guide should help you show you how to go about working for yourself if you feel it is a suitable endeavor.

Finding a means of earning

Before you do anything else, you’ll need to find a decent opportunity for earning. Depending on your skills and previous experience, you should aim to start working in the industry you understand well. If your goal is simply to get rid of traditional employers, you could register on the top freelancing websites. So long as you are creative, you could make significant profits from writing or design work.

Registering as self-employed

Regardless of where you might live in the world, you will have to register your self-employment with relevant authority. The process usually takes no longer than half an hour, and it doesn’t cost you a penny. The only reason you have to register is so the tax office knows you will submit a return at the end of the financial year. You often have three months from the date you started trading. If you leave it any longer than that, you will be liable for fines.

Dealing with tax

It is vital that all self-employed people keep accurate accounting records. You must have receipts for everything you purchase, and you must note down all payments you receive. Invoices sent to that purchasing from you alongside bank statements should suffice. Of course, many self-employed people use the services of a professional accountant due to the amount of potential tax issues there can be. However, there is no reason you can’t handle it all alone. Websites like LegalandTax.co.za are a great place to look if you need more advice about tax.

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Philip Taylor

Promoting your services

Whatever you do to earn money, promotion will be a key element in your success. It’s always wise to build a website to advertise your services. You can also open social media accounts and gain more interest that way. With the use of specialist tools, both of those tasks are simple. There is no need to pay a top design company to create your website. You can do everything yourself these days.

We hope the information on this page has helped to set the record straight. At the end of the day, working for yourself is always going to be more enjoyable than working for others. Considering that, we encourage you to start making plans today.

Good luck with everything!