Lecture notes - Steve Gordon (careers advisor)

Today we had a lecture with Steve Gordon about Freelancing. careers service - guidance. available for 2 years after graduation.

Freelancing - is it right for me?

Qualities required

• Ability to cope with uncertainty e.g sickness and holiday periods not allowed for
• Being self motivated
• Superior networking skills
• Self marketing skills
• Belief
• Self Discipline
• Energy

What do you need?

• money! how much?
• essential equipment - materials, tools, software
• Premises
• Transport
• add them all up and work out how much I need to earn

Freelancing option - Sole Trader

• simplest structure. No registration costs etc.
• Register as self employed with HMRC
• Personally liable for any debts
• All profits to you
• Also need to need to pay fixed rate class 2 and 4 national insurance contributions on profits
• Self assessment tax return
• VAT - if turnover over £64000 <--- i wish!

Record Keeping

• need to keep a record of all transactions incoming and outgoing to satisfy inland revenue - materials, business costs
• Invoices and reciepts need to be kept
• date, reference, who, how much and what <-- keep organised!
• make sure all reciepts and transactions match spreadsheet - make spreadsheet to keep organised.
  (see example below)

• Bank statements - need to keep for 5 years - evidence of payments.

(this is an example of how to keep records. not illustration related, but same structure.)

HAVE A CONTRACT!!

A contract protects you if things go wrong. Essentials:

• Fees - what you are paid for? how much?
• How is the contract evaluated at the end of the project?
• Obligations of employer
• Copyright issues - who owns it?
• Expenses, payment and invoicing
• other considerations: legal, health and safety, illness, disputes, timescales, insurance
• contract details
• terms of service
• deadlines
• signed by both parties

good links:

www.netgain.org.uk/business/contracts/default.asp

www.hmrc.gov.uk/startingup

Getting Work

• agents take % of fee - find you work
• AOI sell lists of editorial clients
• Online agency search. e.g Advocate Art
• websites - www.mediauk.com - offer lists of publications to pitch for

Pricing

• www.londonfreelance.org - rates for freelancers
• RESEARCH!

Will it pay?

• Sales estimate
• Cost estimate
• Setting up costs
• Ongoing costs
• Direct costs
• Wholesale good bought
• Indirect costs
• Insurance, rent etc

www.businesslink.gov.uk

Invoicing

here is an example of a good invoice:


good website to look at --> thedesigntrust