practise self employment

..for one day having my own profitable life-coaching business, I’ve decided that it would be a good idea to practise how to deal with some of the facets of self-employment. Partially with this in mind, partially to earn a bit of extra dollar and have some fun researching odd things, I have gone and got myself a job as a researcher with a text information service – one of those services people text when they’re having an argument in the pub over who’d win in a scrap between a hippo and a JCB. It’s just a when-I-can-fit-it-in thing, and I’m under no pressure to do a ton of work, which is a good job, because I don’t have the time for more than a few hours a week.

But the handy thing is that I’ll be working for them on a self-employed basis – no wageslip or anything like that, and I’ll be responsible for paying my own taxes, PAYE, keeping accounts and… etc. I’m not sure I understand quite what, yet, to be honest. I’m learning a spot of this at my new job, but I figure being wholly responsible for it in a small way on a small amount of my own money – to minimise the risks if it all goes wrong – is a good idea. So I’ve registered as self-employed – did it online – and I’m in the process of looking into what else I need to do to keep it all kosher. I’m also going to open a second bank account just for this (and for my coaching business) to keep it separate from my other finances.

Another idea I’m pondering is starting what Michael Neill calls a Freedom Fund. This is a high-interest account into which I’d arrange to have my wages from my day job paid, and out of this I’d pay myself a monthly wage into my normal account – he says “a comfortably frugal” amount. Obviously, it should be less than my wages, and I’ll need to work out how much I actually need to live on each month, which will mean some research and building a budget, but I like the idea of it as a way both to save money – and to create a mental shift about who pays your salary. Technically, your employer contributes to your Freedom Fund, but it’s you who pays your salary.

Some ideas to think about, anyway.