kid_blunder started this topic @ 14:56 on 25/02/2004
Graphic design has always been a huge hobby of mine as it is one of my true loves, the last couple of years i have found myself doing little design projects for friends and family, just small ticket design, simple website design and poster design for gigs, jumble sales, band websites, that sort of thing, nothing fancy but good enough for them to tell their friends about me, and hence, their friends wanting small design jobs done.
Anyway, enough rambling, i was considering charging in the future for the work i do for people, but that would mean setting up a small business, and i have no idea how much the set ups costs for this would be.
Obviously i have all the equipment already to produce the designs, and i use a small printers nearby who do small runs for me at a reasonable price, I really have no idea what sort of costs I might incur in setting up a small business. I need to know the rough costs before I can make a judgement as to weather i can make a profit from doing it.
Do you think this is a viable small business for a second income to start with, or is it just a pipe dream and I should just go on doing favours for people???
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Kid_Blunder
RE: advice on small business idea required....please
nickc | 25/02/2004 03:01 PM
This is certainly a viable business opportunity. If you already have the equipment then startup costs are relatively low. I'm not sure if you need any kind of insurance - phone a broker for advice. To set yourself up as a Sole rader simply register with the IR, employ an accountant and off you go. Hope this helps. Good luck with it.
Nick
Bespoke UK Software Development [url]http://www.all4yourpc.co.uk[/url]
------------------------
http://www.sendallmylove.co.uk">href="http://www.sendallmylove.co.uk">http://www.sendallmylove.co.uk UK Christmas Gifts
RE: advice on small business idea required....please
kid_blunder | 26/02/2004 09:24 AM
Thanks for the advice nick,
Do I really need to employ an accountant, im only thinking about this as a small second income to start with, keeping my full time job on for a while, is it possible to manage my own account then employ an accountant if or when it takes off?? or is there some sort of leagal requirement that means i have to have an accountant? also do i need to set up a business account? or can i run it from a seperate personal account to start with?
Thankx in advance for any advice.
RE: advice on small business idea required....please
James Smith | 26/02/2004 10:07 AM
You don’t need to employ an accountant - you can do the books and tax returns yourself if you wish, however you will probably end up paying more tax and have mroe hassles in the long run as you wont know quite what to deduct. It can get very confusing filling in your returns if this isn’t something you are used to doing - I do a very low cost returns service for £149 for the micro business (see my webby) for people in your position.
You can at a push run the business via a personal account (the banks don’t really like it), but in general it is better to use a business account - the abbey national have one that is “Free Banking Forever” so long as you keep within the transaction limits. It is ideal for many part time businesses.
Have a good poke around the main sections on this website, and also the business link website - they both have a lot of starter info that is useful.
Regards,
James Smith
Chartered Accountant
[url]www.jamesesmith.co.uk[/url]
[url]www.uktaxshop.co.uk [/url]
01284 764436
------------------------
James Smith
Chartered Accountant
www.jamesesmith.co.uk
---------------------------
Your indispensable guide to Small Business Bookkeeping, Self-Assessment & VAT