All About Self Employment

In the second of our 2-part series, we chat to IR35 expert Dave Chaplin about what on earth actually is IR35, and why do self-employed people need to know about it.  This is another important episode as there are significant tax legislation changes due in April 2021 and if you are self-employed with your own limited company then you will definitely need to know about IR35.

Join us as Dave explains complex tax legislation in a way that is easy to understand, as we cover the factors that might indicate being “inside IR35” and the case law.  Discover the importance of personal service, mutuality of obligation, control and right of refusal.  We also discuss how you can prepare for the changes due in April 2021, and what the impact could be on you, and more importantly the potential impact on your finances.

The whole topic of IR35 is huge, so this is the second of two episodes on the subject.  The previous episode is more of an introduction, so if you don’t already know what IR35 actually is then you might want to listen to that first.

Resources

Slide pack of diagrams discussed during the episode

Dave Chaplin’s book can be found here

Contact information

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @IR35shield

Website: www.ir35shield.co.uk

Today we’re chatting to IR35 expert Dave Chaplin about what on earth actually is IR35, and why do self-employed people need to know about it.  This is an important episode as there are significant tax legislation changes due in April 2021 and if you are self-employed with your own limited company then you will definitely need to know about IR35.

Join us as Dave explains complex tax legislation in a way that is easy to understand, we cover what has changed recently in the public sector, and exactly what changes are coming in April 2021.  We also discuss how you can prepare for the changes, and what the impact could be on you, and more importantly the potential impact on your finances.

The whole topic of IR35 is huge, so this is the first of two episodes on the subject.  Join us next time for a more in depth look at the factors which could indicate being inside IR35 and what to do about them.

Resources

Slide pack of diagrams discussed during the episode

Dave Chaplin’s book can be found here

Contact information

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @IR35shield

Website: www.ir35shield.co.uk

We talk to athlete-turned-business-coach Paula Cohen about having faith in yourself and your abilities even when your mindset might be telling you different.  We discuss how people with real self-belief can out-perform others who have more talent but less belief.  As an athlete, Paula knows the importance of competing and putting yourself on the line, the importance of trusting your skills, trust that all the hard work you put in over the years will see you through and believe in yourself when it matters.  What you choose to focus on will become bigger and bigger for you, so if you focus on problems you can fixated on them, whereas choosing to focus on positives will create more opportunities and better outcomes for yourself.

This is an upbeat action-packed episode full of practical tips and tools that will enable you to achieve more than you thought possible.  According to Paula most people don’t realise how much potential they have and are working at 40 to 60% of their potential – imagine what you could do if you were at 80 or 90%!

About Paula

From the age of 10 Paula was obsessed by athletics, and she represented England and Great Britain until age 26, winning several titles along the way.  She then went on to have a successful corporate career at a bank where she worked as a change manager and leadership trainer.  Having become frustrated by bureaucracy and hierarchy Paula left the bank in 2008, choosing instead to work 1-2-1 with small businesses where she can make a real difference.  To reach its full potential a business has to constantly change, adapt and grow and Paula supports her clients in believing in themselves so they can get out there and find the success they deserve.

You can find out more on Paula’s website here.

In this hard-hitting episode we talk to serial-entrepreneur Kelly Forrester about her experience of what happens when it goes wrong and you lose your business.  Learn from Kelly's experience so that you can avoid finding yourself in a similar situation.  Our chat digs deep as we talk about the impact on Kelly personally of going against her values and beliefs, and what it was like to be a confident leader now crumbled.

We talk about dealing with press attacks, the shame of losing your business, the numbness and the guilt.  We talk about some of the things that went wrong, and the practical process of liquidation.  Kelly shares how she got through this extremely difficult time when she couldn’t see any positives, how she regained her confidence and self-belief.  She shares her experience and some of her key lessons so that you might not have the same experience.  Hear Kelly’s brutally honest story and understand how it is okay for a business to fail.

About Kelly Forrester

Kelly is a Resilience and Growth Leader, she talks about “stuff” most others don’t talk about, essential “stuff”.  She is a strong advocate of entrepreneurship, and is one half of Over the Edge business and entrepreneurship community.  Her business provides development, coaching and mentorship, in Kelly’s words “we kick your butt”.

She is also one half of podcast Entrepreneur Truths podcast which gets under the skin of entrepreneurship, dealing with adversity, inspiring others.  Her podcast digs deep to strip back layers and see what works to nurture success, and how sharing that can help others.

Contact details

Website: We Are Over the Edge

Facebook: WeAreOverTheEdge

Today we’re talking to Emily Coltman, Chief Accountant at FreeAgent about the practicalities of setting up and planning your business. Emily has many years experience of supporting self-employed people and small businesses in their accountancy requirements, and she shares with us some of her expertise on what the different options and considerations any start up needs to know about.

We cover the importance of doing your research, forecasting, business planning and the stumbling blocks in not doing these things. The importance of payment terms cannot be underestimated, don’t do any work until you have those in place! We discuss being adaptable to changing times, and adjusting your offering according to your customers changing needs. Choosing how you want to trade is important, and we explain the differences between being a sole trader and setting up as a limited company. In short, this episode has loads of helpful advice on how to keep track of your finances and be clear about your financial position, and that it is essential not to deprioritise finances.

About Emily Coltman

Emily Coltman is a very unusual Chartered Accountant - she speaks plain English as well as accounting-speak!

After graduating from the University of Cambridge, she trained and qualified with growing accountancy practice Cannon Moorcroft, where she looked after accounts and tax for a portfolio of micro-business clients. She has run her own business and is now Chief Accountant at FreeAgent, where she works with worldwide small businesses to help them use this simple online accounting system to keep their books in real time.

Emily is passionate about helping the owners of small and growing businesses to escape their fear of "the numbers", and believes that, with the right tools and guidance absolutely anyone, even if they were hopeless at maths at school, can learn to look after the finances of a small business.

About FreeAgent

Founders Ed, Olly and Roan had all been working as freelance designers or developers for a while, and were getting pretty tired of the mess and stress of bookkeeping. They put their heads together and decided that there must be a better way to deal with their mounting piles of invoices, spreadsheets and receipts. And so, FreeAgent was born. Taking care of big problems for small businesses, accountants and bookkeepers is what gets them up in the mornings!

Resources

Emma Jones's business plan

Liz Spain’s business plan template is within her book

Joanne Dewberry's book

Emily Coltman’s book

Contact details

Emily on Twitter: @dialm4accounts

FreeAgent: @freeagent

FreeAgent website

We talk to Emma Jones MBE, founder of Enterprise Nation, about whether now is a good time to start a new business.  Hear some uplifting stories in how the pandemic driven increases in people setting up their own businesses, as well as some common pitfalls to avoid.  Emma discusses the current trends in terms of new businesses during the last few months, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. Hear about which sectors have done well, and how changing customer needs and behaviours create opportunities.  We also cover the impact of technology, how you can start a business on Monday and by Friday be trading with the world.  Plus, we outline the support that is available to help people setting up their business, so if that’s you this is a must-listen!

About Emma Jones

Emma Jones MBE is a business expert and best-selling author of business books such as Working 5 to 9 and The StartUp Kit. She is founder of Enterprise Nation, having launched the company back in 2005. Enterprise nation has now grown to be a community of over 75,000 people, all of whom are doing amazing things. She is passionate about supporting people in Britain to start and grow their own successful business, and representing their views to government and media.

About Enterprise Nation

Working out how to start and grow a business can be tough at times. That's where Enterprise Nation comes in. It is a vibrant community of small businesses and business advisers that exist to shortcut your route to trusted business support.

Whether you're starting or growing a business, Enterprise Nation has the resources, expertise, and connections to help you get it right. Access support at a selection of events held up and down the UK, or online via a dynamic platform that gets you to answers and advisers fast.

Contact Details

Emma on Twitter: @emmaljones

Enterprise Nation on Twitter: @e_nation

Enterprise Nation website

In this trailer episode, Julia talks about her background, why she has started this podcast, who it’s for, and the exciting line up of topics that she will be covering. She discusses the importance of self-employment to the UK, how it benefits both you and businesses, why you should go for it, and how we should all learn from shared experience. Julia also touches on some of the complexities of going solo, some of the drawback and why you will want to tune in regularly.