If you work for a company you might be getting used to working from home but for the 4.9 million self-employed people across the country, it’s a little more difficult.
The government has said that those who are not eligible for statuatory sick pay, like self employed people, will be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) from day one instead of day eight.
But this only works if you are actually sick or have been advised to self isolate. Many self-employed people are struggling because work is being cancelled during the outbreak.
There are things you can do if you are struggling. The first step might be to reduce costs – speak to your energy provider, bank and anyone else you pay regularly about what is happening. You can even ask HMRC if you can reduce payments on account.
Lee Chambers is a small business advisor who says you need to work through a plan during this time.
He tells Metro.co.uk: ‘Firstly, reach out to your creditors, communicate your situation.
‘This clarity is not always advised, but in a time of crisis such as this, clear communication is appreciated and there is an increased level of understanding.
‘Secondly, take a close look at your budget and see if there is any current spend that can be mitigated to fit the current circumstances.
‘Thirdly, look to prioritise your fixed costs and if needed prioritise those individually. You also need to assess your cash flow to have a top down view of how you will manage your finances.
‘Another idea is to negotiate postponement of service to a later date rather than cancellation.’
The government is offering some help for small businesses but we spoke to some self-employed people about what they are doing in the current climate.
Mark Webster is co-founder of Authority Hacker
As an entrepreneur I’ve been through this regularly. In the early days my business was prone to wild swings and it would feel like I was in a recession, even when the global economy wasn’t.
You can break the action steps down into two categories.
1) Things you should have been doing, but probably weren’t, so make sure you remember to do these in future.
Be weary of lifestyle creep. As you start making more money when time are good, it’s very easy to increase your cost of living at a fast rate. Avoid expensive recurring payments on depreciating assets (expensive cars on PCP are the worst). Once you get accustomed to a certain style of living, it’s quite difficult to go back.
Have an emergency fund. You should have six to 12 months living expenses saved up and kept in a flexible savings account earning whatever interest you can get.
Maintain a high savings rate when times are good. Think 20% of your income at least.
2) Things you can do now, because you haven’t done any of the things above
Cut your costs today. Make a list of everything you spend money on. Total it up and immediately cut the 10% of things that you already know you don’t need.
Start cooking for yourself. Doing a weekly meal prep for four hours on a Sat/Sun and boxing up daily meals will not only save you a small fortune vs Pret/Uber Eats, but you’ll be much healthier too.
This one will be controversial but cut down on premium/organic products, when there are regular ones which are just as good.
Talk to your mortgage company about restructuring your payments. You may be able to take a payment holiday for a while, or refinance your mortgage to increase the length of it so the monthly payments come down. If you aren’t on a two year introductory rate or a fixed rate, consider remortgaging anyway, it could save you hundreds each month.
Take the bus vs a taxi
For entertainment, try the great outdoors. Go for a walk in the woods/hills. It’s free, healthy, great for the mind and you are less likely to get Coronavirus than going down the pub.
Start a side hustle. There are thousands of commerical websites and blogs out there looking for good writers. If you can write English, you can do this. You don’t need to be a topic specialist or even a particularly good writer. Most blog writers just do a bit of research on Google and start writing. Sites like Upwork, Problogger Jobs board are great places to find paid work fast, as in starting this week.
Maddi Cook is a salon owner
Sell offer vouchers to use once things have settled back down (eg £75 for a £50 spend) – to bring cash in now.
Contact landlords and suppliers and ask for longer payment terms/breaks etc.
Scale back all non-essential outgoings.
Investigate other revenue streams, can you sell digital products?
I own a salon but I’m also an online salon coach, the salon is BAU for the time being but I’m lucky to have my other business.
It’s a worrying time, especially for those who have to work face to face and in really close contact.
Cara Holland owns Graphic Change
Reduce outgoings: Review your budget. Can any outgoings be trimmed or delayed until later in the year?
Increase income. Are there any additional services you can offer your clients, or can you offer your service in a different way?
Spend your unexpected down time giving some love to the inner workings of your business that you’re usually too busy to focus on. (I’ve currently got clients in several locked down countries who are taking our online courses to improve their skills ready for when this passes).
Anatasia Ivanova is a fitness coach
Cutting unnecessary expenses is number one, then do some spring cleaning and sell items on eBay.
Be more proactive with acquiring new clients and keep the old ones happy
Steve Morgan is a freelance SEO consultant and author of Anti-Sell
Network online as much as possible, instead of relying on face-to-face.
It’s very easy to think that networking has to be done at business networking events, but with events being cancelled/postponed, it can be done in Facebook groups, on forums, on Twitter, etc. instead.
Karen Webber runs Goodness Marketing
See what you can offer remotely. Can you teach or consult online? Also, invest in your business’s future by learning new skills and spending time on your strategy, especially marketing. Now is the chance to do the things you always say you’d do if only you had the time!
If you’re at risk of losing a large client, look at how many small clients you would need to recoup around the same amount.
It’s no secret that smaller companies are suffering during this time-perhaps even more-so than large corporations who likely aren’t at risk of going out of business. Often a little bit of support from a quality freelancer will be worth a small business’s investment–even in tight financial times.
Tasia Duske is CEO of Museum Hack
Reach out to small businesses with a specific offering such as “Mailchimp Email copywriting and list management – $250 per email” along with your CV showing you’ve worked on larger clients.
Small businesses who previously relied on organic sales might now say to themselves ‘We really need to hire this person to start sending proactive sales emails out’. While the projects are small, the results could be huge.
Michael Alexis is CEO of Team Building
Offer flexible payment terms. People and businesses still need services, and you may be able to win more business by extending payment deadlines or offering payment plans with multiple instalments.
Similarly, you still need services, and with the right contacts, you can trade your skills with them. You can barter for marketing support, accounting services, plumbing, and more.
Marcio Delgado is a digital consultant
Freelancers and self-employed people are looking at the Coronavirus pandemic totally in the wrong way.
Instead, we all can use that unexpected downtime to get ourselves better organised.
From updating databases with useful contacts and sorting out way overdue laptops’ backups – to re-organise direct debits and subscriptions to services that you may no longer need – every available extra hour suddenly appearing in your calendar due cancellations should be used to make you more productive and ready to perform even better when things start going back to normal.
Responses have been edited for clarity.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/16/coronavirus-uk-cope-self-employed-losing-income-12393413/?ITO=squid
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