July 19, 2018 Bianca Tester

Self-Made Woman in a Man-Made World – The Self-Employed Mum

Self-Employed Mum

The Self-Employed Mum

The ever-argued subject of whether its ok to leave the children to go to work, or be a stay at home mum is a constant battle in most of our minds. Does this have to be the case? absolutely not! Why not be stay at home Mum who also works…

We can have the best of both worlds; the tricky part is figuring out a balance. Mum jobs take a lot of effort and can be very tiring, but we are not in the Victorian era anymore, a lot of fathers take an equal share in the chores and most importantly they want to. You do not have to be a ‘Stepford wife.’

The whole purpose of working is to earn money, but it would be a bonus if we actually enjoy what we do. So, the next step after figuring out whether or not you want to do the balancing act is what career would make you happy?

An interesting and frustrating fact is that women are still overall earning less than men. Let’s take the matter into our own hands then…

You can earn as much as you want if you have the knowledge, passion and drive to so. Maybe you went to school and did really well, got all the A’s or maybe you didn’t. That does not matter, there’s always time to re-educate yourself, become self-employed, pick the hours you wish to work and what work you want to do.

I myself have three children and am writing this while one of them is napping. I have spent the last twelve months researching and educating whenever I get the chance. I have set up a business with my husband after previously spending years in office jobs.

Looking at other Mums I know I have started to notice more and more they are working from home. It’s very interesting to see the great variation of career paths they have chosen. These include selling upcycled items, offering Administrative services to multiple companies and investing in Cosmetic brands such a Younique.

The Self-Employed Mum

How are we going to do this?

The tools are out there for you to take advantage of. There are online courses you can take. you don’t have to leave the house for this, no childcare required. Such sites as Alison.com provide free online education.

This is where the next tricky issue arises. How do you find the time to sit and study without a child tugging at your arms and legs or asking for the millionth time for food?

From a personal perspective the only realistic time is when the little darlings are asleep. Take advantage of nap times and evenings, even if you only manage to get thirty minutes of study in there, it’s all good because let’s face it your brain probably won’t absorb much more than that anyway. You are probably thinking about what dinner you going to cook tomorrow. Did I turn the dishwasher on and oh! did I leave the gas hob on, better go check.

So, there are online courses, you may have existing qualifications or experience that you would like to utilise. The next step is sorting out the running of the business, its paperwork and legal matters.

The Tricky Bit

Lucky for us this has been made quite simple. You can set up your self-employed book keeping through online software such as Quick Books.com for a matter of a few pounds a month. One place to record all your income and outgoings, create invoices and can even link bank accounts to it.

The HMRC have now created a place called the Government gateway where all relevant information about each individual is stored. This includes Pension information, benefits and Employment status. You can link a Self-Assessment registration to it that allows you to tell them what you are doing and to submit Tax Returns. If you find this overwhelming then don’t worry as an Accountant will take your information and do it for you for as little as £40.

Depending on what business you have set up you may want to think about how you are going to go about advertise it. This booming time of social media usage by the majority of the population gives you a great opportunity to use it for your own gains with little or even no expense.

If you are selling products or offering a service, utilise places such as Facebook or Instagram to show your items or advertise services. Then there are sites such as eBay, Etsy, Gumtree and Shpock and so on, some are free some take a small proportion of the sale.

Patience is key

It may take a while to build up the knowledge, learning or time invested in setting up your own business. So, think about taking advantage of maternity leave and the hours when they are at school to get going, it will all be worth it in the end.

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