{"id":4089,"date":"2018-03-21T13:40:24","date_gmt":"2018-03-21T13:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.openbusinesscouncil.org\/?p=4089"},"modified":"2020-02-27T09:35:52","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T09:35:52","slug":"protect-sole-trader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/protect-sole-trader\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Protect Yourself As A Sole Trader"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"How
How To Protect Yourself As A Sole Trader<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you\u2019re self-employed, you\u2019ll often feel like one of the lucky ones. You don\u2019t have a boss that you hate, you don\u2019t have to do work that you don\u2019t want to do, and you get to control your income. But, it\u2019s safe to say that all of that freedom comes at a price. When you\u2019re employed by a company, you have a level of protection that you may not even know that you have. Because companies tend to look after their employees<\/a> both to be in-keeping with the law, and to keep them happy. But when you go it alone, you lose that protection. And that can be a really scary reality to face.<\/p>\n

But it doesn’t have to be. Being self-employed can often by far outweigh the benefits you get by being employed. However, it does mean that you have to be quite smart about your life as a sole trader. It\u2019s not enough just to go it alone and hope for the best. You have to learn to protect yourself – because nobody else is going to do it for you. But when you\u2019re new to entrepreneurship, it\u2019s not always easy to know exactly what you need to do – let alone put it in place. And don\u2019t worry, this is much easier to do than you think. So that\u2019s where we come in. If you\u2019re self-employed and you\u2019re yet to do anything about your protection as a trader, here\u2019s what you need to do.<\/p>\n

Hire An Accountant<\/h2>\n

When you work for a company, they take care of your payments and taxes for you. But now that you\u2019re a lone ranger, nobody is going to do it for you. Well, unless you pay them too! Sometimes, taking on your own taxes can be too much of a big job. So hiring an accountant can be a great way to make sure that you\u2019re protected financially and that all of your taxation and HMRC affairs are in order.<\/p>\n

Take Out Insurance<\/h2>\n

Next, you need insurance. No buts! Insurance may seem like a big step, but remember you need to make sure that you\u2019re protected. Both business insurance and income protection<\/a> are good for sole traders. The business insurance can cover your work, anything that you might be liable for, and even your equipment. The income protection is going to cover you if you get sick and can\u2019t work. Yes, there\u2019s statutory, but you don\u2019t have any employers benefits so if you can\u2019t live of this, you need a backup.<\/p>\n

Know Your Rights<\/h2>\n

Another key point is to know your rights as a worker. Sometimes, you\u2019ll work for other companies, and you need to make sure that you\u2019re protected. Whether that\u2019s to protect yourself after a construction injury<\/a> or looking after your own reputation. It\u2019s good to know what right you have upfront before you go into these deals, just to make sure that they\u2019re right for you.<\/p>\n

Create A Financial Safety Net<\/h2>\n

Money is a big issue when you\u2019re self-employed. Well, it can be. Because if your work suddenly dries up, you don\u2019t get a paycheck at the end of the month! So, having a financial safety net<\/a> in place is always a good idea. This is going to help you to stay stable when payments are late (as they often are) and give you peace of mind.<\/p>\n

Create Contracts<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s also a really great idea to create contracts for any work that you do. Depending on what it is that you do and the industry that you\u2019re in, creating your own contracts can be a good source of protection for you. Not that you will often have to enforce them, but if you\u2019re worried about being on the end of a bad deal or not being paid, contracts can protect you and help you to take legal action should you need to.<\/p>\n

Start Your Own Pension Fund<\/h2>\n

Realistically, this is something that you should already have set up. It\u2019s so important to be thinking about your financial future, as well as what you\u2019re earning today. Even when you got a pension from your employer, it may not have been enough. So it\u2019s always smart to take out your own personal pension<\/a>, whether you\u2019re self-employed or not. But as a sole trader, nobody has set that pension up for you – you have to do it yourself. So start today and make the contributions necessary to make sure that you have some kind of financing in place for your future.<\/p>\n

Account For Holiday Time<\/h2>\n

This might not be something that every sole trade wants to do, but it can be useful. Holiday time is something that we get used to as an employee. But as a self-employed person, it\u2019s a luxury. Yes, you can take time off whenever you want, but you\u2019re not getting paid for it. So you\u2019re going to want to make sure that you account for this is your earnings or forecasting. It may even be helpful to plan your holiday time in advance so that you know can finish a project or earn extra on the run up to it.<\/p>\n

Get Some Rest<\/h2>\n

But at the same time, you\u2019re just one person. You can\u2019t be expected to work seven days a week with no break. You’ll burnout<\/a>. This is something that employers police by setting working hours. So if you want to stay protected (and in good health), you should set your own working hours too and be sure to get enough rest.<\/p>\n

Keep Your Head In The Game<\/h2>\n

Above all else, you have to be business savvy. When you\u2019re an employee, you\u2019re just doing your job. You do the work that is expected of you, you stick to your company rules and you complete the work that your boss sets you. But when you\u2019re self-employed, it\u2019s just you. So it\u2019s much easier for you to lose track of things, miss important dates or even get taken advantage of. And these are all things that you\u2019re going to want to avoid by just being a bit more vigilant and keeping your head in the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you\u2019re self-employed, you\u2019ll often feel like one of the lucky ones. You don\u2019t have a boss that you hate, you don\u2019t have to do work that you don\u2019t want to do, and you get to control your income. But, it\u2019s safe to say that all of that freedom comes at a price. When you\u2019re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":""},"categories":[25,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow To Protect Yourself As A Sole Trader - OpenBusinessCouncil Directory<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/protect-sole-trader\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Protect Yourself As A Sole Trader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When you\u2019re self-employed, you\u2019ll often feel like one of the lucky ones. You don\u2019t have a boss that you hate, you don\u2019t have to do work that you don\u2019t want to do, and you get to control your income. But, it\u2019s safe to say that all of that freedom comes at a price. 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