Remote Working – Be your Own Boss

Do you have skills in any of the following areas?
Secretarial services, accountancy, creative/copy writing, business writing, translation, or project management? Because these are just some of the sectors that translate well to a remote working set-up.

Remote working is essentially independent freelancing or working as an employee away from the traditional office environment.

Facts:
· Remote workers are older, better skilled and better paid than their on-site counterparts. This is partly due to middle-management level staff creating new ways to earn income after layoffs.
· The average income from remote working is £50k per year versus the £25k of employees.
· Eight million people (14% of the UK workforce) now earn home-based income – Phillip Venn, Commercial director, BOOX.
· Home based employees can have work items i.e. desk, PC, paid for by their employer.

Pros and cons of remote working
Being your own boss (freelance) improves your welbeing, since the proactivity required to secure clients builds confidence. Also, the improvement in work life balance particularly suits stay at home parents and carers. Remote working can fill gaps in your CV and also supplement existing income sources. The cons can include isolation, bad clients who may rip you off, and an erratic workload. Be prudent. Develop your client base before leaving your regular job. Know beforehand that your utility bills will increase though you can claim tax relief on up to 26% of your standard bill (see HMRC for details) link.

Getting started
The Internet has plenty of resource material otherwise visit institutions like the City Business Library, a London based not-for-profit public library specialising in business information, seminars, workshops and meeting room hire. Annually they support 50,000 customers, 64% of which are pre start-ups, to SME’s (small and medium enterprise) businesses. Find their current events here. Do supplement your endeavours with networking and learning from already established startups.

Remote Working School
Run by Sacha Anthony and Melanie Gildenhuis, the Remote Working School is the leading intensive training program for UK based freelancers and homeworkers. At the RWS you can develop your business structure, get personal feedback from experts and learn insider tips on beating the overwhelm that often accompanies going it alone.
Contact Sacha or Melanie here.

Jobs database
See www.upwork.co.uk, where up to 100,000 new jobs are posted every 30 days.