Freelancing or starting a business

'Success is a science: if you have the conditions, you get the result.'
Oscar Wilde

Why freelance or start a business?

People set up their own businesses or work as freelancers for many reasons.  There is a strong tradition of freelancing in certain industries; for example, artists and designers often freelance as they work on short-term projects. Some people start a business because they identify or create a product or service they believe has the potential be successful, while others are motivated by wanting to work independently. Some people may end up working for themselves by accident.

Whatever motivates people, only a relatively small number of graduates become self-employed immediately after graduating. According to the 2009/10 Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, only 4.4% of the 163,090 working first-degree graduates were self-employed.

This is because many freelancers or those wanting to set up their own business first gain skills and make contacts by working for someone in their chosen industry. Of course this isn’t always the case, but if you are thinking of working for yourself you need to research this option and consider your existing skills carefully.

Skills and personal qualities

 You need drive and determination to cope with the challenges that freelancing or starting your own business can pose. Talk to people that you know who either freelance or run their own business. Ask them what they find challenging and what hours they work. Will the demands fit in with your lifestyle and values?

You will need to be good at planning and self-motivation and have skills in communication, time management, negotiation and decision making.

Business skills such as financial management, marketing and business administration are also important. You can learn these by doing short courses, or with the help of business advisors.

Think about the skills mentioned above; can you think of examples of when you have used and developed these skills?

Where to start – the practicalities

You may have ideas of a product or service that you could sell.

Get in touch with Beepurple, the University of Brighton's entrepreneurship network. Beepurple is made up of students, graduates and staff who are interested in developing their business skills and ideas. Some of the members of the network are already self-employed or have set up their own companies. beepurple membership is free.

Find out more from Beepurple's pages on enterprise.

Planning and research

Do you have an idea for a product or service that you think will sell? To see if has the chance of succeeding you should research the market.

  • Can you see any gaps in the market for a service or product?
  • Are other people doing what you do?
  • How could you compete with them?
  • Who will want to buy your product or service?  
  • If it is a product have you made a prototype?
  • How much would you need to charge? Is that competitive?
  • Could you compliment other businesses in the area?
  • Could you offer anything new or innovative?

Ask people you know well and whose judgement you trust to comment on your ideas. Don’t give away any ideas to companies though - be savvy and protect your work.

Space and equipment

Think about where would you work from? Would you need a studio, office or shop space or could you work from home? What essential equipment would you need?  

Types of businesses

You also need to think about the type of business you want to set up. New businesses normally choose from three types of legal status.

Sole trader: This is the simplest way of starting a business. Legally all you need to do is tell HM Revenue and Customs that you are self-employed for tax and National Insurance contributions.

Partnership: If you are going to start your business with other people you could form a partnership. This is the same as a sole trader but with all the partners sharing responsibility for managing the business. The same applies to any debts of the partnership, in that each partner is personally liable.

Limited company: There are different types of companies, but the one most often chosen by new businesses is a private company limited by shares. Forming a limited company means that any liabilities you have as the director of the company are separate from your personal finances.

Other business types include a co-operative, which is owned and run jointly by its members, all of whom share equal status, and a franchise, which gives you the right to sell a company's goods or services in a particular area. Popular examples of franchises include Prontaprint and McDonald's.

See Business Link - Choosing and setting up a legal structure

Protecting your ideas

If you have an idea for a new product or service it is vital to take action to protect it. Anything original that you have invented, designed or created and that can be bought or sold is intellectual property.

Depending on the nature of the intellectual property it can be protected by either a patent, copyright, design or trademarks.  

Copyright is an automatic protection for work that is fixed in some way – for example writing or photographs – but to protect a product design or trade name, for example, you may need to register it.

You should get professional advice on this. For more information visit the Intellectual Property Office

Sources of advice and support

See our pages on enterprise and contact the Beepurple team for further support and guidance.