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Freelancing - any general advice

I got an email today asking if I would like to do some freelancing for another TMO, setting up equality policies, doing a satisfaction survey. The estate manager had been shown some work I had done and was interested in hiring my services.I've turned him down for freelancing, but provided a couple of ways of getting my services free depending on how much work needs doing, or that I would consider a short term contract, 3 to 6 months, and would consider minimum wage for the opportunity to improve my skills and learn more.This is the second time in three months I have turned down being paid after being approached by others. The last time I agreed to do two seminars at a local college for nothing.The thing is we have 14 tmos and two in development. Just about all of them could do with additional help but cannot afford a full time worker. A council officer has been working on a job description that would involve five TMOs employing a community worker to provide an extremely wide range of services. It is by no means a done deal, and some that have expressed an interest in the idea are more interested into buying into the service as required rather than being one of the five TMOs employing the person.There is definately work there, and potential for much more in other areas of London. What I don't know is how much is there and if it is enough to provide a living. Certainy scope for repeat work, newsletters, annual surveys for instance, to mentoring new committee members. This year my personal development includes learning how to set up training sessions and delivering them, aimed at improving the basic training for our own board members, but could be delivered in other TMOs.The thought of becoming self employed does scare the beejeebies out of me, and I haven't got a clue what would be involved or even where to start. But it is starting to hold certain attractions for me.So do you have any general advice for someone considering freelancing?

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  • You are obviously good at what you are doing, go for it, the one thing I have found ever since going self employed and the business taking off is that at every stage I have found the HMRC really helpful, even the most obscure of questions they have come back to me and assisted, as such always keep in touch with them. As with grants there is so much out there, you will be amazed what you could get. The best advice I was given when I went for it is to completely trust your instinct, "if it is too good to be true it probably is" etc, etc,.

    Good Luck
  • There is certainly plenty of advice, and as we are in a high deprivation area I know there is a lot of help for start ups. I want to wait at least until September, if the community worker position works out I will at least have the semi security of employment.

    But it is because I have been unemployed for so long that I am considering it as an alternative.
  • Thanks Pip,

    "if it is too good to be true it probably is"

    I think this is what is concerning me. I know I have an excellent reputation within Southwark's TMOs. As well as having my work being used to show other TMOs as an idea of the direction they should be moving I know our own estate manager has been singing my praises, supportive, ability to understand, if one of us has something in mind by the time we raise it the other has been thinking along the same lines etc.

    We are about to make a huge splash as an early adopter of participatory budgetting, subject to board approval, as we are trialling a scheme this year. This is ahead of many councils for which it is actually aimed at with their larger budgets, and again I am the driving force behind this.

    I know TMOs have talked about buying into such services, but there is a big difference between talking about it and doing it - even if they need to. After all there are freelancers and consultants abundant out there that they could use, many with much better experience and credentials than I have and they are yet to use them. The only differences that I can see is I have recognised the need, and have a possible foot in the door as 'one of them'.
  • Hi Stuart,

    The problem doing it part time is it makes it difficult with jsa, housing benefit etc. And before someone suggests it, I don't like living on taxpayers as it is, without slapping them in the face by ripping them off as well. I had the opportunity handed to me on a plate to get an easy way back into work, all I had to do was sign three bits of paper and I would now have an NVQ 3 in administration and business.

    Is the work sustainable? well it took me three years work to get us the Good Governance Kitemark, and we scraped through it. An independant audit of the TMOs by PWC we had the lowest number of issues raised, and by far the quickest to resolve them. It has taken us five years to even get to the stage where we can start considering resident participation as a serious and sustainable part of our core aims. We are in a much better position than many of our colleagues, and this has been largely down to me. So yes the work is certainly sustainable, but as mentioned it is wether or not the TMOs will recognise the value I have to offer.

    There are between 230 and 240 TMOs, the highest concentration of which is in London.

    Stuart Marler said:
    Becoming self employed is scary BUT does have a lot of benefits.

    You also have 3 months of setting up before you need to advise the tax man of this.

    Could you do some of this work part time, and get paid for it without going completely self employed?

    At the moment, you at least know that work is out there but is it sustainable?

    Good luck.
  • I take my hat off to you for all the good work you are doing

    I don't understand the ins and outs of the benfit schemes but would it not be possible to accept freelance work if it came up at a good rate and temporarily give up your benefits or would this create too many problems getting back on them at the same level?

    If the "shared community worker" comes off this would be your best option. However keep pluging away and helping out where you can and you will soon be the 1st choice that people call upon for assistance.

    Forgive me for "thinking out aloud" but couldn't you find a sponser to help you get set-up and offer all the services. I am sure that there must be a rich and willing CEO who would want to give something back to the community.

    Believe in yourselve and follow your dreams.
  • Thanks BGS

    One thing I should have probably included in the first post one of my main concerns is that I'm not realy a business type of person. Money is probably the worst type of motivator for me - ie it just doesn't do it. When we first discussed this idea the council officer mentioned a possible salary of £30,000 and this put me off straight away. It was only when I stopped and thought about it did I think it would be a reasonable wage. Five different employers, constitutions, communities, boards etc. multiple projects, funding applications, an extremely wide remit. Thats not to mention evening meetings, events and having to be with a different group the next day. The one time it did come up for discussion among the TMOs the wage being considered by them was between £18000 and £21,000. With renting out the service to others on a ad hoc basis as a way of subsidising this.

    A big minus for me as an individual deciding to do it as a business is I would want to work with individuals and groups so that they didn't need me! Probably not a good trait in building up a thriving business.

    The other alternative I've been thinking of is for my own organisation to look at setting it up as a service and employing me directly. As a community group we could look for funding to cover the wages and costs for a year or two, and then it would be part of my job to build it up and make it viable long term. All the trappings of self employment but swapping profit and risk for security. It would mean a change in our own policy about employing residents from our own estate, it would certainly mean stepping down as Chair, and probably from the Board itself. However as the TMO is the one who gave me the opportunity to build my skills and support me I like the idea that they will be the ones to benefit long term, and so as a family we would benefit directly and indirectly. It certainly fits my personality a lot better, but really don't know if the others would go for it.

    At the moment I just want to consider the options so if the community worker things doesn't come off and I don't get a full time job I have other alternatives open to me to push things forward and possibly create opportunities rather than just waiting for them to come along.
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