Guest Speakers
The guest speaker from BEST gave several insightful pieces of advice during her talk as well as opening my eyes to just how much free help is available to new businesses. The points below are the ones I deemed most important.
Advised not to undercut other businesses – strive to offer a better service, rather than a cheaper service
Emphasised the importance of having a survival fund for the first few months in business – something I had not previously given much thought
Advised using social media for market research
Suggested attending business pop-up cafes not only as a networking opportunity, but as a chance to meet experts in different areas of small business for advice
Mentioned that grants are available towards equipment, in particular new facilities which are able to reduce the carbon footprint of the business. These could cover up to 30% of the cost of new equipment – perhaps this could potentially be used towards a hybrid car for a travelling physiotherapist?
Brexit could impede future grants, which is potentially damaging to new start ups around the time I would be starting my business
There are growth hubs all over the country
The other guest speaker I found particularly insightful was Charlie Quinn, a freelance Veterinary Physiotherapist and Financial Planner. Below are the points I took from her talk:
Important to look at entire lifetime when planning finances, including when you would like to retire and how much money you would like to have as a pension in the future.
The above point is key to determining how much you need to be earning to satisfy your own goals.
She emphasised the importance of paying into a pension
She made a point of the pros and cons of both being employed and being self-employed, which was useful when comparing my two career options in my career path analysis
She also provided lots of information about tax rates in relation to different income bands – this is really important to consider, especially in addition to student loan repayments, any other debts needing to be re-paid, pension payments, National Insurance contributions… these all take a considerable toll on the take-home wage
Highlighted the importance of setting aside money for tax when self-employed, as there is no employer to make tax deductions for you
