Debating going self employed

[The Cat]

After a "career break" I'm looking at doing self employed deliveries from April. Have done some research and have the insurance information and a mate recommended me an accountant who will take care of that side of things for 350 quid. Sounds cheap to me but I'm told he is reliable. I wouldn't be forming a company it would be on a sole trader basis. There seems quite a bit of work available locally delivering for the well known companies and also seems to be a decent demand for takeaway drivers.

Am by no means going full time with this am merely looking to work part time while also doing the college runs for my son so maybe 3-4 days a week.

Have opened a separate bank account for handling the money and aiming to put 30% of earnings away to cover tax etc.

Never done this before so does anyone have any tips I really need to think about? I will be using my own car for this which is in decent nick. I know about the specific insurance required for delivering goods.

This is also not set in stone I am also going to look for employed part time work if I can find something that lets me have the 2 specific days off I need every week.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[DavidDetroit]

cat,
this site is hit or miss unless you're talking about (OG-FG) X 131.25.
I do feel for you but wouldn't an accountant or the appropriate professional be more what you're seeking?
Yeah, there's a wide variety of pros here, but it's just casting into the pond.

 

[gyurmaember]

Make a thorough business plan, don't forget the depreciation of your car, and you can decide it, if you can't make a business plan by yourself, it's not for you. Also you won't need an accountant, it's not gonna be a complicated business, you have to keep track of your expenses by yourself anyway...
Just a hint, if you wanna do it properly, and don't fool yourself, you'll end up with an hourly rate of £5-6 or even less.
If you still reading and it didn't scare you off, go for it

 

[The Cat]

Make a thorough business plan, don't forget the depreciation of your car, and you can decide it, if you can't make a business plan by yourself, it's not for you. Also you won't need an accountant, it's not gonna be a complicated business, you have to keep track of your expenses by yourself anyway...
Just a hint, if you wanna do it properly, and don't fool yourself, you'll end up with an hourly rate of £5-6 or even less.
If you still reading and it didn't scare you off, go for it

Cheers for that.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Never done this before so does anyone have any tips I really need to think about? I will be using my own car for this which is in decent nick. I know about the specific insurance required for delivering goods.

You have probably already seen the thread but if you haven't it will be of use -

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/four-priests-brewery-youtube-channel.97261/

 

[RichardM]

I retired in May last year. I now have a part time job as a delivery driver for Iceland. The pay is better than many delivery driver jobs, none of the hassles of being self employed and they are pretty good at arranging shifts to suit me.

 

[The Cat]

I retired in May last year. I now have a part time job as a delivery driver for Iceland. The pay is better than many delivery driver jobs, none of the hassles of being self employed and they are pretty good at arranging shifts to suit me.

Thanks - all options are open right now it's just two days a week I can't do with child committments.