How long before a living can be made

John

How long from setting up as a MIP (with hard work and marketing) does it take before it is possible to earn a living of say minimum 25k/yr. I realise it depends on area, fees, etc etc but I am considering it as fallback in the event of redundancy; I could manage for the first 6 months - 1 year , but if realistically it takes much longer than that before a basic living can be made I would have to consider alternatives.

deanshepherd

For me it was probably nearer 18 months before I was making £25k but I was adamant not to take on any 'bum' clients and deal only in industry sectors I was interested in.

i.e. no CIS, no bookkeeping, no restaurants, no shops..

As I had built up some savings prior to making the leap I did little in the way of marketing and built up my clients mainly from online business networks. Now (almost 4 years on) I do little, if any, marketing at all with all new clients coming from referrals.

If you need to be earning £25k per annum in a quicker timescale then I am sure you would have no trouble, provided you wanted to market hard and have the ability to 'sell' yourself well.

John

reply

Thank you for your help - why not CIS, restaurants, bookkeeping and shops ?

deanshepherd

Basically.. too much trouble for too little return!!

I tend to avoid cash based businesses as there is always a greater risk of impropriety. They are also a higher risk for HMRC attention and, in my experience, tend to be the businesses that bury their head in the sand a little more when things are not going so well.

As for bookkeeping, there are people on this forum who can provide a much better service for a much better price than me. I therefore took the decision to refer my clients to bookkeepers that I can trust, so that I can concentrate on what I do best which is making sure my clients pay the 'right amount' of tax!

T.C.

I believe that when you first start out you shouldn't be saying to any work. You can always opt out of some of those bits you don't like later - when you get more clients.