Modern Work

modern work

Freelancers / Contractors / Independent Professionals / Self-Employed ISSUE 8 £3.95

HITTING THE WRONG NOTE How government cuts and IR35 is affecting music teachers

WHERE'S YOUR HEAD AT? How your personality affects the way you thrive in self-employment

SAVING FOR LATER LIFE How to ensure you invest wisely for your pension

EDITOR

Jyoti Rambhai

jyoti.rambhai@ipse.co.uk MEDIA CONSULTANT Jim Cassidy

DESIGN

Martin Harling-Coward

REPORTERS

Tristan Grove Inna Yordanova Chloé Jepps Jonathan Lima-Matthews Stuart Ulrich Claire Barrance

Front cover

Sarah Tomlinson on the challenges of being a selfemployed music teacher

See page 5 for full story

CONTRIBUTORS Steve Richards Gemma Church Jason Ward Jane Tully

PHOTOGRAPHY

Holly Cant Photography Brian Tomlinson Photography Viking Photography Largs

ADVERTISING

marketing@ipse.co.uk

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Newsflash “The Brexit saga is the equivalent of a Netflix boxset where no one knows the ending, including the leading players.

The end is a long way off. In fact we are living through the equivalent of several Netflix boxsets” Steve Richards Full story p.22

modern work

Contents INTERVIEW How IR35 and government cut-backs have affected self-employed music teachers

05

RESEARCH How the labour market has shifted in the last 10 years

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NEWS Lorraine Kelly wins IR35 tax tribunal

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NEWS Creative freelancers owed millions in unpaid invoices

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RESEARCH Personality type and running a business

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EVENTS Supporting students into self-employment

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BUSINESS AND FINANCE Coping with business debt

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FROM THE LOBBY Brexit: A Netflix saga

22

LIFESTYLE Primalbase: A blockchain co-working space

24

LIFESTYLE Freelancer's guide to saving for later life

32

LIFESTYLE Tech review: Chromebook

27

BUSINESS AND FINANCE Being money smart when buying equipment

34

LIFESTYLE Juggling life as a freelancer and a parent

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EVENTS The events that could benefit you

38

London phonebooths are just one of the facilities at this co-working space (p.24)

It's not all about Brexit for the self-employed A word from the editor

B

rexit! With no certainty of what will happen, it is no wonder it has dominated the news since the start of the year. In our latest edition of Modern Work, political columnist Steve Richards comments on the latest episode in this saga.

But it is not all about leaving the EU. Our cover story looks at the challenges self-employed music teachers face. Government cutbacks and changes to IR35 have had a serious

March/April 2019

impact on local authorities providing instrumental lessons in school. We spoke to woodwind teacher Sarah Tomlinson and guitar teacher Patrick Avery, on how this has affected them.

This edition also looks into different personality types and how it can relate to freelancing. We speak to John Hackston, who led the research into this and the motivations for becoming self-employed.

We also have a feature from Gemma Church

who discusses the reality of being a freelancer and a parent and Jason Ward offers an insight into how to invest in office equipment without breaking the bank.

Enjoy the read.

Jyoti Rambhai EDITOR

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modern work

Time for musicians to make a song and dance about cuts Sour note as education cut backs hit freelance music teachers

By Jyoti Rambhai

Y

ou hear your name being called. You stand up, make your way to the front of the darkened room, carefully climbing the five steps up to the stage. Your hands are shaking, but you close your eyes, take a deep breath and begin.

I had my first piano recital when I was 14 years old. I was performing an ABBA classic, Money, Money, Money, at our school Christmas concert. I absolutely loved it and music was something I continued with in school until I was 18.

I first started learning to play the keyboard when I was ten years old. I had many different music teachers through the years, but my lessons were always through school and were either fully or partially subsidised. The fact that the lessons were subsidised by the school was the main reason I was able to keep having them.

Many musical instrument teachers are self-employed. Often, they liaise with local authorities to get contracts in primary and secondary schools. But government cutbacks over the last ten years have had a serious impact on music teachers – and this has been exacerbated by the changes to the off-payroll tax (IR35) rules.

By the summer of 2019, guitar teacher Patrick Avery is set to lose 40 per cent of his work.

The 35-year-old, who teaches in schools in Slough and Windsor, says: “Government cutbacks have had a massive impact on local authorities and obviously this has had an effect on music teachers.

This is a big issue right now.

“I used to get work through a private agency when I first started out about three years after I left college. At first, the pay was pretty good, but it never increased. When the music service agency folded, I March/April 2019

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© Holly Cant Photography

Patrick Avery (left) gives Modern Work's editor a guitar refresher

took all that work on a self-employed basis.”

Patrick, who has been teaching for 14 years now, explains that he initially was part-employed and part-self-employed. Over the years, however, he has taken on more and more work on a self-employed basis.

The London-based musician went on to add: “Some schools I teach at, the instrumental lessons are fully subsidised because it is in a deprived socio-economic area. Students here are on a pupil premium, so the government pays money for them to have the same experiences as other children.

“But this had got much less over the years. In fact, one school I am working at has slashed their budgets massively, which means I will lose 20 per cent of my work as of Easter. It is simply because they cannot afford to pay for the lessons and when they are trying to find ways to save money, music lessons are often one of the first things to go.

“Added to that, I have a lot of students who are doing their GCSEs, and you do see a big dropoff around May and June. So come summer, I could be down by 40 per cent.”

The continuous squeeze on local authori6

ty budgets and its impact on council-run music services is something Sarah Tomlinson has also seen first-hand.

The 39-year-old woodwind teacher told Modern Work: “I always knew I wanted to be a music teacher, so after I completed my music degree and PGCE, I went back to the music service in Milton Keynes and got a job there.

“I was employed by the council and honestly didn’t struggle at all to begin with,” Sarah admits. “I was able to develop my skills and there was a good career progression. Everything was great until about ten years ago, when the financial crash happened.”

Sarah, who has now been teaching for 18 years, says after the crash it wasn’t just a lack of funding for schools to subsidise lessons, but parents being able to afford tuition for their children.

And then four years ago, Sarah, along with around 80 others who worked for the music service, were made redundant by the council.

“The council still wanted a music service,” she says, “so that was when we formed the co-operative and became self-employed. It is run by the

members and means we can collaborate, set base rates so we are not undercutting each other and seek help and guidance on issues such as IR35.”

In England and Wales, many music teachers have come together to set up co-operatives in their local areas. These independent hubs are sponsored by the Musicians’ Union and they are there to bring teachers together to share ideas and best practice.

The union offers resources and training, shares research and advocates the benefits of a musical education. It also campaigns and offers guidance to teachers – particularly those who are new to self-employment – on everything from setting up and tax returns to, more recently, navigating IR35.

The on and off-payroll tax rules have had a significant impact, David Barnard, education official at the Musician’s Union tells me.

“IR35 has challenged that modus operandi,” he says. “There are a lot of music hubs operated by self-employed teachers, but under the control of the local council. In those cases, many teachers have had their employment status brought into question.

“We’ve had individual teachers who have modern work

© Brian Tomlinson Photography

Sarah Tomlinson (left) has been teaching students to play woodwind instruments for 18 years

been working in schools that have received instructions from the local council saying that all off-payroll contractors should now be on PAYE. Many schools, fearful of the fine, attempted to put music teachers on the payroll.

“We’ve had to remind them that they are genuinely self-employed,” David explains. “In many of these cases the teachers will bill their pupils’ parents, pay for their accommodation, have their own curriculum and are able to provide a substitute – all the tests HMRC use to determine status. We’ve had quite a few of those and have been able to win some of these cases.

“In one county, the local council has done an IR35 audit and said all music teachers are inside and need to be put onto the payroll. However, if that happens the music service would collapse, because they simply would not be able to fund it – so we are looking and trying to resolve this problem at the minute.”

In other cases where local authorities have made blanket decisions, music teachers, particularly those who have contracts with schools, have found themselves out of work. This is primarily March/April 2019

because many cannot afford to put the teachers on PAYE. “When the changes to IR35 expand into the private sector, there is a chance we may be seeing more problems starting to arise. And teachers need to share any challenges they face as a result.

“Many like to stay under the radar. We hear people talking about the NHS or the police, and people still don’t realise what and how much that comes under the jurisdiction of the local authority.”

Andrew Chamberlain, deputy director of policy at IPSE, said: “Like so many others, music teachers have been severely affected by the changes to IR35 in the public sector. Self-employed music teachers are a vital part of our education system and more must be done to ensure children of all backgrounds have the opportunity to learn an instrument.

“The public sector is just a fraction of the size of the private sector and if these changes go ahead in 2020, the consequences will be far worse.

The government must take heed and reverse these disastrous changes for the good of UK businesses and the economy.”

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Welcome to the new How ten years of freelancing have reshaped the labour market

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By Inna Yordanova Research correspondent

olo self-employment has shot up in the last 10 years and now stands at more than 4.4 million. One in seven people in the UK labour market are now self-employed – 35 per cent more than in 2008.

According to a new report by The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE), Self-employment in the modern economy, more and more people are choosing the freedom and flexibility of self-employment, making the sector one of the largest and most productive in the UK. In fact, self-employment alone contributed approximately £275 billion to the UK economy in 2018.

The data shows that this trend is largely driven by a growth in the number of the most highly skilled workers in the freelance sector.

The number of freelancers working in managerial, professional and technical occupations reached over two million in 2018 – marking a 47 per cent increase in the last 10 years. Freelancers alone also contributed more than £130 billion to business turnover.

Contribution to the economy, however, is not the only reason why the rise of self-employment is important to the UK labour market. The government’s Good Work plan has directed national debate to the quality – not just quantity – of work and raised questions about how self-employment affects individual wellbeing.

The report’s findings reflect this debate.

It showed that the highest proportion of the

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freelancers aged 50 and above has increased by 68 per cent over the last ten years

UK’s freelancers chose this way of working to maintain or increase their income (25%); for better work conditions and/or for better job satisfaction (22%).

GREATER LONDON: A THRIVING HUB FOR FREELANCERS While freelancers can be found across all UK regions, the greatest proportion of them are in Greater London (24%) and South East England (21%).

London has become a thriving hub for self-employment, with an estimated 497,000 of the UK’s freelancers living there. This is an increase of 84 per cent since 2008, making London the fastest growing region for freelancers in the UK. RISE OF WOMEN IN FREELANCING The number of female freelancers has increased by 63 per cent since 2008, which is substantially higher than the rise in the number of

male freelancers for the same period (37%). As a result, the freelance sector is currently 58 per cent male and 42 per cent female.

The rise of women working for themselves is largely driven by an increase in the number of freelance working mothers in the last 10 years.

Currently, one in eight freelancer is a working mum, accounting for 304,000 people. That is 80 per cent more than in 2008.

WHAT ELSE HAS CHANGED IN THE LAST TEN YEARS? The data suggests that an ever-increasing segment of the self-employment population is approaching retirement age.

The number of freelancers aged 50 and above has increased by 68 per cent over the last 10 years, including a four per cent increase between 2017 and 2018.

This might cause some concerns because, according to another study by IPSE, How to

modern work

increase in working mothers

LONDON

of freelancers have a degree or equivalent

solve the self-employed pensions crisis, more than a third (39%) of the UK’s self-employed do not use any tool to save for retirement. This suggests there is an urgent need for better and more flexible pension solutions to accommodate freelancers.

At the same time, however, a new generation of freelancers is entering the sector. The number of freelancers aged 16–29 has increased by 45 per cent since 2008, and now accounts for 204,000 people in this age group.

The report also shows that the level of educational qualifications has improved significantly in the last 10 years. The proportion of people

March/April 2019

London and South East England make up 45% of UK freelancers

in the freelance workforce that have a degree or equivalent increased from 47 per cent in 2008 to 57 per cent in 2018 – making it significantly higher than among the solo self-employed overall (34%).

This could potentially be associated with the fact that demand for highly skilled freelancers has increased in the last 10 years, especially in areas such as health, arts and sport.

The occupation that has seen the highest growth is health associate professionals. The number in this group has almost tripled since 2008. Functional managers and directors, artistic, literary and media occupations and

sports and fitness occupations have also more than doubled in size in the same period.

John Kitching, a professor at Kingston University, said: “The rise of solo self-employment in the last 10 years has become one of the key competitive advantages of the modern UK economy, with freelancers alone contributing no less than £130 billion to business turnover.

“In the context of Brexit-driven economic uncertainty, this report has shown just how important self-employment is for ensuring that the UK’s labour market provides opportunities for greater quality and quantity of work as set out in the government’s Good Work plan.”

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modern work

Freelancers in creative sector waiting on £1b

Lorraine Kelly victory shows HMRC 'in the dark' about IR35

By Tristan Grove

A

staggering £1.1 billion is owed to self-employed people working in the creative industries in late invoices, a new study has revealed.

New research by Market Invoice has found that in the creative industries, 48 per cent of invoices are paid late, with the average invoice value standing at £38,137.

Around 50 per cent of those working in the creative sector are self-employed who often provide services to a range of sectors from TV and film, to design and publishing.

According to the study, independent professionals as such as are often held to lengthy payment terms, meaning they could wait up to 90 days before being paid.

The research also found that one in seven (14%) take more than 14 days beyond agreed terms to pay. Furthermore, larger companies were more likely (51%) to pay the creative industries later than smaller businesses (41%).

Creative agency founder Phil Dean said: “As a business that’s growing you inevitably become short of cash because you’ve got to fund that growth and clients aren’t always brilliant payers. In our world it’s not a problem doing the work, it’s actually getting paid.”

The problem isn’t restricted to the creative industries. Research by IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) found that freelancers spend an average of 20 days a year chasing late payments.

The problem seems to be particularly acute among younger self-employed people, with the majority of freeMarch/April 2019

lancers aged 18-34 reporting they experienced at least two late payments in the last two years. Fifty-eight per cent of them even said they had done work they had never been paid for.

Freelancers are also worried about chasing late payments and the effect this could have on their client relationships.

A 2016 study found that 58 per cent of freelancers felt awkward or uncomfortable about chasing late payments for fear clients would not use them again.

These fears seem to be well-founded, with more IPSE research finding that 71 per cent of client-freelancer disputes are about late payment.

Even more serious, late payment leads to cash flow problems for many self-employed people. Thirty-seven per cent said they had run into cash flow difficulties, with 30 per cent saying they had been forced to take out an overdraft and 20 per cent saying the problem had hit their profits.

LORRAINE Kelly has successfully defeated HMRC at an IR35 tax tribunal.

The TV presenter, who works through her limited company, Albatel Ltd, appealed against an HMRC tax bill of £900,000, for her engagement with ITV between September 2012 and July 2017. Kelly is a regular presenter for the TV station's breakfast show.

This is the fourth out of five IR35 tax cases HMRC has lost since the beginning of 2018.

Judge Jennifer Dean concluded the tribunal saying that Kelly had a sufficient degree of control in her work.

Andy Chamberlain , IPSE's deputy director of policy said: “What this judgement hammers home irrefutably is that HMRC are completely in the dark about their own tax legislation.

“Lorraine Kelly’s case is the fourth of five IR35 cases that HMRC has lost since 2018. It is now clear that they have wrongly been hounding many BBC and ITV presenters over a tax law they do not understand themselves.

“The government, however, has said that from April 2020, private businesses across the UK will have to determine the IR35 status of their contractors.

“This judgement should be a wake-up call to government that it cannot expect businesses to understand a tax law that it cannot even implement itself.”

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The gig jigsaw: Where your face fits into the big picture The Myers-Briggs Test and the different personalities working in self-employment

By Chloé Jepps Research correspondent

March/April 2019

T

aylor Swift. Jennifer Lopez. Bill Clinton. Oh… and Cersei Lannister. What connects them? Well, me. Or that’s what the Myers-Briggs Test tells me, anyway. If you haven’t heard of it, Myers-Briggs is the personality profile test that is taking the world by storm.

Based on Jungian psychological theory, the Myers-Briggs Test asks you a series of agree-disagree questions about your personality, ultimately giving you a four-letter code (ESFJ, in case you were wondering). And based on that, supposedly, you can find out about everything from the best career paths for you to how your friendships work 13

“Skilled workers actually make up the largest proportion of the gig economy”

and even how you are as a parent. It’s like if astrology actually worked.

So, what does all this have to do with modern work and freelancing?

Well, the Myers-Briggs company has just published a report on how personality relates to freelancing. Called Type and the Gig Economy, it looks at self-employment from a very interesting new angle, asking questions like ‘Are some personality types more suited to self-employment?’ and ‘How can clients adapt to different self-employed personality types?’

The crux of the report is establishing how personality differs between those who work in the gig economy and those in regular jobs. It also looks at the motivations for becoming self-employed and the positives and negatives of this way of working compared to ‘traditional’ employment.

John Hackston, head of thought leadership at Myers-Briggs and the lead author of the report, noted just how little research there was out there on this area.

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He said: “When we looked at it, we realised just how many organisations rely on freelancers and gig workers and how little research there is in the area in terms of things like the personality of people who go into the gig economy, what their motivations are, how those relate to personality.”

In the report, gig workers are defined as those who are “employed on a freelance basis, carrying out short-term jobs or contracts, not necessarily fixed to a single employer”.

The report started with the standard Myers-Briggs personality test, which comes up with that letter code I mentioned earlier by looking at four different areas: • Extraversion or Introversion (where we get our energy from) • Sensing or Intuition (what information we prefer) • Thinking or Feeling (what process we use to make decisions) • Judging or Perceiving (whether we prefer living in a more structured or more open way).

The findings are based on a sample of 1,308

people who responded to an online survey. They were a mix of ‘gig economy’ workers (most people would probably call it general self-employment), employees and people who do a mixture of both.

The sample of self-employed people was largely made up of highly skilled workers. “One thing we didn’t realise until we started looking into the data,” John said, “is that skilled workers actually make up the largest proportion of the gig economy if you take a wider view of this sector.”

WHAT DID THEY FIND? The report found that for most people (70%), the best thing about self-employment is having autonomy, freedom and flexibility. Although this finding was not new in itself, John said that “what surprised us was just how strongly this came out, way ahead of other things”.

For John, another of the most interesting results was, “the extent to which the best thing about gig jobs and the best thing about regular jobs were mirror images of each other; this was modern work

“If you have a specific personality type, there are certain things that you can address to improve your experience.”

similar for the worst things”.

He added: “It’s so clear. People are looking for very different things and see very different things as good or bad about gig jobs versus regular jobs.”

For those in regular jobs, the most positive things were having a regular or guaranteed salary and having consistency and security.

In self-employment, people said the worst aspects were insecurity and uncertainty about the next job, always having to hustle for it and irregular or inconsistent income. Others complained of other factors like loneliness, isolation and low pay.

What about the big question then: are there four-letter personality codes out there that make you more likely to be self-employed?

Well, not really. But there are specific characteristics that make it more likely. Two personality traits above all were found to be more common in self-employment: ‘intuition’ (as opposed to ‘sensing’) and ‘perceiving’ (as opposed to ‘judging’). (Not, you’ll note, any of the ones in my personality code!)

March/April 2019

John explained: “People with a preference for intuition are less focused on the detail, less focused on the here and now, more focused on the future and more likely to like variety”.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator explains that those who have a preference for ‘perceiving’ are more spontaneous and enjoy new situations.

They prefer to leave their options open and see rules and deadlines as flexible. These are all things that tally with the freedom and flexibility of self-employment.

“What was interesting,” John said, “was the extent to which people with different personality types felt different things were best or worst about working in the gig economy. This allowed us to produce guidelines for individuals based on their personality.

“For instance, if you have a specific personality type and you’re considering going into a gig role or you are in a gig role already, there are certain things that you can address to improve your experience.

“Many people enjoy the freedom and flex-

ibility of working in the freelance economy, but if they know more about their own personality, it can help them understand why they enjoy certain aspects of freelance work and dislike others and help get the most from their jobs.”

John concluded by saying: “We hope the findings are useful for the individual gig or freelance worker in understanding how their personality might fit and how to best make use of this. We also hope the findings are useful to organisations in understanding the particular needs and wants of individual gig workers, which may or may not be well served by their client.”

Hopefully, then, the report will be a valuable tool to help both clients and freelancers themselves understand how personality fits into the ever-growing self-employed sector. Whether it is or not, it was certainly valuable for telling me that I probably shouldn’t down tools and take the leap into self-employment any time soon…

The full report is available on the Myers-Briggs company website.

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Mark Lynch @ Vikingphotographylargs.net

Voice of tommorrow: Inspiring students' journey into business

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By Claire Barrance Events correspondent

e headed up to snowy Scotland, to the newly developed Kilmarnock Campus at Ayshire College, for a Freelancing for Students event.

Hosted by IPSE in partnership with Bridge to Business, the day turned out to be an interactive and engaging programme designed to inspire, connect and support college students on their way into business.

Freelancing is not often seen as a viable option for students after they graduate. And with more and more people entering this rapidly changing labour market, now more than ever, it is important to show and learn how self-employment can be an option.

This day of workshops and networking was part of a new series of events IPSE are leading across the UK. They are designed to give students, graduates and under-25s across all disciplines top 16

tips and advice on how to successfully launch a career as a freelancer During the event, students heard from a range of guest speakers including a professional comedian, a fitness coach and the founder of a digital marketing agency. They all shared their personal accounts of life as a freelancer as well as advice on pitching your brand, attracting/ managing clients and building networks.

Lucy Thomson of Coach Lucy and also a graduate of Ayrshire College, shared her journey into self-employment, how she set up, created a client base and developed and grew as a business. She particularly celebrated the flexibility and freedom that she enjoys as a freelancer: she can pick and choose her hours and who she works with. That she said is what really motivates her.

Lucy emphasised the importance of bringing your personality to your brand, especially

when starting out, to help build up relationships and your reputation. Being personable, approachable and delivering a great service is key to encouraging the best marketing tool of them all: word of mouth.

Jack Allan, founder of digital marketing agency 95 Social, spoke about the power of networking and collaboration. He gave great tips on how to use platforms such as LinkedIn to network, as well as seeking out relevant events and face-to-face meet-ups.

The day concluded with Lydia Wakefield, deputy head of education and training at IPSE, who talked about the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity that is given to you: attend events to meet industry experts and other freelancers, apply for awards, take on freelance projects – have confidence and put yourself out there! modern work

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2019 17

Taking care of business Jane Tully, director of external affairs at Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs Business Debtline, discusses the challenges surrounding debt that small businesses face

A

t Business Debtline, we hear from small business owners and self-employed people who are trying to cope with often challenging financial circumstances. Last year, our free debt advice service helped over 50,000 people over the phone and via webchat to take the steps they needed to deal with their financial situation.

Through this engagement, we gain an insight into the stories of the people we help and the factors that contribute to their difficulty. Our Taking 18

Care of Business report, published in November last year, shines a spotlight on the key challenges faced by people contacting Business Debtline.

I want to share some of our findings from this and our wider work and to highlight areas where we think improvements are needed to better support the self-employed.

A COMPLICATED DEBT PICTURE When we talk about the people we help at Business Debtline, the majority are sole traders

(65%). The small business owners we help tend to run ‘micro-businesses’, often with no employees.

A range of different debts are normally involved. Most callers have up to five different types (68%), although a significant minority have 11 or more (9%). As you may expect, Income Tax and VAT arrears are among the most common business debts our advisers deal with.

However, rent arrears and energy debt are also regular challenges our advisers hear about, with 15 per cent of all callers in energy arrears. modern work

This mixing of business and personal debts often complicates an already complex situation further as it becomes harder to distinguish between essential household bills and business-related costs.

Similarly to an unpaid tax bill, the impact of an unpaid household bill, for energy for example, can also be significant.

Both are classified as ‘priority debts’ due to the possible action that creditors can take. In both cases, urgent action is needed. In the worst case, your gas and electricity supplier has the power to cut off your supply and in the example of unpaid Income Tax, HMRC has the power to use bailiffs and to pursue you through bankruptcy proceedings.

One of the root causes we found for energy debt concerned metering and billing. More often than not, suppliers used estimated bills, with clients’ direct debits set at a lower amount than what was actually used.

After a supplier read the meter and calculated the difference in what was owed and already paid, our clients were then hit with a ‘catch-up bill’. In many cases, such bills required payment in one go, with the individual not in a position to pay the full amount. In such cases, engagement with the supplier at an earlier stage can make a huge difference.

DELAYS IN SEEKING ADVICE Delaying contacting creditors or seeking advice was commonplace. In the majority of cases, people delayed contacting us until they were already behind with payments. More than four in March/April 2019

10 people waited a year or longer before seeking advice, during which time debts worsened, taking a toll on their business and personal finances.

Nearly half (47%) of our callers surveyed said that stress about debts was the main reason for not seeking advice earlier. Worries about being judged or criticised were also a major factor. Only 18 per cent of people contacted Business Debtline as soon as they started struggling.

We found that the stress and worry many people experience before seeking advice are for debt problems that are resolvable. What is consistent across our clients is that the longer people waited, the more difficult and complicated it became to resolve their situation.

If faced with bills you are struggling to pay, engage with your creditors, be they energy suppliers, the bank or HMRC as early as possible. And if you are not sure of what to do, seek free advice.

While I have focused on the challenges

the self-employed people we help face, there is a crucial role for creditors to play in the way they communicate with customers and how they signpost people to specialist support.

On broader issues, such as late payments, we think more needs to be done to support people to get money earned on time. Our advisers hear on a daily basis the impact of late payments on things such as cash flow. One area that could make a difference is greater powers for the small business commissioner to fine persistent late payers, a step we call for in our report.

And for self-employed people in financial difficulty, there is a small piece of good news on the horizon in the form of the government’s Breathing Space Scheme. When introduced, the scheme will freeze interest on outstanding debts for people seeking debt advice as they work through their situation with professional help. Crucially, the government has agreed to include the business debts of sole traders as part of the scheme.

There is still much work to do to address ongoing challenges such as late payments and the impact of variable incomes. But remember, there is specialist support available and if you find yourself in financial difficulty, get in contact as soon possible and before issues escalate.

Further information about Business Debtline is available at businessdebtline.org.

19

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modern work

Your monthly briefing ‘FREELANCING IS A FEMINIST ISSUE’ MORE and more women are turning to self-employment than ever before, new data reveals.

Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) released in March, showed that the number of women in self-employment rose by 31,000 in the last quarter of 2018.

Corinne Stuart, IPSE’s head of commercial development, said: “Freelancing is vital for many mothers and carers too, because it gives them the ability to both earn an income and spend time with their children and family. For some, it can also be a means of moving back into the workforce.

“In these uncertain times, the government must do all it can to protect this sector and make sure women have access to the freedom and flexibility of self-employment. Freelancing is, after all, a feminist issue.”

PIMLICO PLUMBERS WORKER LOSES CLAIM FOR HOLIDAY PAY AN ENGINEER, who won an employment status claim against Pimlico Plumbers, has lost his bid to £74,000 in holiday pay, a court has ruled.

The supreme court determined Gary Smith was in fact a worker and not self-employed earlier this year.

At an employment tribunal in Croydon this month, Smith lost his claim for holiday pay.

According to the ruling, Smith, who had engaged with Pimlico Plumbers for six years until 2011, had not filed his claim for holiday pay quickly enough.

TWO-THIRDS OF CONTRACTORS DO NOT PAY INTO A PENSION NEARLY two-thirds of contractors are not saving for later life, according to a new study by Nixon Williams.

The research, which surveyed 1,000 independent professionals, found people were avoiding paying money into a personal pension scheme.

The report claimed that the pension system is not ‘freelance-friendly’ and this has resulted in the 12 per cent rise in the number of contractors failing to save for retirement.

NEARLY HALF OF SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE NO CYBER-SECURITY NEARLY half (40%) of small businesses had not taken any steps over cyber-security in the past 12 months, a new report has revealed.

Research by charity Business in the Community (BITC), also found that a third of small businesses in the UK have no strategies in place for cyber-security. In fact, three-quarters of the firms BITC spoke to said they there was no policy for controlling access to data systems in place.

According to the City of London Police, more than 2,000 cyber-crimes were reported by businesses in 2018.

BITC is urging businesses to do more to protect themselves against these crimes. It said small businesses have a responsibility to their customer or clients to handle data safely and securely.

Spring Statement: What does it mean for the self-employed?

CHANCELLOR Philip Hammond gave his Spring Statement hours after the government suffered a historic defeat over its Brexit deal.

Unlike the budget, it is little more than an update on the economy, with a small amount of policy included. Here’s what it could mean for you.

The chancellor proudly claimed that the economy was “robust”, delivering increased wage and employment growth. In fact, self-employment also rose significantly in recent months and data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) March/April 2019

showed that more women are working for themselves than ever before.

The public finances received a boost with higher than projected tax receipts in January.

The UK economy is expected to grow by 1.2 per cent in 2019 and borrowing should be lower amid continuing economic growth.

Reflecting on the Brexit situation, Hammond warned against anything other than an agreed deal and a “smooth and orderly Brexit”.

He also pledged that Greg Clarke, business

secretary, will soon make an announcement concerning late payment. Research by IPSE has shown that freelancers spend an average of 20 days a year chasing businesses because of late payment.

The chancellor’s warnings about the impact of a ‘no deal’ echoed concerns about the damage it is likely to cause the UK economy and one of themost dynamic sectors, the self-employed. This is reflected in IPSE’s latest Confidence Index survey, which revealed how Brexit uncertainty has affected businesses’ confidence in the economy.

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The latest episode is a real horror show

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By Steve Richards Political columnist

he Brexit saga is the equivalent of a Netflix boxset where no one knows the ending, including the leading players. The end is a long way off. The future trading relationship with the EU is still to be negotiated, a much more mountainous journey than the Withdrawal Agreement. Indeed we are living through the equivalent of several Netflix boxsets.

In order to make sense of what is happening and indeed what is not happening it is necessary to probe deep into the mind of Theresa May. She has been a ghostly Prime Minister, one that comically did not want a ‘running commentary’ on Brexit. She is virtually the only person in the UK who has more or less followed this course, not saying very much about what she wanted and why.

Unlike most UK Prime Ministers, she is not interested in politics as a performance. Thatcher, Blair and Cameron communicated constantly, trying to make sense of what they were trying to do.

She is shy and publicly awkward, clinging to slogans such as ‘Brexit means Brexit’ and the occasional set piece speech. But shyness should not be mistaken for a lack of ego or steely determination. Recently I asked Ken Clarke what he meant when he was caught on camera describing May as a “bloody difficult woman”. He told me he was referring to her being too stubborn.

I have been writing and presenting a series for BBC Radio 4, ‘Theresa May – The Brexit Prime Minister’, interviewing lots of senior figures who have worked for her from her once mighty adviser, Nick Timothy, to former ministers.

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In the series she becomes less ghostly. From the beginning, when she became Prime Minister in the summer of 2016, she decided that the referendum result trumped parliament as her democratic mandate. In her view she would do whatever it took for her interpretation of the Brexit result to prevail. She had the steely self-confidence to conclude that she understood the “will of the people”.

Nick Timothy tells me she felt there were economic risks in Brexit, but that she believed as a matter of conviction, ending free movement was a genuine upside. This was her first ‘red line’. It was one with big consequences. It meant the UK would under her proposals leave the single market.

Next, she became convinced the UK should be free to conduct its own trade deals. That meant the UK would leave the customs union. Then in the autumn of 2017 she discovered the centrality of the Irish Question: How to leave the customs union and retain the soft border? She has not found an answer, hence the backstop.

There were alternative Brexit routes, but she never contemplated them. In the meantime, governing has become almost impossible. The chancellor’s spring statement was largely bare.

This hung parliament is becoming so restive few propositions can become law smoothly. Some MPs speculate about an early general election. Such a move solves little. It might happen but more likely get ready for many more episodes in the Netflix boxset under the current dysfunctional parliament.

The series ‘Theresa May-The Brexit Prime Minister’ is available to download on BBC Sounds. modern work

Chris Bryce

Chief executive at IPSE

IR35 and political crisis push the self-employed to the brink YOU don’t need an MBA to know uncertainty is bad for business. But ‘uncertainty’ doesn’t even come close to our current situation. Britain is in the grips of the biggest political crisis since the Second World War, and businesses don’t even know whether their staff will have medicines in six months – let alone what their trading arrangements will look like.

For the self-employed, however, it’s not just Brexit uncertainty weighing down on them. At a time of national crisis, the government is pushing ahead with another act of economic self-harm: the changes to IR35 in the private sector.

Shifting the burden of IR35 from contractors to clients has already wreaked havoc in the public sector, causing delays, walkouts and even the cancellation of major projects. Now, just when the country needs the dynamism and productivity of the flexible labour market most, the government is stifling it with these changes.

At IPSE, we’ve warned again and again both about the dangers of IR35 and about the effects of Brexit chaos on the self-employed. Now our Confidence Index shows Brexit and the changes to IR35 have driven freelancers’ confidence in the economy to its lowest level on record.

It is almost beyond belief that in a time of crisis, a supposedly pro-business Conservative government is doing yet more harm by inflicting these IR35 changes on the self-employed. IR35 and Brexit fears have left the self-employed teetering over a precipice, and government must pull them back from the brink.

IPSE are pushing hard for two things from government: certainty on Brexit and the cancellation of the hugely damaging changes to IR35. And we’ve pulled together all our work on IR35 into a new hub on our website. If you care about this fight too, take a look and get involved.

The government must give the self-employed certainty on Brexit and take no-deal off the table once and for all. And in this uncertain time, it must not harm this vital sector any more than it has done: it must pull the self-employed back from the precipice by scrapping the changes to IR35.

March/April 2019

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A blockchain bubble above the clouds

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By Tristan Grove Chief correspondent

lockchain. To some, it’s a magic word roughly translated as ‘your passport to money’. To others, it’s one of those ominous terms like ‘cryptocurrency’ or ‘Google Glass’ that seems to herald the dawn of some dark dystopia. And, to others again, it’s a complete unknown best responded to with something like: “ugh?”

In any case, ‘blockchain’, the technology behind digital currencies like Bitcoin, doesn’t sound like the kind of thing you might try and found a community on. But at the co-working space Primalbase, that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Some context: I am sitting at an oblong board table (“rectangular would just be boring!”). In front of me is the charismatic Dutch CEO of Primalbase, Ralph Manheim. We are in the CityPoint skyscraper, on the thirty-second floor. Ralph is explaining the co-working space’s unique model. I am struggling to stop looking at the panoramic views behind him.

“Normally, with co-working spaces, you have to pay a monthly fee. But here, a company buys Primalbase tokens, which they can use to book office space. The token acts as a lease, which can be sublet to part-time members to use the workspace.

"It means you don’t have any monthly payments any more and you can also access our spaces in Amsterdam, Berlin, New York and Singapore.”

The Dutch-based company may have co-working spaces all around the world. But at the moment, I’m afraid, my thoughts are entirely 24

on London: from the window behind Manheim, you can see all the way from Moorgate to the leafy parks of North London…

“It’s just a smarter way of doing things, because it means if you hold onto your token for – let’s say four years – and you sell at the end of it for the same price, it’s a huge gain. It’s much more flexible and it cuts through all the red tape. It’s of the new age, I would say.”

At Primalbase’s London branch, it’s not just the space outside you notice – it’s the space inside.

On the thirty-second floor of CityPoint, you find yourself 400 feet up, in a strikingly airy and open office that is all the brighter and roomier because of its sheer glass sides.

It’s literally like a viewing platform – like making a co-working space out of the London Eye. The roominess, it must be said, is also exaggerated by how few people there are when I visited: but, after all, Primalbase London only opened in January.

The airiness of the space is very deliberate, Manheim tells me. “When we started doing our research for this, we focused very much on the pains: the three biggest pains people face when they’re in a co-working space.

“First, bad internet. The first thing people do when they come into a new office is check the wifi code and whether it’s working. So, we invested quite a lot in making sure we had good internet.

The second thing is cleanliness – and we work very hard to keep everything absolutely clean. modern work

“The third thing, specific to London, is space!

When we did market research of our competitors, I was shocked! We went to places where people were literally screen-to-screen. This is different in Berlin and Amsterdam: this is really a London thing. So, we set out to offer a lot more space than our competitors.”

Before you jump out of your cramped co-working cubicle and race to CityPoint, though, hold on a sec. This airy Eden above the clouds isn’t open to anyone: it’s actually a very exclusive space. Manheim says: “You hear this ‘community’ word a lot at co-working spaces, but often all people have in common is that they work in the same place.”

Primalbase is determined to make sure this breathtaking co-working space is only populated by the ‘right kind of people’. Manheim says: “At Primalbase, we are focused on having a true community: a community of new tech and innovative tech people. We’re for like-minded people with a similar background.”

In fact, he tells me, they have a strict sifting process: “We have a gate-keeping system for the companies here. For instance, I had two childhood friends who said, ‘Great – you’ve got a fantastic co-working space: I’d love to join.’ But I had to say, ‘Guys, I would love to let you join and take your money, but you don’t work in the same field: you wouldn’t be able to contribute to the knowledge-base here.’”

He goes on: “The key thing is what sector they work in. We like to have a good mix of things like VR, AR, Internet of Things, AI, big data, machine learning, crypto, FinTech – these kinds of blockchain companies.” [virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence] Looking through images of Primalbase’s other locations, they are all similarly breathtaking: their website is a picture gallery of panoramas and trendy-looking models staring out across them. It proudly proclaims: “It’s time to take your place in a workspace revolution.”

Like most revolutions, though, it seems that this is really designed to benefit a very exclusive set of people: a dictatorship of the blockchainariat.

Overall rating Price Location

Co-working space opens in London’s 'tech city'

A NEW workhub aimed at freelancers and start-ups has opened near London’s Silicon roundabout.

Moneypenny, located just a ten-minute walk from Old Street station, is a co-working space without any set-up fees or lengthy contracts.

Prices to work at the shared office space start from £29 for a day pass to £175 a month for unlimited access. Membership offerings include hot desks, fixed desks and private offices. Moneypenny also give the option of a flexible membership for those who only need to work from the co-working space on a part-time basis.

The space has meeting rooms, breakout areas, an outdoor terrace, phone booths to make private calls, and kitchens stocked with tea, coffee and treats.

Moneypenny offers users regular seminars from thought-leaders and access to experts, who are on hand to provide advice to freelancers and small businesses starting out.

Joanna Swash, managing director of Moneypenny said: “We are delighted to be launching our new workhub. We are experts in helping small businesses prosper with our product and service offerings, but also with our culture which puts the needs of the customer at the heart of our business.”

Details: moneypenny.com/uk/workhub

Facilities Wi-Fi Coffee

March/April 2019

25

At last, I’ve started my business!

I can’t wait to spend all day Googling business law! ...said no business owner, ever No one starts a business to spend hours a day delving into business law (well, apart from Farillio!)... but that’s often what small-business owners need to do.

But that’s where Farillio can help – it’s an online legal platform built to help small businesses like yours go far.

“Farillio takes away the danger of a startup Googling [...] and putting their business at risk”

Sian Winfield | Co Startup & Go

Navigate your business adventure confidently, simply & safely with legal guides, templates, step-by-step checklists, video tutorials & pay-as-you-go access to experienced, friendly experts across the country.

“Whether it’s an NDA template, an employment contract, or bespoke legal advice, I know Farillio has me covered” And it doesn’t stop with law. Farillio joins the dots between law and every other aspect of running your business: marketing, sales, PR, finance, HR, accounting, and so much more...

James Keal | InkTrap

Get 2 weeks free and a 35% discount for 18 months as an IPSE member, when you sign up to Farillio Farillio Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with the registered company number: 10633658. Its registered office is 1-15 Clere Street, London, EC2A 4UY

26

modern work

Review Dell Chromebook 3189

Dell Chromebook: A mixed picture

By Stuart Ulrich

T

Tech correspondent

he Dell Chromebook 3189, an 11” laptop running Google’s Chrome OS. Chromebooks have become popular in the education system in the last couple of years, and the Dell 3189 follows much of the same format as its predecessors.

Starting at £370 for the base model and ranging up to a reasonable £398, this 2-in-1 Chromebook will not break the bank, but it would be a worthwhile investment for any student. So, what do you get for your money? We tested the mid-range model by Dell. For a price of £384.29, you will get an 11” 2-in-1 touch screen laptop, Intel Celeron N3060, 4GB Memory and a 32GB eMMC hard drive.

The Dell Chromebook 3189 looks plain – almost uninteresting at first sight.

The chassis is black plastic with a dark grey, rubberised strip running around the entire outside for added protection against knocks and bumps.

The 3189 is undeniably small for a laptop – a benefit for anyone having to carry it around for hours on end. At 12” x 8” x 1”, the 3189 will easily fit into nearly all bags and weighs in at 1.43KG – a very respectable weight for the size.

Like most 2-in-1s available today, the 3189 can be transformed into a tablet by flipping the display completely behind the laptop.

We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of ports on the 3189.

A common problem designing a small device is the ports “Cough” Apple “Cough”, but with the 3189 you will get two USB 3 ports, a full sized HDMI port and an SD card reader.

March/April 2019

We watched the trailer for the upcoming Game of Thrones season eight and, given its relatively low resolution of 1366 x 768, I was pleasantly surprised: the colours were bright and bold and preformed just as well as any 1920 x 1080 display. In tablet mode, the touchscreen functions work just as well as any tablet device on the market. The display, however, is let down by the size of the bezels which provide a rather large, unappealing boarder around a surprisingly nice display.

The keyboard and trackpad follow the same design and feel as the body of the laptop.

Both are a basic black plastic, which we found too simplistic and somewhat unappealing.

Aside from the aesthetics, the keyboard and trackpad performed well. The keyboard is compact yet spaced enough to allow a decent gap between each key. It also has a solid, robust feel to it.

The trackpad is accurate and smooth enough to let your fingers glide across the surface, and the lack of any physical left and right buttons didn’t feel like a hinderance.

The built-in webcam will not win you any photography awards. We found that the 720p camera could only take a dark and slightly distorted photo. We also wouldn’t suggest using this camera for video conferencing either due to the picture quality and the occasional stutter.

The 3189 is redeemed by its battery life. You will have around nine hours of general web browsing time before needing to plug in and recharge. This is more than enough to see any student to the end of the school day and more.

Overall, the Dell Chromebook 3189 is a great companion for any student and well deserves three stars. However, the sturdy design, surprisingly good display and port availability are sadly let down by the unappealing bezels, grainy webcam and the overall plasticky cheap feeling.

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The big balancing act:

By Gemma Church

I

’m leading a double life. One where I have to flip between the role of parent and freelancer faster than you can say, “Your child is poorly; can you come and pick them up from school?”

As a parent with two small boys (aged 5 and 7), the unparalleled flexibility of freelancing is one of the fundamental reasons I chose to set up on my own. I’m eternally grateful that I can fit my work around the needs and demands of parenting.

But I also have a burgeoning business to manage. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve felt I’m neglecting my clients for my children or (even worse) neglecting my children for my clients. The feast or famine existence of freelancing is certainly amplified when you have to factor in the school day (too short), childcare (too expensive), activities (too many) and school holidays (too long).

Freelancing parents also don’t receive as many benefits compared with permanent workers. There’s no statutory maternity pay, paternity leave or shared parental leave for the self-employed. And yet the number of freelance mothers has doubled since 2008.

Freelancing and parenting is a constant tug of war, with plenty of pros and cons depending on your work and family set-up. So, I reached out to some fellow freelancers and asked: what’s it like to be a freelancer and a parent at the same time?

MELANIE EBERLEIN-SCOTT, A STRATEGIC MARKETING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT, WITH TWO SMALL CHILDREN (AGED 3 AND 1) For me, being a freelancer and a parent is bittersweet. My children are so little and always seem to be battling a virus of one sort or other.

So, I appreciate the flexibility that comes with freelancing more than ever. However, switching between parenting and freelancing is a real challenge, with mum mode often infringing on work time. My goal is to find a way to ring-fence my working time.

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modern work

What’s it like to be a freelancer and a parent at the same time?

JAMES DEVONSHIRE, A WRITER AND COPYWRITER WITH THREE GIRLS (AGED 5, 3 AND 18 MONTHS) Being a freelancer and a parent presents unique challenges. The biggest one for me is switching off and spending time with my kids.

Sure, I’m home all day so get to see them plenty, but my smartphone is never out of my sight and I’m usually checking my emails in the evenings.

At least when I was working a nine to five job, it was exactly that: nine to five.

SARA WATKINS, A WEB DESIGNER WITH ONE DAUGHTER (AGED 9) Parenthood is good training for running a business. Both demand boundless flexibility, adaptability and working long and unpredictable hours. No payroll job offers or demands this.

I’ve found a routine can provide some separation when the boundaries between parenting and freelancing start to blur. After the morning school drop-off, I work right through to pickup time, then I stop to cook, do homework and bedtime and then start again at about 8.30pm.

My day is long, but there are benefits, such as the ability to run a successful and meaningful business on my own terms.

Holidays are also getting easier as they get older and can attend a wider range of clubs and activities. Last year, I even closed down for August to spend quality time with my family. It did, however, take a while to get business coming back in again on my return, which was a bit scary.

ADRIAN ASHTON, AN ENTERPRISE CONSULTANT WITH THREE CHILDREN (AGED 16, 15 AND 12) I can’t imagine any employer being happy with (or even being able to offer me) the chaotic working patterns I need to support my children with different health conditions and school arrangements. However, despite this flexibility, I certainly feel the financial pressures of freelancing as a parent, especially when it comes to their birthdays, Christmas and holidays. Parenting is also a tag-team between me and my partner; it would be nice to find more time to spend together between freelancing and parenting!

March/April 2019

KAREN CANN, A VIDEO EDITOR AND OUTREACH CHARITY WORKER WITH ONE DAUGHTER (AGED 10) AND A SON (AGED 7) There are positives and negatives to freelancing as a parent. The upside about working around the school run and holidays is that I don’t have to pay for childcare. The downside is that when I don’t work, I don’t get paid. This means I have to make sure I have money saved to carry me over the summer holidays, which can be a challenge.

The best thing is spending so much time with my kids. I realise I’m probably not as financially secure or affluent as other mums, but time goes so quickly and I know they’ll soon not want to be seen with me! This time is really precious and I want to look back with lovely memories and no regrets.

RUTH BUCKINGHAM, A MARKETING CONSULTANT WITH TWO CHILDREN (AGED 10 AND 4) Like many others, I chose to be a freelancer so that I could work flexibly around my family.

However, it’s not all posh coffee, yoga at lunchtime and a nomadic lifestyle – if any of us are poorly, there is no sick pay, no holiday pay and little security.

I rarely switch off fully as I am constantly aware of the luxury of ‘being flexible’ and don’t want to miss out on potential work or servicing my clients. I rely heavily on online support groups like Doing it for the Kids, as many are in a similar position and can relate to the specific challenges of freelancing and parenting at the same time.

KRISHNA LUHAR, A SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER WITH THREE CHILDREN (AGED 3, 2 AND 5 MONTHS) The flexibility of being able to work around my children is priceless. However, that can mean I might be working from 7am (as soon as I wake up) or at 4am (when my 5-month-old has woken for a feed). So, I can never truly switch off but I am working on creating a more healthy balance. The downside is that I have the pressure of paying for my kids’ nursery fees, bills and a new car fit for a family of five without a truly stable income.

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Why core values are so important for start-ups

L

et's talk core values: what are they, and why, now more than ever, are they so important in business?

Throughout this piece, we explore these questions with people within our community, looking at the way that core values have affected and shaped their start-up stories, and the power that strong values possess.

WHAT ARE COMPANY CORE VALUES? If you type 'company core values' into Google, you're hit with lots of lists, tips, and interviews where people highlight what their core values are and what it means to them and ranges from self-improvement and integrity to courage and honesty.

But after reading a series of interviews from top CEOs and business founders, we found that, even though there's a clear recurring pattern, each list is entirely personal and individual.

And that's what's so wonderful about core values... such an old concept, but one that seems to grow and evolve with each business. We in30

terviewed a range of people, and what struck a chord, was how significant these core values were to them.

HOW START-UP FOUNDERS CAN IDENTIFY THEIR CORE VALUES We asked the rather simple but broad question: 'why do you think core values are so important for a business?' to a range of businesses of various sizes and nature. From the answers, we not only gained an insight into the process involved in creating core values for businesses, but how each person knew instantly the values they personally hold.

It seems that this strong connection to core values is because the public, now more than ever, are paying very close attention to the values of the brands that they're buying from, and avoiding brands and individuals that don't align with their own.

Research by Adweek in 2017 found that 57 per cent of consumers said that they'd boycott a brand if they didn't believe in their core values.

That number rises 66 per cent when looking at millennials, who take into consideration brand beliefs when making a purchase. This shows the importance of and the relationship that core values have, between businesses and customers.

Some may say that businesses only claim to have certain values that they know their target market hold – with the strategy being that sharing those values will attract their target audience's trust, respect and custom.

And sure, that may be the case for a small number, done for publicity, but genuine values are difficult to fake.

It's the genuine reinforcement and passion that businesses use to show their values that shares how invested they are. A business' actions speak louder than any list on the about us page of a website, and that's what sparks trust, respect and custom from an audience.

This is a topic that Farillio is passionate about.

Farillio’s core values pop up throughout the various modern work

"The public, now more than ever, are avoiding brands and individuals that don't align with their own."

parts of the company – from when we are hiring to our day-to-day running of the business.

In fact, core values were the very topic Farillio's founder, Merlie Calvert, was asked to write about for Penny Power's book, Business is Personal. Penny's book, published in February this year, sparked the conversation around small businesses and core values. This is why we decided to go out ask businesses ourselves.

We first asked Jen Eastwood at Rock Rose Digital why she feels that core values are so key for a business.

Rock Rose Digital is a social media marketing agency based in Shropshire, run solely by founder Jen. Her Rock Rose journey officially started two years ago and has since achieved so much. She has helped an international life coach from Australia to launch her first e-book and supported some wonderful small businesses slightly closer to home!

Fun little fact before you read about her core values... she once brought Lionel Ritchie a smoothie maker!! (Don't worry, we have many questions too!)

When we asked why she believed core values are so important, she said: "In the current climate, it's hugely important for a brand to have values.

“There are so many social media managers January/February 2019

and brands out there; on paper, we all do similar things – but it's our values that set us apart. It creates an identity, becomes part of the brand and signifies what we'd be like to work with.

"It allows people to make an informed decision about who we are, what we're about and wheth-

"It's our values that set us apart. It creates an identity, becomes part of the brand and signifies what we'd be like to work with." er they want to buy into that."

We love the way that Jen refers to core values as a kind of identity for a brand. It really shows how integral Jen believes they are for a business.

We also spoke to Karin Sebelin, an author, trust expert and personal branding coach.

From August 2011 to roughly mid 2012, Karin was incredibly active on Ecademy, which is a social business networking site. She worked under the wonderful direction of Thomas and Penny Power who both helped her to grow as a

blogger and in confidence.

She shared her views and told us that the most important job in business is to first define three things: values, mission and vision.

"These three elements define what a company believes, stands for and values, where the company is going and why the company exists,” Karin explained.

“Without clarity around these elements, a company will struggle, will have no focus and its employees will lack the needed direction.”

So, rather than seeing them primarily as a kind of identity, as Jen does, Karin sees them as a driving force that keeps the business going – and more importantly, keeps them on the right track.

This is such an interesting idea... using core values as a set of guidelines against which we measure our businesses.

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Freelancer’s guide to…

saving for later life

By Jonathan Lima-Matthews

I

f, like me, you’re a millennial focused on cused onshort-term short-term problems problems, like like which localcan café can you rustle which local café rustle up a ‘morning after theafter night before’ you up a ‘morning the night bacon/avocado before’ bacon/avocado mish-mash, mish-mash, savingsavfor your ing forretirement your retirement is pretty is pretty low on low your on to-doto-do your list. However, list. However, kicking kicking this probthis problem into thegrass longwon’t grassdowon’t do lem into the long you any favours you any as favours you get theolder. older Let’s you get. explore Let’s some of some explore the facts of the about facts retirement about retiresaving and ment saving a few and ofathe fewoptions of the options out there out to get to there yourself get yourself on track onfor track yourfor golden your years. years. golden First things first: you are not alone. A study by IPSE last year, How to solve the self-employed pensions crisis, found a staggering 69 per cent of self-employed people don’t have a pension – by far the main way people choose to plan for retirement.

The bad news is, the longer you put off saving for retirement, the more catching up you will have to do the closer to retirement age you get. This will be easier for some, more than it is for others, depending on how much you earn each month. But in general, retirement planning is something you should have on your radar.

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modern work

When I spoke to one person who had been freelancing for 20 years and who had to catch up on lost time not saving, she told me her pension contributions each month were over £2,000 – a scenario best avoided if you can.

If you’re more of a savings traditionalist like most UK retirement savers, a pension may be a good option for you. There are a whole host of providers out there, each with different terms and conditions attached, so you should take the time to consider which you think will give you the best value for money.

A key feature of a pension is that it offers a tax-relief, so your contributions are topped up with a bonus by the government, paid for by the tax you would ordinarily pay. To put it simply, if you put £100 of your earnings into a pension it would only cost you £80, with the remaining £20 being reimbursed from the tax relief.

Few people have heard of the Lifetime Individual Savings Account, or LISA for short. The LISA is a special savings account geared towards you saving for one of two purposes at a time: your first home or retirement. You have to be under 40 to open this account, but the great thing about the LISA is you get a 25 per cent bonus every year on savings up to a maximum of £4,000. That means if you save £4,000 in a year the government will give you a bonus of £1,000, bringing your yearly savings to a tidy £5,000. Not to be sniffed at.

Stocks and shares could be the ticket for anyone wanting to channel their inner Gordon Gekko. There are a number of online platforms you can use to invest as well as brokers who can March/April 2019

act on your behalf. While speculation can lead to accumulation, be warned there’s no such thing as a safe bet, and stocks and shares are more at the mercy of a range of factors like the economy, confidence in a company or a company’s performance than with cash savings.

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘safe as houses’. And, given their meteoric rise in value since the 2008 crash, where average house prices went from around £155,000 at their lowest ebb in 2009 to £230,000 in 2018 according the Office for National Statistics, it’s hard to argue against that maxim.

However, house prices, like many things, are subject to factors outside our control, such as another economic downturn or the lack of affordable homes. This is not necessarily something to worry about now, but if you are thinking of using rental income from a property to see you through your retirement, it is something to be wary of.

Which type of investment should you pick? That is up to you and what you think is going to work for you in the long term. A pension might be a more focused way to save for retirement than a LISA, for example, given the temptation to save for your first home as your exclusive or main priority. Houses, stocks and shares may offer higher returns over time but remember they can be affected by unexpected factors. It may even be a good idea to consider a combination of these if you’re able to.

When you next find yourself indulging on a Saturday night, and picking yourself up on a Sunday morning, spare a thought for your future self, and remember, it’s never too late.

*The material contained in this article is to provide helpful information and is not intended to be the basis for any evaluation of a pension investment decision.

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Liz Seabrook, a portrait, travel and food photographer

G

Jason Ward discusses how to invest in office equipment without breaking the bank.

oing freelance can have unexpected consequences. You make the leap to self-employment because you want to focus on one area, and then find that somehow, you’re now an entire small workforce. Overnight, you’ve become your own administrator, bookkeeper, HR, marketing department, office manager, and the one who always has to make the tea.

Of the many tasks that are suddenly your responsibility, one of the most exasperating can be purchasing equipment, software and hardware.

How do you balance a budget while investing in yourself ? Do you replace functional-but-ageing equipment or run the risk of something important failing precisely when you need it?

Is there less-glamorous free software that would operate as well as the premium equivalent?

Would an expensive purchase actually help your work grow, or are you just telling yourself that a fancy new laptop is the one thing that’s been holding you back all this time?

It can be hard, especially when starting out,

34

Photography

Letting go of romantic visions to fight the internal pressure to prove your own value by spending. Instead of a perfectly serviceable £1 reporter’s notebook from a newsagent’s, for example, a writer buys a £16 Moleskine because the marketing copy says it’s the type Hemingway used, but it’s so pricey they’re reluctant to sully it and end up using Post-its, which they immediately lose.

Letting go of the romantic professional visions in your head is the first step towards realistically building a career from that profession.

The cost of equipment varies dramatically depending on your work, but productive frugality is always possible. Liz Seabrook, a portrait, travel and food photographer, explains that a professional-grade camera body costs upwards of £1,000, and that’s on top of regular expenses like new hard drives. But she’s evangelical that you can usually find good second-hand or refurbished equipment.

She says: “There are two kinds of people who work in photography. Some are very kit-orientated. They’ll buy flashes and all of the lenses they need, the most expensive MacBook, the most

expensive everything, and say ‘I couldn’t possibly work without all this gear’.

"Maybe that’s true for them, but I like working bare-bones. You can’t do anything particularly cheaply in terms of your basic kit, but you can always go second-hand.

“I don’t own any of my own lighting: I can expense a client if I’m picking up a lamp or a flash from a rental house, and it means whatever kit I’m using is good quality and has been serviced and cleaned.

“If I need a specific lens, I’ll hire it rather than buy. I have a great high-end lens that I used on a safari job last autumn, but it mostly sits on my desk gathering dust. There’s no use in that.”

For Ben Marshall, a director of photography and steadicam operator, the potential costs are even greater. He explains: “I stay away from buying digital film cameras because they’re so expensive. A good one is between £25,000 and £50,000, so you’d need an airtight business plan.

“Cameras used to go out of date every 10–15 years when they were film-based, but now it’s modern work

While Liz, Ben and Camilla all own a diverse collection of equipment and materials, they are unanimous about the importance of being strategic about how to allocate your resources.

“For art supplies there’s a direct correlation between quality and longevity,” Camilla adds. “You could buy a large canvas from The Works for a tenner but in a few years the wood is going to bend, and the canvas will warp. I buy cheap canvases to test ideas but make my own, with good materials.

“You’re producing an image but also an object, so it should be long-lasting in a gallery, home or collection. If someone loves art enough to want to buy a painting, perhaps for significant money, they want it to last. You need to take the materials seriously.”

If you’re your own office manager, then, you have to treat your equipment needs in the same way a paid office manager would. What does the business (you) require to function and grow, and what’s the best way to get that?

You should allow yourself time to do proper research, weigh up options, and ultimately make a decision.

Liz hopes to buy a medium-format digital camera, which will cost around £6,000. Even during a good financial year this is a big expense, and so she’s adapting her budget to accommodate.

“Through the year I save money for tax and by saving a little extra on top of that I’ve been slowly accumulating a pot,” she says. “And I’m patient.”

Photography

Ben Marsh stays away from buying film cameras because they are too expensive

Details: http://lizseabrookphotography.com/ https://www.benjaminmarshall.co.uk/ https://www.camillaholder.com three-to-five, which means to ‘pay it off’ before it depreciates you’ve got to always use it, even if it’s not quite right for the job.”

Ben’s own approach is to own several film cameras, which are harder to rent, and share ownership of a set of lenses with a rental house, hiring the rest as needed.

“Some operators choose to build their careers around their kits, though: people hire you because you have the camera. It’s less admin for them because they get a one-man-band rather than needing to hire equipment and crew separately.”

Glasgow-based artist Camilla Holder tells me that she encourages art students to refrain from buying too many paints early on, especially as a single palm-sized tube can cost a few hundred pounds. She says: “People get lulled into buying huge packs containing a range of tints, but when you’re trying out things you should limit yourself to two or three different colours anyway.

“Starting with 15–20 colours can be overwhelming. You don’t even necessarily need black!

You can get by with about five colours: you need white, a blue of some sort, yellow, magenta, maybe an earth tone, and you can make lots of colours.”

March/April 2019

Camilla Holder advises students not buy too many paints early on

35

Ask the expert As a relatively new freelancer, what things should you take into consideration before bringing on an accountant?

T

Paul Mason, National Account Manager at Abbey Tax

he starting point is to ask yourself how you value your time. Is your time better spent developing your business or doing your bookkeeping?

Look at it in the context of your own business: clients bring you in because they don’t have the skills, resources and time to spend on a project, but are willing to pay for your skills and expertise. On one level, your relationship with your accountant should be the same.

So how do you choose? First, despite being new to freelancing, consider your end game. Are you looking to work for yourself until you retire, or do you have aspirations to create a much larger business with a view to selling it on? Different destinations: different accounting and tax needs.

Second, ask yourself what you need now: is it just bookkeeping support and basic accounts work? If so, the answer may be a competitively priced portal-based service to enter invoices and expenses, with telephone support when you need it. Or are you looking for more from your accountant – a business adviser to help you grow your business?

Third, speak to like-minded people – other people running small businesses to see what they like about their accountant and the value they get.

Now, speak to some accountants; perhaps arrange to meet them. Ask the accountant about their business: do they act for businesses like yours and can you speak to one of their clients?

Does the firm offer the services you think you will need? Does the firm have the structure and expertise to support your ambitions? Can they give examples of who can help you with your other business needs? Can they introduce you to clients?

Do they share your commercial outlook? And above all, do you think you’ll like them? Let’s hope so, because you could be with your accountant for the next 30 years.

Do you have a question for our experts?

36

What advice would you give to someone who is negotiating a new contract and the client has used the CEST tool to and has determined them to be inside IR35, but they disagree?

T

Andrew Chamberlain Deputy Director of Policy at IPSE

he dreaded CEST tool has caused a great deal of consternation for contractors since it was introduced in 2017. Unfortunately, HMRC continue to steadfastly stand by it, which makes it attractive to public sector clients looking for an easy way to ‘comply’ with their IR35 responsibilities.

If the client, having used CEST, has decided IR35 applies, it means tax will be deducted at source, as it is for employees. You also won’t be able to claim expenses in the same way. All this means more of your money will go to the taxman than it would if the role were deemed to be outside of IR35.

Under these circumstances you have a few options:

1. Negotiate a higher day rate to make up for the additional tax burden.

2. Negotiate on who should pay the employers NI – your argument is it should be the client. This option is tricky when there is a complex supply chain involving agencies and umbrellas.

3. If you believe IR35 shouldn’t apply, explain why. You may want to arm yourself with an independent contract review and a review of the working practices to back up your claim. And even if you are entirely right, the client may not be prepared to listen and is under no obligation to do so.

4. Ask for employee type benefits. If the client is saying they’ve looked at the nature of the engagement and decided that it is more consistent with employment than self-employment it raises the question – shouldn’t they be looking for an employee? Or at least giving you holiday pay.

5. Turn down the contract. This is the nuclear option, but if you firmly believe the engagement is freelance, there really is no justification for you being taxed as an employee.

For now, only public sector clients have to make IR35 determinations.

Unfortunately, the government intends to change that and bring the private sector rules in line with the public sector from April 2020.

Email it to editor@modernworkmag.co.uk and get a one year’s subscription for the printed edition of Modern Work – and the financial magazine My Money FREE!

modern work

Everyone can make a mistake Exclusive 10% discount for IPSE members off Professional Indemnity Insurance* No matter how many years’ experience you may have, there is always the possibility that something could go wrong…

That’s where Professional Indemnity insurance comes in - if you are alleged to have provided inadequate advice, services or designs to a client, this type of insurance provides cover for the legal costs and expenses in defending the claim, as well as compensation payable to your client to rectify the error.

PI insurance may not be mandatory but wouldn’t you like to have peace of mind knowing that you’re protected in case something goes wrong?

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Networking, seminars & events • Find intent-to-purchase signals on social media platforms • Find and reach out to prospective clients.

WEBINAR: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO LINKEDIN FOR FREELANCERS

FREELANCE MUM AT ST PAUL'S APRIL NETWORKING EVENT

This online session led by The CV and Interview Advisors will give hints and tips on how to write a client-attracting LinkedIn profile, how to use it as a tool for winning work and how to develop a networking and business development strategy.

Join Freelance Mum (along with your children!) for their monthly networking event. During the two hours, hear from a guest speaker, take part in the ‘netwalk’ – a facilitated networking opportunity while taking the children for a walk. You can also join the business exchange, a quick-fire group round where you can tell people about your business in just 60 seconds.

Details: Thursday 25 April, 19.15 - 20.15, online

Details: Tuesday 2 April, 10.00 – 12.00, St Paul's Church, Bristol, ipse.co.uk

NETWORKING: FREELANCE FRIDAY

FIRST TIME FREELANCE Hosted by IPSE and Big Ideas Wales, this event is part of a series designed to provide individuals, from all industries, with top tips and advice on how to successfully launch a career as a freelancer.

The evening will include two keynote sessions, a practical workshop, and a panel discussion with successful freelancers who will share their journey, challenges and successes. You will also have the opportunity to speak to a business advisor about how to progress.

The evening comes to a close with networking and pizza!

Details: Wednesday 3 April, 17.00 – 20.00, Cardiff, ipse.co.uk 38

Details: Monday 13 May, 12.15-13.15, Online

This informal networking event is open to all freelancers, contractors and anyone who runs a micro-business.

The event is a relaxed networking and support group that offers the chance to find out about possible contract opportunities and to discuss business issues over a glass of wine.

Details: Friday 26 April, 17.00 – 19.00, Citizen M, Glasgow WEBINAR: HOW TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO FIND CLIENTS Using social media, but not winning new clients as a result?

FREELANCING: THE WAY TO WELLBEING In the lead up to National Freelancers Day, IPSE are heading to Manchester to host this pre-event focusing on the health and wellbeing of freelancers. During the evening we will enjoy a keynote session led by Freelance Writer Kerry Needs titled Wellbeing: the central focus of your freelancing life.

The second half of the evening will be a panel discussion looking at some of the key methods and opportunities available to help maintain wellbeing as a freelancer and ending with drinks, canapes and networking.

Details: Wednesday 15 May, 18.30 – 21.00, WeWork Spinningfields, Manchester

In this session, chartered marketer and independent consultant Luan Wise will provide an overview on using social media to: • Find discussions/questions about your product or service area

modern work

Building strength in numbers with IPSE 50/50 Refer a friend and they'll get £50 off IPSE Plus membership.

And you'll receive a £50 Amazon voucher.

Don't know an IPSE member?

Use this code to get £25 off all memberships MODERNWORK25 www.ipse.co.uk March/April 2019

0208 897 9970 39

Thursday 20 June, 10.00 – 17.30 Kings Place, London, N1 9AG Keynote speaker – Adam Kay, award winning comedian and Sunday Times best-selling author of ‘This is going to hurt ’

Join IPSE at National Freelancers Day, an event full of inspirational speakers, informative workshops and meaningful conversations, to grow your business and your network.

Early bird tickets £30 (available until 31 March) Premium tickets £50 (limited availability) • Entrance to NFD • Entrance to the IPSE Freelancer Awards ceremony 2019 (Thurs 13 June) • Free copy of T‘ his is Going to Hurt ’ • Book signing with Adam Kay

www.nationalfreelancersday.com