Any lone parents HEing?

[Loubeeloo]

Thanks for letting us know this Zoe... i had not been made aware of the need to present a business plan, but then my obcentre have been more concerned with trying to take away my benefits & get my kids in school so i can take a job, rather than to guide me toward self-employment!
I too would like to know what format this business plan should take, because you can bet your ass that if it is presented incorrectly to them it will mean cuts or delays in tax credit!... maybe Citizens Advice can help, and if not the will be able to point ou in the right direction! good luck & let us know the why's & wherefore's when you've sussed them out please.
Cheers,
Lou.

[Ali P]

Originally Posted by Annkrozeika

So...HOW do I write a business plan to show HMRC?? This is something that is waaay beyond me. I get confused very easily and this is just one of those things I have looked at Business Link, etc. but nothing seems to fit with my circumstances, and I really want to get moving on this (I am supposed to be off Income Support by December).

Since you are looking at a very small operation, you really don't need a massive business plan, but it will be useful to draw one up for your own benefit as well as HMRC (I didn't realise they were now asking for this). It's probably a similar task to drawing up an outline of education provision for the LA.

There are usually free start up sessions available through Business Link which cover topics such as business planning, basic bookkeeping, marketing, ecommerce etc and they can also be good real life networking opportunities, so get as much free advice as you can. Job Centres should surely be helping with this too - after all, parents were promised lots of "support" when the legislation was going through.

There are some tips for writing a plan for a small craft business here. You can miss out the bits that aren't relevant to you and keep it short but focused. Don't forget you can list your enterprise free of charge in our Home Education Business Directory once you get going. You can include that in your business plan.

There are quite a few home-edupreneurs around here, many of whom sell online, so we all understand the home ed / self employment juggling act.

Good luck!

[sheilan]

Hi Zoe, Lou,
I haven't heard of this as a requirement either, and when you register as self employed HMRC now recommend business support/start-up workshops that I think cover this type of thing - so I'm puzzled.

However, a few years ago when I worked for the Prince's Trust helping 'disadvantaged' under 30s with a number of things as well as business start-up & also with a University encouraging graduate enterprise one of the simple sanity check type things we'd look at was income level & we'd really ask for more detail if anyone was talking about working for either less than the minimum wage or benefit level, so it may that they're looking for business ideas to have been thought through to that kind of level. E.g. you may have start-up funding from family/friends etc for stock & other start-up costs, but I guess you've also thought out your mark-up etc & likely sales level and various expenses, so you could have a good starting point for a business plan. And while I suggested a 'sanity check' look at income level, it may be that you appreciate income will be low/business not profitable initially but that you are looking to achieve a certain income level within a set time.

I'll try & find some of the 'friendly' business plan materials I've seen in the past.

[sheilan]

Have you checked out these guides from the Prince's Trust yet?

http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/need...ss_guides.aspx

http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/pdf/...inessPlanb.pdf


Sheila

[Loubeeloo]

Wow, thanks for the swift replies Ali & Sheila... i will certainly be following up your links!

[Annkrozeika]

Lou said:

i had not been made aware of the need to present a business plan, but then my obcentre have been more concerned with trying to take away my benefits & get my kids in school so i can take a job, rather than to guide me toward self-employment!

I think self employment was suggested to me because I have no transport and live in a very small rural town with no suitable jobs. The jobcentre is in a bigger town a train ride away, but no jobs there with suitable hours either. It was only recently that this was suggested to me, before that I had been seeing a different advisor who was useless and who had given me a lot of completely incorrect information regarding the changes! I'm going to have to bite the bullet and make an appointment to go back very soon, so I will get back to you if I find out anything else.

Ali said:

It's probably a similar task to drawing up an outline of education provision for the LA.

I've never had to write one of these yet!

There are some tips for writing a plan for a small craft business here. You can miss out the bits that aren't relevant to you and keep it short but focused.

Thanks, I'll check that out!

Sheila said:

Have you checked out these guides from the Prince's Trust yet?

Not yet, but thanks for all the info!

[JenG]

Im also a single parent, HEing one at present out of three but number 2 has decided she wants to return to HE

My Jobcentre adviser was really helpful and basically said she wouldnt give me any grief about finding a job and encouraged me to apply for DLA for my son rather than be forced into work... so there are some absolute gems out there!!! She was very supportive of HE too, saying she thought the max any lone parent should be expected to work was 16 hrs and then only when their children were 13+ and allowed ( or you wouldnt be charged with neglect) if you allowed them be left alone for a bit every day. She spends most of her time trying to circumvent the system I felt!

Im also looking at ways of supplementing my income, perhaps even self emplyment as well would probably be better off financially.
Im struggling at present! It will be cheaper to HE my daughter as petrol to get her to school costs a fortune and her school is a long way away!

I dont think childminding is a viable option for me though, my sons special needs mean he doesnt like other people in his space and his tantrums would have people withdrawing their children I think

[drmechanic]

My daughter was stolen from my home for that reason. I will NOT give up my sovereign rights by getting a marriage liscence anywhere and I was teaching my daughter at home so I could monitor what she was taught and make sure she was taught the truth about things. I made sure she got the purest nutrition and I protected her from the poisons in those "vaccines". I was attacked for that. She has been stolen from me and I am still under attack for not allowing my rights to be infringed upon.

[glenngranter]

Please tell more

[Diane]

DrMechanic, can we help?

Diane