How to become an outsourced paraplanner
HJB1920
Member
Hi all,
I have been in the financial services industry for over 15 years. I am an in-house chartered paraplanner and starting to think more and more about going into freelance/outsourcing.
I noticed a Howwow one day workshop was held back in 2016 for paraplanners who wanted to start up their own outsourced paraplanning business. Is there any chance a similar workshop will be held again?
For the paraplanners that currently work freelance, would you mind sharing what key areas need to be considered when thinking about starting your own paraplanning business?
Thank you
Comments
Haha - that was my exact question several months back - I saw the Howwow from 2 years ago where Nathan, Kate and Ashley discussed this very subject with Richard and it was that that got me thinking seriously about the whys and wherefores.
I 'went live' in August, but the company was actually established in January, and I worked on a part time freelance basis alongside my main job to get some funds for the expensive stuff, like Terms of Business and a website.
I also invested in a couple of 24 inch monitors as dual screen makes like sooo much easier, upgraded Windows 10 to pro and bitlocked my hard drive, registered with ICO (make that the first thing you do!) and subscribed to Office 365. I sacked my accountant as they were blowing a massive hole in my budget each month and hired a bookkeeper instead, who just charges me for my quarterly VAT return, and she is able to do my annual return under supervision from a suitably qualified accountant (I guess their version of a PTS!).
I did register for VAT as my long term view is that I will breach the limit and don't want my prices to be perceived as increasing by 20% overnight (there is a separate thread about this which you may already have seen).
I also use cloud accounting software, and there are a few great (free) systems that I use to track workflow and clients (Trello and Hubspot, although there is obviously a large alternative range to choose from). I use time tracking software which will be more useful in the future from an MI point of view and helps me now to keep me on track with things.
A comment that was made at the beginning of the Howwow was along the lines of undersupply and overdemand; I'm 6 weeks in and swamped already!
All the very best of luck - please feel free to contact me direct if you have any more questions - I'm easy to find!
I watched the howwow last night and found it really useful.
There is so much to think about.
I will DM you if that’s ok.