Businessing 101

Back when I began freelancing I figured I’d set up a limited company eventually. I guess thirteen years later is eventually. I’ve finally got a local accountant working on company registration. Exciting times!

The final push was this Making Tax Digital thing from GOV.UK. It’s probably not complicated if I cared to look but I’m crawling back to FreeAgent anyway. My home-cooked accounting app served one whole tax year! I will have an accountant do everything now.

Another big reason to become Ltd is to face challenge and opportunity head on. A loud contingent of the web industry are giving themselves up to the borg. Mandated token servitude and knee-bending to grifters like Google is sending web dev back to the stone age.

I still care about making meaningful websites for real people. I have no desire to dump dead websites on the dead internet. I want to champion and preserve the knowledge and expertise being discarded at astonishing rates. This is not an “anti-AI” movement per se; I simply don’t compete with chat-box-driven development.

Trading under a limited company allows more opportunity to collaborate with other creative professionals. As a freelancer I’m hired personally. As a company I can offer the same services and assurances whilst expanding the team if specialists are needed. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be in a position to hire full-time.

This does not mean I’m going back to LinkedIn. I deleted that account like ten years ago. Please don’t make me go back!

My income is modest. My freelance years have ranged from ~£20–60,000 annually. I work a four-day week with sensible hours and avoid overlapping projects. Working hard and working long hours are not the same thing. I expect my new business will remain shy of the VAT threshold but I’ll see what my accountant advises.

I’m not sure my rates have kept up with “inflation” and cost of living. According to the Bank of England inflation calculator:

What cost £1.00 in 2013 would cost £1.44 in June 2026.

Hmm, feels like I’m paying a lot more… probably the shrinkflation. One things for sure, the quality of my services will not shrink.

I’ve got a lovely new brand and website ready. That’s been in the works all year. Once the red tape is completed I can go live. August or September, maybe?

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