Starting A New (Very) Small Business

Pross
Pross Posts: 40,800

My daughter is looking to set up a business to do party princess work to earn some income as a student (and possibly become more after she graduates next year depending on how things work out). It is something she has done for others previously but was having to come home virtually every weekend so she is now looking to do her own around her area in London. She's fine on the actual stuff she'll need day to day such as costumes, website, social media etc. but wants to ensure she does everything properly on the business front. We're not talking major income here, probably £300-£400 per week, but I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on other things to consider.

She knows she'll need PL insurance. I'm not sure if the best bet then is for her to set up a limited company with herself as the Director and sole shareholder, being a self-employed sole trader may be easier but she also intends paying a friend who will help her out. It's quite tricky as the size of income really doesn't justify huge expenditure or using an accountant. The easiest way to deal with having someone else is probably to pay herself then simply give her friend some money out of that for helping as we're probably only talking £20-30 per event.

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