John Bradbury - Free Lance Journalist

I was working for an oil and gas industry magazine based in the US when in January 2005 I was made redundant.

I trained as a journalist and specialised in writing about the oil and gas industry. When the dreaded confirmation letter came, I had no alternative but to become freelance.

There was nothing for it but to pick up the phone, and start calling people I knew offering to write articles for them.

Those first few days and weeks of working for myself were frightening. I had to worry about finding work to pay bills. But more than that, I had to learn very quickly how to register with Her Majesty Revenue and Customs as self-employed, for tax purposes and for making class 4 national insurance contributions.

This was a minefield at first. But websites are wonderful places when you are floundering around for information. The HMRC website was a useful port of call to find out what I needed to do to set up on my own.

I checked out many other websites in those early days too, including Business Link, to see if there was any free support they could provide. The best support I was given was advice about making sure I took care of the basics…tax and national insurance.

But of course the rest of it was down to me. I had to keep calling, and tell industry contacts that I was available and looking for work…the first kind of self-advertising I’d ever really done.

I organised a separate bank account for my new business – although I never imagined I was actually “in business” but I had to make sure I could keep track of money I earned. I created a simple template for my own invoices and I make sure I keep paper and electronic copies of them.

For all my work related purchases – computer equipment, stationary and printer consumables, plus travel and any other expenses, I make sure I keep receipts and file them in a box. I hire a bookkeeper every year to prepare my accounts so that I can complete a tax return for the HMRC. It helps to know someone who is familiar with this process.

I had to get new business cards designed and printed with my phone and email on them. I regarded business cards as one of the most important tools for marketing my skills as a news and feature article writer, specialising in the offshore oil and gas sector. Whenever I attend an industry event I make sure I have plenty to hand out to people I meet.
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Three years down the line and a catalogue of commissions later, I now work primarily for an oil and gas industry website, www.offshore247.com, published and owned by a Norwegian company, and for another US-based company providing industry market intelligence. And I write the odd article for other industry publications now and again.

The best advice I can give anyone starting out on their own is to use their friends and contacts for information and don’t be afraid to ask for help: It can come to you from all sorts of unlikely places.

Being part of a like-minded group within the Bradley Stoke Small Business forum has been a bonus too, because it allows you to talk through issues that other individuals are grappling with on a day-to-day basis – it helps to know you are not on your own.

And if your business needs some help preparing an article for a publication, I can provide professional help and advice…