PDA and self-employment

Self-employment can be an appealing way forward for PDAers who are able to work. The idea of being your own boss and choosing how and when you work can help with keeping a feeling of control and balance. Self-employment can also bring with it more admin tasks though. This page looks at the advantages and disadvantages of self-employment for PDAers to help you decide if this approach could work for you.

The term self-employment means working for yourself. This might be freelancing or consulting, or you might set up and run your own business. Working in this way can be helpful for a PDAer because it offers:

• Flexible timings: you can choose to work as many hours as you feel able to and at the times which work best for you.
• Freedom to be yourself: whilst you may need to be mindful of the people paying for your product or service, being your own boss can give you more control over how you present yourself. For example, you are less likely to wear a uniform or look a certain way to “fit in”.
  
• Work where you want: depending on the type of work or service you’re offering, being self-employed can give you more choice over where you work. If you offer beauty therapies you could set up a salon at home, or if you consult you could work online rather than in person.
  
• Less sensory challenges: being able to work in a safe space, wearing what feels comfortable and communicating with others more on your own terms can all help to reduce sensory overwhelm. This can make it easier to focus on the actual work you are doing.
  
• Choosing your direction: you can continue to learn, expanding your business in the way you want and at your own pace. You could even change direction if you feel like it!

Working for yourself can also bring some challenges which it may be useful to consider before deciding if it is the way forward for you. Self-employment means that you are responsible for your service or your company, which includes:

• Scheduling: organising your time so that you meet the needs of your clients, whether that’s an appointment, meeting or handing over some work. You could ask a partner or friend for help with this if it’s something you find tricky.
• Communicating: dealing with those who use or buy your services can be a demand. It might be that you can outsource this to a virtual PA if it makes sense financially. Otherwise, you could explain to clients the ways that you prefer to communicate so they understand if you don’t like to talk on the phone for example.
• Admin and finance: being self-employed or running a business means keeping records, sending invoices and dealing with professional bodies such as HMRC. These tasks can be outsourced to an accountant or administrator to make sure they are done correctly and on time. Putting strategies in place for this is important as something like a missed tax return can end up costing you money!
• No holiday or sick pay: if you don’t work then you won’t earn. It’s helpful try remembering this and keeping some money aside for times when you need to take time out.

Starting out can be the trickiest part of becoming self-employed, but once you’re up and running it can become easier to maintain. Some things you might want to think about are:

• What to do: spending some time thinking about what you enjoy doing and what you might be good at. Do you have any existing skills you could use to start offering a self-employed service or business?
• Industry requirements: some professions require certain qualifications or training before you can start work. It’s likely you might need insurance of some kind to protect you and your clients. You could find out more by looking on the internet or joining a membership body for the type of work you do.
• Looking around: doing some research on the internet, or in your local area may help you to find out more about your chosen business type. Seeing how other reputable people have set up their business and go about their work can be helpful sometimes.
• Seeking advice: talking to other people who are self-employed, both PDAers or not, could be useful to get a better understanding of how it could work for you. It may be worth chatting to a couple of close friends or members of your family who understand you well and may be able to help you think through your decision.

Being self-employed means you are responsible for your work commitments, which might sound a bit scary but can work well for PDAers once they get used to it.

The freedom of choice that being self-employed offers, such as working when you want, where you want and for who you choose can really help accessing work in a way that creates less anxiety.

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