• Replies 26 replies
  • Subscribers 88 subscribers
  • Views 443 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Is there anyone who is self-employed?

Leona26

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about self-employment in the autistic community. We often hear about barriers to employment, but not as much about autistic people starting their own businesses or being self-employed. 

  • Do you know some programs that can offer entrepreneurial training for autistic people?

  • Is it that the stories just aren’t being shared enough?

  • How can we get funds?
Parents

  • What help is available is very regional too, devolved regions will have different set ups and pots of money than England as a whole, but different areas of England may have seperate things too. One of the things I found was that most of the grants available were to large and wanted me to put to much money in, if I had the 10k+ that many were asking I wouldn't have needed a grant. One of the biggest expenses is car or van insurance, it's huge.

    Wht are you thinking of doing as a self employed person? Will you be a limited company or a sole trader? If there are any other people you could work with then think of alternative business models such as co-operatives, there's a diferent funding pot for these and you can still be a limited company which will protect you from losing all your money to an extent, but it depends on what you do and the articles you have for your business.

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    Yeah, I’ve noticed that too — it’s a bit of a postcode lottery when it comes to what kind of help or funding is available.

    Right now I’m thinking about making and selling small handmade items, like jewelry. I’m still at the very early stages — no formal training and no proper plan yet, just slowly trying to figure out what might be doable for me. I prefer becoming a sole trader so I don't need to socialize too much. I didn’t know co-operatives were even an option for small setups like this, so that’s something I can look into, thanks for the tip!

Reply
  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    Yeah, I’ve noticed that too — it’s a bit of a postcode lottery when it comes to what kind of help or funding is available.

    Right now I’m thinking about making and selling small handmade items, like jewelry. I’m still at the very early stages — no formal training and no proper plan yet, just slowly trying to figure out what might be doable for me. I prefer becoming a sole trader so I don't need to socialize too much. I didn’t know co-operatives were even an option for small setups like this, so that’s something I can look into, thanks for the tip!

Children
  • in reply to whiteD404

    Thanks for your advice. I’ll definitely keep researching what’s available locally. I’m not sure how I’d feel about working with a bank either, but I guess it depends on the type of support they offer.

  • in reply to Leona26
    • Checking out what support locally for starting up a small business makes sense. I would see what  is available. Sometimes banks offer  support but not sure how comfortable you would be? My personal advice would be to do your research and start small and see how it goes. Businesses that get into trouble tend to over expand and or not doing their homework properly. 
      I always fancied running my own business but couldn’t face the networking  and selling would be needed