member only content

there seems to be an increasing trend on the internet towards content being hosted behind paywalls - the number of emails I now receive with links to research, features, and articles which are increasingly marked as 'member only content' when I try to read them, is starting to annoy me...

I fully appreciate that in an increasingly fragmented economy, people need to find novel and clever ways of being able to earn a living (or something approximating one), and so the potential to earn 'micro payments' of a few pence from people clicking to read your blog post or news feature may seem innocuous enough. But I'm concerned it may herald the dawn of a new net age of digital inequality - not from access to the technology which is the current digital divide, but from not being able to access information or learning when you do.

When the internet was created, it was intended to be as freely open and available to as many people as possible. A principle that chimes with the declaration of human rights, whose Article 26 states that everyone has the right to education [to be able to access learning], and that this should be free; and Article 27 which says that we should all be able to freely participate in the cultural life of our [on-line] community. 

If we start putting up charges to access content, then we start to limit the sharing our learning and experiences with each other - we start to segregate our communities into those who can afford to 'play with us' and those who can't. Which means that potentially increasingly large numbers of people will lose access to articles and research that could help to further understanding, constructively challenge prejudice and bias, and generally create a more consistent experience for us all on-line and in our lives.

I also appreciate the argument that we only truly value things we've paid for, but if the established norm in the marketplace of internet blogs and articles was that they were freely shared, then surely we need to be having a wider and deeper conversation about the effects that our use of 'member only content' may be creating in exacerbating inequality, stopping prejudice and bias from being able to be challenged as they could/should be, and generally increasingly p!ssing people off who are trying to contribute to the overall pool of knowledge and learning at the cost of our own time, in keeping with the original spirit of the internet, only to see others seemingly starting to exploit it for selfish gains...?

who in their right mind would be self-employed?

I've been self-employed for over 13 years now (although more by accident than deliberate design), and I increasingly hear arguments being made everywhere as to why more of us should set up our own businesses, become self-employed, or start a career as a freelancer. 

But in all the hype and excitement, I can't help but feel that people aren't being given the 'full picture' of what they might be trading off in not pursuing more traditional employment options, and as a result, rushing into something that makes their lives harder and less happy than they might potentially have otherwise been.

Don't believe me? Well, what about these various published researches that highlight the 'dark truth' about self-employment that very few (if any) of its advocates share with us:

less earnings and more poverty - 

- as a body of workers, we're increasingly likely to be earning below the minimum wage, and the trend is that this will be true for majority of us within the next 2 years: 

https://flipchartfairytales.wordpress.com/2016/03/22/self-employed-slide-further-into-poverty/

and

https://flipchartfairytales.wordpress.com/2016/10/26/why-low-paid-self-employment-is-everyones-problem/

and

http://businessadvice.co.uk/hr/employment-law/government-urged-to-protect-freelancers-with-self-employed-minimum-wage

- compared to our 'employed' counterparts, we're actually earning less now than we did 20 years ago: 

http://www.resolutionfoundation.org/media/press-releases/typical-earnings-of-the-self-employed-lower-than-20-years-ago/ 

- and compared to those same employed counterparts, we're also paying more in tax on the earnings we can make than they do on the wages they're paid:

https://flipchartfairytales.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/self-employment-whos-dodging-the-tax/ 

- changes to our benefits system by government, means that for those of us who qualify as being eligible for some type of income support, we'll now be about £2,000 a year worse off than before...

http://businessadvice.co.uk/hr/payroll/universal-credit-leaving-self-employed-over-2000-a-year-worse-off-than-employees 

- all of which means that many of us have very little (if any) cash savings to fall back on in the event of a 'rainy day':

http://smallbusiness.co.uk/business-savings-strains-self-employed-2542586/ 

more sickness and worse (physical) health - 

- we're not entitled to sick pay: if we get sick, we can't earn or claim anything in the way that our employed counterparts can:

http://businessadvice.co.uk/hr/payroll/self-employed-demand-statutory-sick-pay-ahead-of-any-other-benefit

- as a result, over 80% of us who fall ill will work through it, as we can't afford to stop earning, placing further risk to our long-term future health:

https://www.moneydonut.co.uk/news/self-employed-risk-health-working-through-illness 

more loneliness and worse (mental) health - 

- working for yourself means you're more likely to suffer from loneliness and the anxiety that's associated with this:

https://www.fastcompany.com/3059317/how-ive-learned-to-thrive-with-the-loneliness-of-freelancing

longer hours and less time with / more stress for our families:

- if the main household earner is self-employed (as was my own experience for 12 years), then not only are their relationships with their family increasingly likely to suffer, but their family will also begin to feel more stressed as well:

http://businessadvice.co.uk/insurance/health/pressures-of-self-employment-creep-into-family-life

- we also work longer hours (typically 13 hours a day), with less time off for holidays:

https://www.sectorsdonut.co.uk/news/forget-balance-self-employment-about-work-life-blur

- and women in particular struggle to be able to maintain a semblance of controlled hours if self-employed, juggling multiple family responsibilities which lead them to have extremely elongated days with little (if any) time for themselves and their own well-being:

https://www.startupdonut.co.uk/node/120747 

retirement?

- less than 1 in 5 of us is able to save into a pension (unlike our employed counterparts whose employers make regular monthly contributions into one on their behalf on top of the salary they pay them..):

https://www.ipse.co.uk/our/news-listing/self-employed-pensions-the-ticking-time-bomb.html 

So the research shows us that to strike out as an entrepreneur means you're more likely to be poor/in poverty; suffer long-term ill health; have worse relationships with your family; and never be able to retire...

and you what makes this even worse? Government is aware of all of this from the official statistics it collects and openly publishes, yet somehow doesn't seem to be able to get around to doing anything about them: 

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/trendsinselfemploymentintheuk/2018-02-07 

If I've made it sound like self-employment is a bleak landscape that only the wretched and foolish would dare to venture into, I apologise. My interest in collating and presenting these various and multiple researches is, as always in my blogs, a desire to share knowledge in helping people make more informed decisions and being able to spot/avoid hype - it's not all doom and gloom for everyone. After all, 15% of us do it. And we do it for a variety of reasons: the unavailability of other forms of employment, the need for flexibility around family/caring responsibilities, the desire to use a personal skill or passion that outweighs the apparent cost of maintaining it as a sometimes hobby, and similar.

And in light of our Government's apparent disinterest in us, we're also increasingly finding ways to support ourselves:

Facebook groups like Freelance Heroes - https://www.facebook.com/groups/freelanceheroes

Campaigns like MicroBiz Matters

- https://microbizmattersday.rocks/blog/

Pooling of financial support for each other through co-operative initiatives such as 'Bread Funds'

- http://breadfunds.uk/

The current state of self-employment and freelancing may therefore be very precarious, but we can perhaps have hope of a brighter future if we start to take more action in all of our interests by working together, and supporting each other more..?

working until the end of my days..?

So I'm now of an age where I no longer think myself invincible, but thankfully still have all my teeth and a bit of hair...

And strange things happen when you get to this point in your life, especially with regards to thinking about your future - you find yourself not just concerned with worrying about if/how you'll take your next holiday, but also that thing called 'retirement'...

There have been studies, articles, and blogs published over the last few months around the internet that suggest we're all going to need to keep working for longer into our twilight years than previous generations have, and that when we finally can officially retire from the need to be an economic contributor to society and the economy, we'll have a lot less to live on.

But these all tend to relate to the 'traditional' worker - people who are employed, with an employer contributing to a pension pot on their behalf, to supplement what will be left of the state pension when we get to that milestone in our lives.

I, and quite a few others, are self-employed. We don't have an employer who's making contributions into a pension fund on our behalf. And most of us struggle to be able to afford or justify making any monthly contributions to a fund out of our own earnings judging by trends in freelancing and self-employment which shows we earn less than our employed counterparts (while at the same time somehow paying more tax!):

- https://flipchartfairytales.wordpress.com/2016/03/22/self-employed-slide-further-into-poverty/

- https://flipchartfairytales.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/will-the-low-paid-self-employed-undercut-the-minimum-wage/

- http://businessadvice.co.uk/hr/employment-law/37-reasons-why-self-employed-have-it-worse-than-employees/

To redress this, some of us will be looking to use our homes as our pension fund - hoping to pay off a mortgage, and then when the time comes, sell the house and live off the proceeds. But many of us don't have a mortgage or the security of owning our own home (and may never be able to). And even if we did, we may have children who we want to offer some legacy and support to for their own futures, and so we don't want to blow whatever we might be able to raise from selling our home to make sure we can leave something for for them...

All of which, is why I'll be following the current initiative on thinking from TheRSA into how retirement security for the growing numbers of people who are self-employed can be strengthened ('cos the current options don't really work!)

 - https://www.thersa.org/discover/publications-and-articles/rsa-blogs/2017/11/boosting-retirement-security-for-the-self-employed-a-call-out-for-ideas?id=utm_medium=newsletter/fellowship/201117

why it's a good thing for some of my clients I don't fully follow the example of Jesus...

As someone who professes a Christian faith, I've always tried to reflect the values and dogma that comes with that in everything I approach (including my work). And over the years, I've started to explore this further in some of the posts here on my blog.

But recently it struck me that as much as many might argue we should follow the example of Jesus in all we do, I don't think I can, at least, not in everything...

I was recently asked as part of a church service to briefly speak about an aspect of my work that I struggle with, and I chose to relate some stories about when and how clients pay me. 

I shared that there's an ongoing balance I need to strike between showing grace in those instances where I know a client may come to struggle to pay me what they owe me owing to changing circumstances, and so I might choose to forgive their debt to me; but that I also need to ensure I'm encouraging people to be accountable and pay what they owe where they can (after all, I too have bills to pay, and commitments to honour).

And it got me thinking about a slogan that was popularised in parts of the Christian church a few years back - "What Would Jesus Do?", and I realised that some of my clients whom I chose to take a more formal line with with regards to payment of my invoices would probably be relieved that I don't fully follow Jesus' example where he came across traders who were being disrespectful...

Why I'm publishing my tax return (despite not being a politician or big tech firm...)

There’s been a lot of apparent media interest around how much tax big firms pay, and then, in the wake of the ‘Panama Papers’, how much tax our politicians pay. And I don’t think it’s because as a nation we’re obsessed with accounts and tax schedules, but rather, we want to be assured that we feel we can that the people and firms we’re reliant upon are acting responsibly.

Now, I’ve always been open that I’m very happy to pay tax for all sorts of reasons (and most small business also recognise the importance that our tax makes to supporting local communities and public services), and over the last 3 years have increasing started to wonder aloud if I should be more open and transparent in my own tax affairs as part of my annual social impact report on myself.

Since then, I’ve also ‘taken the pledge’ with Fairtax to always act with integrity and honesty in my tax affairs. 

So in light of all of this have decided to tell the world how much tax I pay as part of my impact reporting framework!

Now, some of you may be slightly disappointed when you read the report to see that rather than cite a cash amount, I have instead presented it as a percentage of my turnover. This is because after thinking it through and chatting with others for a few months, I felt this was a better way to be able to benchmark myself against others, and also offer a more consistent measure over time which wouldn’t appear to fluctuate wildly subject to how well I’m able to secure fee-earning work over the year.

But what do people think? Is it a good thing that I’m now sharing my tax affairs with you all; is how I’m measuring/reporting it the right way; does anyone really care? (other than me)…

Half of social enterprises will be lost in the next 5 years – and it’s our fault!

About a year ago, I argued the pressing and urgent need for social enterprises to value their people more or risk losing them.

Sadly the latest national salary and careers survey seems to suggest that these warnings have fallen on deaf ears:

• More people expect to be working in the public sector or private enterprise than in social enterprise in 5 years time...

• There will be fewer career opportunities in social enterprise next year than in the private sector

• We pay our staff at least a grade less than their counterparts in the private and public sectors

• Social enterprises are worse at training and developing their people than charities, private companies and local authorities and public bodies are


All of this means that we’re likely to see a growing exodus of people and talent from the sector – indeed I’ve started to see more practitioners leaving their social enterprise employers to join or set up private practices (like I did myself 6 years ago – but that was out of necessity rather than a deliberate career choice, and a story for another time...).

But what of the next generation of social entrepreneurs I hear you cry? All of these new up and coming starlets being born out of the teaching in schools and colleges, who’ve been learning about the wonders of social enterprise? Well, if people have any sense, then they look at employers carefully before committing themselves – and if you had to choose between an employer who paid you less, invested in you less and offered you fewer development opportunities than a private firm or public body, who would you choose?

why are we scared about asking to be paid?

Ask most employees what they grumble about most, and ask their employers about most, and it’s likely to be getting their pay cheque on time.


Yet when we create new enterprises, we suddenly seem to lose this boldness and capitulate to our customers when they’re late in paying our bills and invoices to them – to the tune of over £62 billion for small businesses!!!

So why this change in attitude between being an employee and an employer over money?
I have a suspicion it’s about FEAR. We’re frightened that if we appear pushy, our customers won’t come back, and/or even more damningly, our customers start to think “if they’re so desperate for our money, then they must be in trouble, so better take my business elsewhere”.




So what do we do?



Well, for starters, let’s be more open about talking about money and getting paid – raise it as soon as we can as part of negotiations with customers and clients, be clear about when they want to pay and when you want to be paid from the outset. Negotiate, haggle, agree compromises – after all, we do that already over the price and delivery schedule, so why not the payment terms?

Plan the cash-flow: so many businesses fail because they run out of cash before they get paid – I’ve seen it happen, including to a business that was making a £1m+ profit annually (I helped their employees subsequently buy-out the business).

Finally – don’t forget the easy stuff: there’s a lot of legislation you can use to support you with your asking to be paid. The biggest (and least well known) being the Late Payment Act which says that as a small business, you can charge interest on what you’re owed if its late in being paid. And after all, it’s not you that’s chosen to charge interest: it’s the government and their legislation... so no risk to your personal relationships. I’ve used it a number of times and on each occasion got paid more promptly AND had that client/customer book me for further work.

Simple things that with a bit of thinking and planning can make all the different to getting that overdraft reduced and staying in business.


Or maybe there’s something about ‘being British’ that means we like being owed more than £62 billion and not being able to cash it?

if we don't value our people more, social enterprise will be lost...

The recently published national Careers and Salary Survey 2009/10 (regeneration & renewal 09/21/09) makes for sobering reading for the social enterprise sector:

1) future career opportunities and prospects in social enterprise are felt to be more affected and limited by changes to funding regimes than in the private and public sector;

2) social enterprise (while it may 'punch above its weight') apparently pays its people less than is fair - typical sector salaries see directors of social enterprises being paid less than managers in the public and private sectors, and officer posts in social enterprise usually offer less pay than officer assistant posts in public and private sectors...

3) and perhaps most alarming of all is that more than 60% of people currently working in social enterprise don't expect to still be working in this sector in 5 years time!

But there is a glimmer of good news: it seems that the training that social enterprises offer their employees is felt by them as being more valuable and useful than that offered by the private and public sectors.

This is surely a serious wake-up call: there are various strategies and policies around how social enterprise is going to save the world, but in all the hype and excitement we must be careful to remember that we can only do so if our people feel valued in doing so, and we can retain them for the journey.