I want to create my own income
Working for yourself is a route, not a rescue. It suits people with a sellable skill, some financial runway and a tolerance for irregular income — and it can be built alongside a job search rather than instead of it.
Start the assessmentWhat to do, in order
- 1Find the sellable unitWhat would someone pay you to do next week, without training you? That's your starting product.
- 2Check the runwayMost self-employment takes months to reach a stable income. Know how many months you can cover.
- 3Start with one clientConsultancy and freelance work usually begin with someone who already knows your work. Ask before you build a brand.
- 4Keep the search openFreelance work and job applications are not mutually exclusive. Running both raises your odds and your leverage.
Tools for this
- Self-Employment AssessmentIn buildCheck readiness across skill, demand, runway and risk tolerance.
- Freelance Readiness AssessmentIn buildSee whether your skill sells as project work, and at what rate.
- Consultancy Readiness AssessmentIn buildTest whether your experience could be packaged and sold as advice.
- Career Value CalculatorIn buildPut a number on what your experience is worth in different routes.
Read next
- Could my experience become a consultancy business?How to test whether your experience is sellable as consultancy — what to charge, where the first client comes from, and the honest risks.
- Jobs after 50: where experienced people actually get hiredA practical look at finding work after 50 — which employers hire experience, what to change in your applications, and which routes pay best.
- Career change after redundancyRedundancy forces a decision. Here's how to tell whether to return to the same career or change route, and how to cost each option.