Over the years I’ve not only worked as a Micro Provider, I’ve supported and mentored individual Micro Providers in either getting started or developing their careers in this field.

During this time I’ve found that the same questions kept popping up, so read on to find out the 10 essential things you will need to get started as a Micro Provider (although there are more!).

DBS checks

A DBS is a certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service checks that you haven’t had offences that that would put any vulnerable persons at risk.

You would think that supporting vulnerable people in their own home or in the community would require a DBS check, however, as it stands, there aren’t any legal requirements to become a self-employed carer aka a Micro Provider.

I would highly recommend holding a valid DBS certificate as it will offers many benefits to your business such as reassuring your clients, their families and will put you and your business in good stead with the local authorities.

When you receive your DBS certificate, it’s a great idea to register it on the update service. A lot of people don’t know about this but using this will save you time and money each year, which is a no brainer!

Insurance

I would strongly advise you have the relevant business insurance; this not only protects you and anyone using your services should something go wrong, but it also offers reassurance to those using your service and shows that you are professional in your business. The last thing you need is a client suing you and you having no means of legal or financial protection in place.

For as little as £80 a year, depending on the insurer, you can get Carer/Personal Assistant insurance. Some good providers are Fish Insurance and Mark Bates.

Appropriate Training

There are a variety of training courses and qualifications you can obtain that will be beneficial to you and your clients. Here are my top 3 must haves!

Safeguarding Training is so that you know what you need to do should a safeguarding issue arise.

Manual Handling training will guide you on how to move a client by yourself, with another person or with equipment. Knowing that you are competent to use that equipment at carrying out these practices in a safe way will help your client feel reassured.

Medication – brief explanation from Nat

I would also like to point out that your business insurance may state something along the lines of “you are covered to give medication” and “if you have had the appropriate training to do so”. So, holding these training certificates will ensure that your insurance is valid.

If you are working with your Local Authority, it is worth noting that they have their own policies that they will require you to work in line with so having the appropriate training will be an advantage to you as you’ll be able to work in line with their policy.

Register with HMRC

You’ll be self-employed so yes you do need to register with HMRC to be able to submit your self-assessment tax return. The deadline for registering is by the 5 th of October after the tax year in which you become self-employed, however HMRC do advise to register at your earliest opportunity.

When you register with HMRC they will issue you with a Unique Tax Reference (UTR) code and this is what you will need to be able to do your self assessment tax return by the stated deadline.

Checkout HMRC’s deadlines here.

It is your responsibility to submit your self assessment tax return, you can do this yourself or ask an accountant, either way you must keep your business records, not only should HMRC ask for these, but without this information, how will you know what to submit? So having a good system to keep these records in order will save you time in the long run.

Decide on Your Hourly Rate

This can be quite difficult for some who are new to self-employment, or those who are relatively new to care. Set a rate a that is fair to both you and those who use your service. Charge too little and you may struggle to make ends meet, charge too much and you could exclude clients who are in receipt of direct payments.

To start with, research your local market area and see what others are charging, get in touch with your Local Authority and ask them what the direct payment rate is, some Local Authorities have a different rate for direct payments.

Be sensible and bear in mind what services you are offering and what is fair and don’t let self-doubt get in the way of knowing your worth.

Find and Meet Clients

A small part of marketing is to get yourself known, get yourself out there, find clients and build yourself a good reputation.

Start off by thinking where do your clients/client’s family hang out? Cafes, community centres, church, gyms, sports centres being just a few places. You could put up leaflets up or do a leaflet drop in your community, put an ad in a local magazine or newspaper. If you’re on social media, join local social media groups that will allow you to tell others what you do.

The important thing here is to tell everyone from friends, family and neighbours to the lady who owns the café or the man who sat next to you on the park bench what you do because you never know who they know!

Some other ways to get yourself out there are making yourself know to your local authority, and by joining local social media groups.

The more people you talk to the more you will become known and find clients. When you’re a good carer, it’s word of mouth and you’ll get recognised for that and people will come to you.

Personal Branding

Personal branding is everything from a logo, choosing what colours you like to use in your marketing but most importantly it’s YOU.

Remember you are your business, and this means being the expert in your field and looking professional by creating a professional email address, simply using your name at the provider for example yourname@gmail.com. Gmail is incredibly popular and creating your own Gmail is free.

You can create a profile online such as on social media, or your own website – if you are not sure where to start with something like this, outsource it, there are people who can help you with this.

Personal branding is also deciding colours you like to use and font and being consistent in using these to keep a professional look that people begin to recognise.

And lastly, be honest, open, authentic, who you are, what are your values and why people should use your services.

Find Yourself a Mentor

Starting your own business is not easy, it takes time to build up and there will be lots of ups and downs s you will need support from family friends, but also someone who has been on the journey you are starting.

“How do I find a mentor?” I hear you ask! You may already know someone, but if not get yourself in a Facebook group and ask lots of questions from what has worked to what hasn’t, engage and feel free to ask if they’d be able to make some time for you to have a chat, or if they’re local, go and meet for a coffee.

Take Care of YOU

This is so important but can become the last priority. Remember you are your business and if your cup is empty, your business will suffer whether through illness or a loss of mojo.
You must make time for yourself to do the things that you enjoy that fill your cup. Being self-employed will mean having to be organised in booking your time off so your clients can make alternative arrangements, or if you have fellow support for you to organise your cover.

No one can work 7 days a week 24 hours a day, you can’t care for others if you’re not looking after yourself properly.

Enjoy What You Do

If you’re not going to enjoy what you do, there’s no point in doing it. Having passion in the work you do will shine through in the care you provide, and this will be recognised by the people you talk to and work with and go a long way in your business succeeding.

Doing this for the wrong reasons, will eventually make you unhappy and this will reflect in the care you provide.

A little tip - write down your values and what your vision is on a piece of paper, then after a few months, go back to that piece of paper and see if you’re still working to those values and doing the work for the right reasons.

If you want to find out more, come and join our Facebook group the care community where you’ll find a safe place to come and talk about care.