London calling...

As a freelance worker you are effectively going to be your own marketing, accounts and sales departments on top of whatever it is you have already decided you are going to do to make money.

Communicating with clients, especially when you are in a different country is paramount. Ideally you will want to set up a system that works before you move, whilst you are in the process of moving and once you are there.



My recommendation for this would be to do the following two things:

1. Set up a website and email address.

The site doesn't need to be anything special for now, just clearly state your intentions and list your contact details. You can add blogs, applications and search engine optimisation later. The idea at this point is to just get a domain name registered so you can have a you@yourcompany.com email address.

It's a little known secret but Google will let you register a domain cheaply and as a bonus it will come with gmail and google apps already set up.

Gmail is a great email service and I find Google Apps indespensible for remote working. With Google Apps you can create documents and spreadsheets and invite clients to work on them collaboratively with you.

If you don't like Google for whatever reason try GoDaddy.

2. Set up a Skype account

If you don't already have Skype, you should consider it. The main reason for using it in this scenario is that you can set up some SkypeIn numbers (one as a local France number, one as a local UK number and any more countries you have clients in).

This means that people can call you on a (to them) local number and you can route it to wherever you want. Usually your computer, but you can also set it up to forward calls to your mobile.

You could just give out your mobile number, but once you move this will most likely change and while freelancers are super organised at keeping their address books up to date (ahem!) your clients may not be.

You really don't want someone thinking that you've shut up shop when you're just getting started...

Auto-entrepreneurs

Although the French famously have no word for 'entrepreneur' they have just launched a new tax regime that is worth mentioning if you're thinking of setting up a business in France.

The Auto-entrepreneur scheme allows you to set up your business as a 'micro-enterprise' providing trade, crafts or services as either a main or background (secondary) business. As long as your turnover doesn't exceed €32,000 for services and €80,000 for trading you can register as an auto-entrepreneur. If your turnover does exceed these limits you'll need to become VAT registered and possibly register your business under a different regime. However, it still might be a good place to start.

The main advantage of the Auto-entrepreneur scheme is that you can pay your social charges (cotisations) depending upon your actual turnover either monthly or quarterly. Other tax regimes can require you to pay these upfront. Income tax can also be paid in accordance with your turnover.

You can register online for the regime and a lot more information, including getting started guides can be found on the 'auto-entrepreneur' website.

If you're living/working in France and are already registered as an 'entreprise individuelle' it doesn't appear that you can switch to the auto-entrepreneur status, however you can still get some of the benefits by switching to the Régime "micro social" which will allow you to pay your social charges in line with your turnover either monthly or quarterly.

5 business ideas you can start now (even if you're working for someone else)

So, given that there is no right or wrong time to get started in freelancing. It will be worthwhile spending a little time thinking about what you can actually do to make a few pounds or euros.

In my experience I have found it best to be flexible, if an idea isn't working out ditch it and try something else before you end up demoralised and broke.

The ideas listed below are just to get you started thinking about what you could do. They are all businesses you could set up and run on the side without having to quit your day job and should work equally well regardless of whether you have already moved to France or are still thinking about it.

1. Do whatever you do now.

Many careers lend themselves to a more freelance approach. Examples include copywriter, anything in IT, telesales, journalism, PA/secretarial type roles. In fact most jobs can be done perfectly adequately without requiring your presence in an office.

It's worth asking around your contacts (maybe even your current workplace) and explaining that you're looking to take on some out of hours part time work along the lines of what you're currently doing. You'd may be surprised at how quickly this approach can take off.

2. Sell things online

Consider selling a product or range of products online. eBay is a good place to start and the opportunities are virtually infinite. I managed to turn over quite a nice short-term profit during a quiet period by buying broken items on eBay, repairing them and then selling them on again. The problem with eBay is that there's a lot of competition which can drive prices down, so you really need a unique or niche product/service.

If you are of a more crafty/artistic bent and fancy making your own products you could consider etsy, which allows you to advertise and sell hand made items.

3. Teach/Help people

Do you spend all day whizzing around inside Excel spreadsheets? If so, you could consider offering training courses or one-on-one tuition to people who'd want to know how to use it.

How about setting up ADSL modems or home/small office networks for people or tuition in languages, maths, car mechanics, painting, tree surgery, neuro-linguistic programming... Come to think of it, absolutely anything.

Placing a 'Need help with x,y,z?' advert in the local paper will cost you very little and give you almost instant feedback as to how successful your venture will be.

4. Build websites or software.

These are a bit more technical and require some knowledge upfront. Although, if you're interested you could always learn. But there are a lot of small companies without websites and for a reasonable price you could offer to get them up and running with one. Once you've done a handful of these you have a 'portfolio' of work and should find it easier to find more clients and so it goes on.

Software is trickier and unless you are already a programmer it is going to be a steep learning curve. But it can be worth it, for example some very simple yet popular iPhone apps are making staggering profits.

5. Write

Assuming that you are not already a writer you may be amazed to discover that you can get paid for writing about almost anything. Have a look at popular blogs, magazines, websites, newspapers etc. that you are interested in and ask if they accept submissions. Have some article ideas and outlines ready that you can send to them. Be prepared to keep trying and asking around, eventually someone will accept your idea.

Have a look at openings on sites such as Elance. They regularly list writing, technical authoring and translation projects that you could bid for.

You could even look into writing a book, ebooks seemed to be selling well on ebay last time I looked. Or if you prefer paper books, lulu allows you to publish your own creations and, I think, list them on Amazon.

Or, perhaps, write a blog :)

As I said at the beginning, these are just a few ideas to help you get started in thinking about freelancing. There are thousands of different things you could do and you should be able to get them up and running without investing too much (other than a little time).