Learn to start & run your business.
No-fluff guides for people building a business, money, tax, reselling, freelancing and privacy. Working on yourself instead? Read the Life blog →
Start here How to start a business in the UK Nine steps in the order you actually hit them, with the 10 guides that go deep on each. Sole trader or limited company, registering, tax, VAT, invoicing and the deadlines that matter. Read the guide Reselling The best items to resell for profit in 2026 The categories that actually hold their value, how to spot real demand, and why margin beats hype every single time. → Freelancing How to find freelance clients (when you have none) A practical, non-spammy guide to landing your first freelance clients: your network, niching down, a simple portfolio, where clients actually are, and turning one client into three. → Creators How to get brand deals as a small creator You don't need a million followers. A clear niche, real engagement and a confident pitch will land brand deals long before you go viral. → Creators How to grow on Instagram in 2026 (without buying followers) A practical, honest guide to growing on Instagram without buying followers or chasing hacks. Niche, hooks, Reels, cadence and turning attention into income. → Start a business How to name your business (a practical guide) A practical guide to naming your business: what makes a name work, how to check Companies House, trademarks and domains, and how to test a name before you commit. → Money How to pay less tax when you're self-employed (legally) Legitimate ways to lower your tax bill as a self-employed sole trader in the UK: allowable expenses, home office, mileage, the trading allowance, pensions and good records. → Freelancing How to raise your freelance rates (without losing clients) How to tell if you're underpriced, raise your freelance rates with confidence, handle pushback and package your work so a rate rise actually sticks. → Start a business How to write a simple one-page business plan You don't need a 40-page document. Here's how to write a one-page business plan that actually helps you run a solo business, and how to keep it alive. → Money A self assessment tax return, explained simply Who needs to file a self assessment tax return, every deadline, what to gather, the penalties, payments on account, and how to make next year painless. 2025/26 return, 2026/27 rates. → Privacy What is end-to-end encryption, in plain English A plain-English guide to end-to-end encryption, how it differs from encrypted-in-transit and at-rest, and why it matters for business tools that hold your money and customers. → Freelancing What to include in a freelance contract A plain guide to the clauses that actually matter in a freelance contract: scope, payment terms, deposits, revisions, IP, kill fees, and late payment protection. → Reselling Where to source products to resell The real places resellers find stock, from charity shops to liquidation pallets, and how to check the profit before you hand over any money. → Start a business How to set up a limited company in the UK (step-by-step) A plain-English walkthrough of registering a limited company with Companies House: what you need, what it costs, the deadlines that follow, and the privacy decision to make before you file. → Money How to write an invoice (+ exactly what it must include) A simple guide to writing your first invoice in the UK, the details it legally needs, how to number it, and how to actually get paid on time. → Start a business Sole trader vs limited company: which should you choose? The honest trade-offs between sole trader and limited company in the UK: tax at every profit level, admin, liability, privacy, and the point where switching actually pays. 2026/27 figures. → Start a business How to register as self-employed with HMRC A step-by-step guide to registering as a sole trader with HMRC: when you have to, exactly how, how long the UTR takes, what happens next, and the mistakes that cost people money. → Reselling Stop using a reselling spreadsheet (here's what to track instead) Spreadsheets break the moment reselling gets real. Here's what you actually need to track, cost, fees, profit per item, and a faster way to do it. → Reselling Do you pay tax on Vinted and eBay sales? The UK rules, simply Selling on Vinted, eBay or Depop? When it's tax-free, when it isn't, what the reporting thresholds actually mean, and the badges of trade HMRC uses to decide. 2026/27 figures. → Money How to calculate profit margin (with real examples) Gross margin, net margin and markup, what they mean, how to work them out, and why the difference matters for pricing your product or service. → Freelancing How to price freelance work (day rate vs value) How to set freelance rates that actually pay you properly, working out your day rate, when to price by value, and how to raise prices without losing clients. → Creators How much to charge for brand deals (a creator's guide) How to price sponsored posts and brand deals as a content creator, what actually drives your rate, a simple starting formula, and how to invoice sponsors properly. → Money How to chase an unpaid invoice (politely), with templates Exactly what to say when a client hasn't paid, when to send each message, and how to get paid without damaging the relationship. → Reselling How to start reselling in 2026 (from £0) A practical guide to starting a reselling business with no money, what to sell, where to source, where to list, and how to actually turn a profit. → Reselling Vinted fees explained for sellers (2026) How Vinted's fees actually work for sellers and buyers in the UK, what you really take home from a sale, and how to price so you still profit. → Reselling eBay fees in the UK: what you'll actually pay (2026) How eBay fees work for private and business sellers in the UK, the difference that changed recently, and how to know your true profit on a sale. → Freelancing How to write a proposal clients say yes to A simple structure for freelance and agency proposals that win, what to include, what to cut, and how to price so the yes is easy. → Brand How to price a product (without leaving money on the table) A clear method for pricing physical products, covering cost, margin and market, so you're profitable and competitive, not just cheap. → Brand How to start a clothing brand (the honest guide) What it actually takes to start a clothing brand, from idea and samples to inventory, pricing and your first drop, without the guru fluff. → Creators How to become a content creator (the realistic guide) How to actually start as a content creator and turn it into income, picking a niche, staying consistent, and treating it like the business it is. → Start a business Side hustle tax in the UK: when you actually owe (and how much) The £1,000 trading allowance, when a side hustle becomes taxable, how tax works when you also have a job, and what you'll actually pay. Plain English, 2026/27 figures, no panic. → Start a business Do you need a business bank account as a sole trader? Whether sole traders legally need a business bank account, why a separate account is still a good idea, and what to look for. → Money Bookkeeping for small business: the plain-English guide What bookkeeping actually is, what you need to record, and the simple habit that keeps it from becoming a nightmare. → Money Allowable expenses when you're self-employed (UK) What counts as an allowable business expense and what doesn't, the categories your tax return asks for, working from home, mileage at the new 55p rate, and the traps that cost people money. → Brand What is a tech pack (and when you actually need one)? A plain-English guide to tech packs for clothing and product brands: what goes in one, why manufacturers need it, and when to make yours. → Creators Plan a month of content in one hour A simple system for planning a month of content in a single sitting, so you stop scrambling for ideas every day. →