Study reveals the cost to set up a remote business and become your own boss.

The study by Small Business Prices provides a full breakdown of everything needed to set up a remote business from scratch 

• Thinking of going solo? Setting up a remote business in the UK costs just £1,680
• Business consultants earn the most by going freelance at an average of £51.24 per hour– hit a 20 hour week and you’re looking a total of £1,024 per week or over £4,000 a month!
• If you’re looking for a side hustle, cushions, reusable face masks and pulse oximeters are the most in-demand products to sell in your dropshipping shop right now

With the UK seeing a record number of new businesses being set up as a result of COVID (Financial Times), many Brits are taking this challenging time as an opportunity to start fresh with their own business.

Whether this is setting up your own full-time solo-business, going freelance or setting up side-hustle selling products online, a new study by Small Business Prices has found the costs associated with going solo so that you know what to expect. The study has found starting costs for setting up a remote business, the most profitable remote working professions for freelancers  (UK and US) and the top products to sell online right now.

The cost to set up a remote business in the UK

In order to find the cost of setting up a remote business, Small Business Prices spoke to business owners to create a checklist of all the necessary expenses to start a remote business from scratch.

Including everything from registering your business, buying a new laptop and a web domain, to invoicing software and business phone numbers, it costs Brits a total £1,680 to set up a remote business from scratch.

The highest-paying remote jobs for freelancers

For those looking to go freelance, the research also analysed the average hourly salary of all 15 jobs in the study, to find out what freelancers can expect to get paid in their industry, whether they work in the UK or US.

The results reveal business consultants as the highest-paid freelancers in the study, with an average hourly salary of £51.24, followed by software developers (£39.28) and information security roles (£38.78).

These are the top 10 highest-paying remote jobs for freelancers in the UK:

The top 10 products to sell in your online shop

For those interested in setting up a side hustle as an extra source of income, the study also found the top 10 most in-demand products to sell online right now.

In order to do this, the study looked into the search volume for 103 different products, comparing numbers from January and November this year to find the most in-demand products with the highest increase in searches.

Based on this, these are the top 10 most in-demand products right now to sell in your dropshipping shop:

1. Cushions
2. Reusable face masks
3. Pulse oximeter
4. Leaf blower
5. Baking equipment
6. Laptop stand
7. Spin mop
8. Pyjamas
9. Outdoor solar lights
10. Loungewear

Ian Wright, founder of Small Business Prices comments: “Despite all the hardships many of us have been facing this year, it’s been great to see so many taking the leap to set up their own business– whether it’s a side hustle to make ends meet during a furlough or someone going freelance full-time due to a redundancy. 

To help new business owners and freelancers get an overview of the cost to set up their own remote business from scratch, we created this guide, providing a breakdown of the necessary costs during the first year in business. Working remotely is a great way to start your own business as it’s incredibly cost-effective and provides plenty of flexibility as you’re starting out.”

If you are planning to buy a  a business franchise, this decision shouldn’t be taken lightly, just like any other investment. If you want to know more about franchises, you can visit TACT Franchise to know more.

To learn more about the expenses involved in setting up a remote business, see the full piece here.