How to be your own boss
A practical guide on how to become a freelancer (ZZP in the Netherlands)
First things first
Why would you do this?
We are all tempted by freedom, being your own boss, determining your own hours. But giving up your steady, perhaps even well-paid job to go for the unknown can be terrifying. Then why does it still have such an appeal? Why would someone take the step and start as a freelancer?
There could be many reasons. You cannot handle the politics anymore. Your job sucks all the energy out of you. You are held back in your personal development by your boss. Any one of these might be a good reason for you to quit your job and start on your own. Then again, your personal motivation might be totally different. Whatever is the case for you, know that no single amount of advice will ever convince you to take the leap into the unknown. There is only one person in the world who can help you in this. And that is you. So why would I still write this practical guide?
Well, I know it is hard to start, I have been there myself, and I can tell you that it gets easier. in addition, I did not find a lot of guides on how to become a freelancer - ZZP in the Netherlands. It is my hope that with this guide, I can help someone out their to fulfil their dreams. Perhaps this can be you! Whatever your choice will be, just remember you are making the right choice, no matter what you do.
The 8-step plan
To become a ZZP in the Netherlands
You can use the below steps as a guide to become a freelancer - ZPP - yourself. Be advised that the target audience are people living in the Netherland and that the steps are not in perfect order. You can do them in any order you choose, only step 5 is needed to ‘officially’ be a freelancer. Good luck!
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Your journey start with asking a friend about his or her experiences on becoming a freelancer. In this stage you probably already know for yourself why you want to do it, but I would recommend to ask for their motivation as well. Questions you could ask include:
Why did you do it?
What did you find hardest?
Would you do it again?
What would you do different?
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This is something many of us never do. Ask someone with a bad experience why it sucked. Often, due to cognitive bias, we go looking for arguments that support our case, not arguments that might falsify it. Nonetheless, asking for reasons not to become a freelancer could save you a lot of trouble later. Questions you could ask include:
Why was it not what you expected?
What would you do different?
Why did you do it in the first place?
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Despite the fact that your job might make you stressed and miserable, giving it up is not a decision you can make alone. Especially when you have a mortgage, kids, or other kinds of shared dreams, you need to make this decision together. This means more than simply telling your partner you will quit. It could mean you have to postpone or abandon your dreams of freelancing altogether. Even though your partner would want what is best for you, the needs of the family sometimes outweigh your personal needs. Unless you have severe financial restrictions however, this is usually a rare outcome. Some questions you might want to consider discussing together are:
What happens if one of you becomes seriously or permanently ill?
What happens with your pension scheme, if you have one?
What happens to your monthly expenses, including your mortgage?
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It is certainly hard to know how much money you will make as a freelancer. To put it differently; this is impossible to know. You can make this problem easier for yourself by turning the question around: how much money do I need to make in order to support my family?
I have made such an overview, which you can freely download in the link below. Determining the minimum income you need can be done as follows:
Summarize all your monthly costs.
Add insurances (more on that below)
Determine your hourly wage and total number of hours which cover your expenses.
Based on the monthly income, you can determine your tax revenues. There are plenty of easy to use tool available, for example on berekenhet.nl.
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This step is basically the only step you need to do in order to truly become your own boss. Chamber of Commerce offices are located throughout the Netherlands. There are offices in Amsterdam, Arnhem, Eindhoven, Groningen and Rotterdam. Alkmaar, Almere, Amersfoort, Apeldoorn, Breda, Den Bosch, The Hague, Emmen, Enschede, Leeuwarden, Middelburg, Roermond and Zwolle. Just google which one is closest to you and make an appointment! It cost me fifty euros at the time and you end up with a few papers that state you are now officially in business. Some other questions you need to consider beforehand are:
What will your legal entity name be? Mine is Mr. Sustainability.
What will your main activities be? Mine are providing sustainability advice.
Will you be working alone or do you have people working for you? Usually, we all start on our own.
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Although not formally required, there are some benefits to having a separate (business) account for your freelance adventures. It is easier to do finances this way, and you have all your freelance income and expenses nicely in one account. The drawback however, is that business accounts can be quite expensive. But, they are very easy to set up.
It literally only took me a few minutes to ask for a business account for ING. They have a very good digital environment in which they make it very easy for you to start. There is not much I can tell you about this, why?
All these accounts are pretty much the same. For some of you there might be reasons to pick a particular bank (like a starting bonus or the likes) but virtually everyone I would recommend to simply take the business account version of the bank you work most with.
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It is up to you to decide how much and what you would like to insure. Personally, I see insurances as a very easy and (usually) cheap way to purchase ease-of-mind. You (and your partner) do not want additional stress in case something bad happens. Besides, for most of you it would probably cost in the order of 100 euros the most important insurances. You can consider the following insurances:
Bedrijfsaansprakelijkheid (±€25/month) - this insurance will make sure that you are covered in the case you damage anything or anyone inside the office of the company you work for. For example, if you spill a hot coffee over someone’s laptop, or over someone’s lap.
Beroepsaansprakelijkheid - (unknown) this insurance will cover any mistakes you make while practicing your profession. This is usually only recommend when you practice certain types of professions, for example as a doctor.
Arbeids Ongeschiktheids Verzekering (AOV) (€75-€150) - This will make sure that you are guaranteed an income in case you have an accident and cannot work for a longer period of time. The exact details - height of insurance payout, conditions, duration of payout - are up to you and your partner.
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This step might actually be easier and more fun than you think! Nowadays there are a lot of online bookkeeping programs that can automate a lot of work for you, even generate invoices in a matter of seconds. I personally use Jortt.nl, as they do bookkeeping with a smile and I like to smile. They also have a bookkeeping bot which becomes more and more advanced. The choice however is up to you.
Just do it
I know from experience that taking that first step is difficult. Yes, it is very hard to start and most likely, now is not a good time. It will never be a good time to start and there will always be reasons to postpone. I know from experience.
I gave up a well-paid job including the securities it brings while my wife was pregnant with our first baby. I can tell you that it was not a very pleasant evening when I broke the news and told here I had to quit my job. But I could not continue anymore. My job was costing me so much stress that I simply had to quit.
In hindsight I know I should have quit my job way sooner. A part of me always knew that the opportunities ‘out there’ are abound, and being a freelancer was easier than I thought. That inner voice that told me to “quit your job while you still can”, also told me something else. It told me that "I just had to be more of me. It told me to “just do it". And luckily, that voice was absolutely right.
No amount of advice can make you fully reassured, including this blog. All you need to remember however, is that you probably better, smarter and more determined than you think you are. Sometimes you just need to get out of your current environment and be more of you. Sometimes, you just have to do it.
Tools that could help you
Berekenhet.nl - Calculate your net income after taxes