Being sick and self-employed can be a challenge. With no employer to offer sick pay, you must find the funding yourself. In the case of long-term sickness, your business could also suffer if you’re not able to work, damaging relationships with clients. Here are just several ways to survive being self-employed and sick.
Get your priorities right
Your business is not more important than your health. If you’ve got doctor’s orders to rest, make sure that you get this rest. Don’t try to fight through illness as you could make the illness worse in many cases. Yes, you may let a few clients down if you run a solo business, but most of them will be understanding of the circumstances.
Take out a sickness cover insurance plan
It’s possible to take out self-employed sick pay insurance – if you’re unable to work and make an income, having this insurance will give you some compensation to live on. You can compare schemes online to find the most affordable one. Be wary that professions with higher risks of injury may have more expensive rates.
Set up an emergency fund
Another option could be to simply set aside some savings for when you’re sick. This could be an emergency fund that could be used to cover other disaster costs such as emergency repairs and money lost due to interruptions such as power cuts or bad weather.
Look into sickness benefits
In the case of certain debilitating chronic illnesses, you may be able to claim disability benefits. These could help to provide some extra money to help pay the bills.
Consider if you’re eligible for a legal claim
In other cases where you were injured as the result of someone else, you may be able to make gain some extra cash through legal compensation. Look for a lawyer that can help with your specialist case such as a truck accident lawyer. Some solicitors work on a no win no fee basis so you don’t have to pay anything until your claim is accepted.
Create a passive income
It could be worth creating another source of income that can doesn’t require too much hands-on work so that you’re still getting some money coming through when you’re ill. Investing in property or trying peer to peer lending are just two ways to create a passive income.
Hire assistant management that can step in
It could be worth hiring an assistant manager who can take over your business when you’re ill. This could help to ensure that things run smoothly in your absence and that the business doesn’t collapse. This is something you’ll want to do in advance rather than waiting until you’re ill – by then it will be too late to train someone up.
Notify your creditors
If your sickness prevents you from receiving a steady income, you may want to inform your creditors as you may not be able to afford your bills. Many creditors will be understanding and may be able to delay payments without interest.
