The best courses for self-employment

Going self-employed can be a great way to take control of your time and income. But it comes with challenges too. Your earnings depend on how well you can manage your business, find clients, and organise your finances. 

So, you may want to take some courses to prepare for success and develop your knowledge. 

This guide covers the best courses for self-employment, including:

• Business management courses
• Financial management courses
• Marketing courses 

If you’re new to managing your own business, you might want to look into taking the Diploma Course in Business Management and Entrepreneurship. 

This course teaches leadership, time management, and business organisation.

Price:  £59.99

To succeed as a self-employed person, you’ll need to plan for your future. The Certificate in Business Planning can help you write a business plan that works. 

The course will help you develop your services, audience, and overall business objectives. 

Price: £175 

Another great option is the Passport to Enterprise course from Eat That Frog’s Self Employment Academy. This is one of the best courses for self-employment because it covers the transition to managing yourself. 

Price: Free for those who are unemployed, low waged, or under furlough

Bonus: There may also be courses on preparing for self-employment offered at your local city council. Search for a course in your area on the National Career Services course lookup.  

This basic financial management course targets those new to self-employment with no financial management experience, making it a great place to start. 

The lectures are easy to follow and help determine your self-employment financial needs. 

Price: £119

With the Accounting & Bookkeeping Masterclass, you can learn everything you need to know about accounting as a self-employed person. The information prepares you to stay on top of your money, setting you up for strong finances. 

Price: £84.99

LinkedIn Learning’s Accounting Tutorials are excellent for learning essential information on managing your self-employed finances. The platform offers courses that cover: 

• Accounting basics
• Bookkeeping
• Budgeting

You’ll need to subscribe to LinkedIn Learning to access this fountain of knowledge, but you can get the first month free. 

Price: First month free, £29.99 monthly (can cancel anytime)

The Marketing Fundamentals: Discover The 5 Marketing Pillars course is great if you’re new to marketing. It can help you build your foundational knowledge on all aspects of promoting your self-employed services. 

As the title suggests, this course covers the five pillars of marketing, which include: 

• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion
• Customer 

You can use the information to develop a marketing strategy that reaches your target audience. 

Price: £15.99 

If you have a little knowledge of marketing, and want a more comprehensive course, check out the Digital Marketing Masterclass – 23 Marketing Courses in 1. 

This course goes over everything you need to know about developing a digital marketing strategy, including: 

• Social media marketing 
• Content marketing 
• SEO 
• Email marketing 
• Branding  

Price: £59.99

HubSpot Academy offers a useful Content Marketing Certification Course, which you can take for free online at your own pace. 

It covers the essentials of content creation, storytelling, and SEO for effective marketing with a long term impact. 

Price: Free 

Bonus: HubSpot Academy also offers a free social media marketing course you may want to take alongside this one. 

By taking on a course (or three) that we’ve mentioned, you can prepare yourself for self-employment and bolster your credibility to clients. 

These skills are valuable when going off on your own. The knowledge will help you structure your day, organise your money, and market yourself effectively. 

On top of these general courses, you may want to find a course tailored to your specific focus to offer the best services possible. 

But if you’re not quite sure what to focus on, check out our article on how to find your niche as a self-employed person. 

As you grow your self-employment knowledge, turn to the right tools to simplify your day. 

Countingup is the business current account and accounting software in one app. It automates time-consuming bookkeeping admin for thousands of self-employed people across the UK. 

Save yourself hours of accounting admin so you can focus on growing your business. 

Start your three-month free trial today. 

Apply now.