Being a contractor, it’s important to have a lot of resources at your disposal. Whether that’s news that’s relevant to being self-employed; info on tax and finances; tips on finding work and managing your business; looking after your mental wellbeing; or IR35 updates; you need to keep yourself in the know. A great way to do this is by looking at or subscribing to blogs, particularly those written by experts in their fields.
There are a lot of blogs out there, though. So, how do you know which ones are worthwhile? Kingsbridge have put together a bit of a directory below, so you can find blogs on many of the topics relevant to contractors.
Contractor and freelancer news
These blogs are ideal for general contractor and freelancer news, covering most topics. They’re great for general reading and keeping up to date.
IPSE – IPSE is home to 13,500 self-employed members and offers support, advice and advocacy. As a leading voice in the UK’s self-employed community, their blog is a must-read for contractors. Their Secret Contractor blogs are a particular highlight, giving you insight into the world of contracting.
Contractor UK – Contractor UK specialises in IT contractors, but its blog offers more general information for contractors and gives reliable news and worthwhile opinions. Their Contractor Questions section is a great read. We found this blog on contractor marketing really useful.
Freelancer News – For the freelancers on our books, Freelancer News is a great resource, offering news that’s more specific to freelancers than contractors. Their advice is really valuable, such as this fantastic blog on writing proposals.
Finance/tax tips
When it comes to topics of interest for contractors, finance and tax are top of the list. These are some of the best contractor-related finance blogs out there to help keep you informed.
Sage – You’ve probably heard of Sage’s accounting software, but you may not know about their blog, the brilliantly named Sage Advice. They have some fantastic blogs on all things tax and accounting – and you can even filter the blogs based on the size of your business. We think a lot of contractors will find their articles on Making Tax Digital especially handy.
Go Self-Employed – This is a fantastic resource for contractors with guides on all aspects of being self-employed, but with a particular focus on tax. Their blog on self-employed tax is a bookmarkable must-read.
CMME – CMME specialise in mortgages for the self-employed so, naturally, this is one of the main focuses of their blog. But, as you can imagine, they also delve into other aspects of self-employed finance and tax. One of their blogs we’ve found informative is their guide to re-mortgaging when self-employed, a topic we know has come up in many contractor households when money has been tight during lockdown.
Job hunting tips and starting your own business
We were never going to do a directory of contractor blogs without covering job hunting tips and guides to starting your own business, they’re such a fundamental part of being a contractor. Here we have some of our favourite blogs on the topics.
Indeed – Indeed is a name familiar to anyone who has ever searched for a job so it goes without saying that their blog is full of useful tips on job hunting. Of course, their blog doesn’t just cover contracting, but they have a fantastic index of every article on the site so some clever use of Ctrl+F can have you hunting down relevant articles in no time.
Prospects – Chances are, Prospects is another familiar name. The site is aimed at graduates taking first steps into their careers, but a lot of the features on there are useful for anyone starting out. They have a section devoted solely to self-employment, and it’s a repository of great articles on setting up your business. We love Things To Avoid When Starting A Business.
Mental health and wellbeing
Being a contractor can be a serious source of stress and anxiety so it’s vital that you look after your mental health and wellbeing. It’s something we all know about, but not many of us fully grasp, so a blog can be a really useful resource.
Mindful – Mindful is a fantastic blog, filled with advice and practical tips on keeping your mind healthy. As well as the written blogs you’d expect, it includes guided meditations, breathwork exercises, wind-downs and more to help you take better care of your overall mental health.
Contractor news, IR35 and contractor guides
Of course, there’s only one blog that we heartily recommend for a full mix of contractor news, IR35, and contractor guides and that’s the Kingsbridge Knowledge Hub. Our team give their expert advice and opinions, including Kingsbridge’s Head of Tax, Andy Vessey, who uses his Ask Andy blogs to answer questions on IR35. Essential reading.
If you know of any blogs that we haven’t listed and that you think might be useful, feel free to get in touch and let us know.
This is not a sponsored article and Kingsbridge is not responsible for the external content on the sites.
