The figures that make it viable once contributions are counted, and when not to leave your job.
The calculation most people get wrong
Four items the initial estimate systematically forgets.
The self-employed person's social contributions, due even with no income in some months.
Tax, which arrives late and gets spent before being set aside.
The real professional costs: equipment, software, travel, accounting.
And the non-billable periods: prospecting, quotes, chasing, administration, which represent a large share of the week.
One simple method: start from the net income you need each month, add the contributions and the tax, add the costs, then divide by the number of genuinely billable days. You get the minimum day rate, and it almost always comes as a surprise.
The rule of recurring clients
Three thresholds, in order.
One recurring client: you have proof, not a business.
Three recurring clients: you have a base, but losing one is still fatal.
Five recurring clients or more, none exceeding half of turnover: you have a business.
One note: that number counts more than the total income, because it measures solidity and not volume.
When not to leave your job yet
Five situations where it is better to wait.
When one client represents more than half the income.
When no cash reserve covers three months of costs.
When the rates have not yet been raised once, a sign that the price has not been tested.
When the business has not yet been through a complete lean month.
And when the self-employed status is not already in place, because the administrative start takes time.
The detail of the contribution
Four points to check with an accountant before switching.
The regime applying to the self-employed, its thresholds and its payment calendar.
Any entry schemes for new activities, which often exist but come with conditions.
The interaction with salaried employment in the case of combining both, which changes the calculation.
And the real deductibility of your costs, which depends on your status.
Those elements change and vary with the personal situation: they are checked with the competent administration or with an accountant, never from a testimony read online.
The lean months that really exist
Four predictable periods.
The month following the big year-end campaigns.
Mid-summer, when the decision-makers are away.
The week of the major local festivities, varying by region.
And the start of the financial year, when budgets are not yet released.
One cash consequence: those troughs are not accidents, they come back every year. Setting aside two months of costs is not excessive caution, it is the normal working of the trade.
What a full-time activity requires
| Item | What must hold | Sign that it holds |
|---|---|---|
| The volume | A number of videos per week | A book filled a month ahead |
| The clients | Several, never one | No client above 40% of income |
| The cash | Three months of costs | A payment delay absorbed calmly |
What is set up before leaving a job
A first quarter already invoiced, rates that cover costs and time off, and a compliant filing framework. Without those three, the move happens under pressure.
What wears you out fastest
The absence of a break. A sustainable pace plans days with no shoot, otherwise quality drops before the order book does.
What makes the business last
Five habits, more decisive than talent.
Invoicing on delivery, with a deposit above a certain amount.
Raising your rates on a fixed date each year.
Refusing the orders that fill the diary with no margin.
Keeping half a day a week for prospecting, including when all is going well.
And setting money aside at each payment, before any spending.
One last marker: living off this trade does not depend on an exceptional month, it depends on the ability to cross an empty month without changing your rate. The question is therefore not how much you earn at the best moment, but how long you hold at the worst.
Sources
- Agencia Tributaria, Spanish tax authority
- Spanish Social Security, self-employed registration (RETA)
Checked on 4 September 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
