Welcome to the Help & Support category

This is the place to ask for help with using Just Starting Out and the Just Starting Out Community.

You can start a topic here if you need help with:

• Creating or completing your profile
• Using a Just Starting Out feature
• Finding your way around the community
• Posting, replying or managing notifications
• Understanding how leads, introductions or other platform features work
• Resolving a technical problem or error
• Anything else you are unsure about

Other members may be able to share useful advice, and the Just Starting Out team will respond where official help is needed.

Before starting a topic

Please check whether your question has already been answered. If not, create a new topic with a short, clear title that describes the problem.

For example:

• I can’t upload my insurance document
• How do I change my business location?
• Community notifications are not arriving
• What happens after I express interest in a job?

Titles such as “Help!” or “It doesn’t work” make diagnosing the problem considerably more adventurous than it needs to be.

What to include

To help us understand the issue, please tell us:

• What you were trying to do
• What happened instead
• Any error message you received
• Whether you were using the website, community or mobile app
• The device and browser you were using, if relevant
• What you have already tried

Screenshots can be helpful, but check them carefully before uploading.

Protect your personal information

This is a public community area. Please do not post:

• Passwords or sign-in codes
• Payment or bank details
• Your full address, telephone number or private email address
• Identity documents, certificates or insurance documents
• Private correspondence or customer information
• Any other confidential or sensitive information

For questions involving your account, subscription, payments or personal information, please contact Just Starting Out Support privately.

Reporting a concern

Please do not use this category to report another member, discuss a personal dispute or publish allegations about an individual or business.

Use the Report option on the relevant content or follow the instructions in How to Get Help or Report a Concern.

If someone is in immediate danger or a crime is taking place, contact the emergency services. Just Starting Out is not an emergency service, and community posts may not be seen immediately.

A few final pointers

Please create a separate topic for each problem and post it only once. If you find the answer yourself, let us know what worked—it may help the next person with the same issue.

You can also find useful information in:

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Community Guidelines and Terms of Use
• How to Get Help or Report a Concern
• Contact Just Starting Out Support

We’ll do our best to point you in the right direction.

The Just Starting Out Team

If you need help or notice something that concerns you, please let us know. This page explains the best way to contact the Just Starting Out team.

General help and questions

For ordinary questions about using Just Starting Out or the community:

1. Check the Help and Support category to see whether your question has already been answered.
2. If appropriate, start a new topic using a clear title and without including private information.
3. For account, subscription or personal enquiries, contact JSO Support privately.

Please include enough information for us to understand the problem, such as the page or feature involved and any error message you received. Screenshots can be helpful, but check that they do not reveal passwords, payment details or other sensitive information.

Reporting a post or member

If you believe a post, message or member has breached our Community Guidelines, use the Report option attached to the relevant content.

When reporting something:

• Choose the most appropriate reason
• Briefly explain what has concerned you
• Include links or supporting information where relevant
• Do not start a public argument or encourage other members to target the person
• Do not repeatedly submit the same report

Reports are sent privately to the moderation team. The member you report will not be told who submitted the report, although we cannot guarantee anonymity where disclosure is required by law or necessary to investigate a serious matter.

Submitting a report does not automatically mean that content or an account will be removed. We will review the context and decide whether action is required.

Confidential or serious concerns

Please contact Just Starting Out Support privately if your concern involves:

• Harassment, threats or intimidation
• Fraud, scams or deliberately misleading activity
• Discrimination or hate speech
• The misuse of personal or confidential information
• A dispute that should not be discussed publicly
• A concern about a JSO moderator, representative or member of staff
• Information that could identify a child or vulnerable adult

Include a short factual explanation, relevant usernames or links, and any evidence you are entitled to share. Please avoid sending unnecessary personal information.

Safeguarding concerns

If you are concerned about the safety or welfare of a child or vulnerable adult, follow the instructions in our Safeguarding Policy and contact us.

Do not post safeguarding information publicly or attempt to investigate the matter yourself.

If somebody is in immediate danger or a crime is taking place, call 999. For a non-emergency police matter in the UK, call 101. Just Starting Out is not an emergency service, and a forum report may not be seen immediately.

Account or security concerns

If you believe your account has been accessed by somebody else:

• Change your password immediately
• Secure the email account connected to your Just Starting Out account
• Sign out of unfamiliar devices, where possible
• Contact Just Starting Out Support
• Do not post security or account details publicly

Just Starting Out will never ask you to publish or send us your password.

What happens after a report?

Depending on the nature of the concern, the JSO team may:

• Review the relevant content and account activity
• Contact you for further information
• Edit, move, hide, lock or remove content
• Warn, restrict, suspend or remove an account
• Refer a serious matter to the appropriate authority
• Take no action where the content does not breach our rules

We aim to acknowledge private reports within 2 working days, although urgent safety concerns will be prioritised.

We may not be able to tell you the full outcome of an investigation because we must also respect the privacy and legal rights of other people involved. However, every genuine report will be considered.

Please use the reporting process honestly. Knowingly making false or malicious allegations may itself breach our Community Guidelines.

Useful links

• Contact Just Starting Out Support
• Community Guidelines and Terms of Use
• Safeguarding Policy
• Complaints and Reporting Policy
• Privacy Policy

Thank you for helping us keep the Just Starting Out Community safe, respectful and genuinely useful.

The Just Starting Out Team

Welcome to the Just Starting Out Community.

We want this to be a friendly, useful and supportive place where members can ask questions, share experiences and learn from one another.

These guidelines are a practical summary of the standards we expect. Your use of the community is also subject to our full Community Terms of Use, Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

1. Treat people with respect

Healthy disagreement is welcome; hostility is not.

Please do not:

• Harass, threaten, bully or intimidate anyone
• Use discriminatory, hateful or deliberately offensive language
• Make personal attacks or repeatedly provoke other members
• Encourage others to target or ridicule somebody
• Post sexually explicit, violent or otherwise inappropriate material

Criticise the idea, not the person behind it.

2. Be honest and constructive

Share information in good faith and make it clear when something is your opinion or personal experience.

Do not:

• Impersonate another person or business
• Misrepresent your qualifications, experience or professional status
• Post fabricated reviews, testimonials or opportunities
• Deliberately spread false or misleading information
• Conceal a commercial connection when recommending a product or service

Advice shared by community members should not be treated as professional legal, financial, medical or safety advice. Where appropriate, consult a suitably qualified professional.

3. Keep promotion appropriate

We want members to talk about their businesses, but the community must not become a wall of adverts.

Please:

• Only promote services in categories where promotion is permitted
• Keep recommendations relevant to the discussion
• Disclose referral links, commissions or other commercial interests
• Avoid repeatedly posting the same promotional content
• Respect members who do not wish to be contacted

Spam, lead harvesting, unsolicited sales messages and aggressive self-promotion may be removed.

4. Protect privacy and confidentiality

Never publish somebody else’s personal or confidential information without their permission.

This includes:

• Home addresses, telephone numbers and personal email addresses
• Private messages or correspondence
• Customer details, documents or photographs
• Financial, medical or safeguarding information
• Information that could identify a vulnerable person

Please do not use the community to publicise an individual dispute or encourage action against another person or business. Contact Just Starting Out Support if you need help resolving a concern.

5. Keep it legal and safe

Do not use the community to:

• Encourage illegal, fraudulent or dangerous activity
• Request or offer work that you are not legally permitted or appropriately qualified to undertake
• Circumvent professional, licensing or safety requirements
• Exploit, groom or endanger a child or vulnerable adult
• Share malicious software or attempt to compromise another member’s account

If you believe someone is in immediate danger, contact the emergency services. You can also find further information in our Safeguarding Policy.

6. Only share content you are entitled to use

You remain responsible for anything you post. Only upload text, images, documents or other material that you created or have permission to share.

Do not copy another person’s work, reveal confidential business information or use the community to infringe intellectual-property rights.

7. Help us keep discussions useful

Please post in the most relevant category, use clear topic titles and check whether your question has already been answered.

Avoid deliberately disruptive behaviour, repeated duplicate posts or taking discussions significantly off topic.

Reporting a concern

If you see something that may breach these guidelines, please use the report option rather than confronting the member or starting a public dispute.

Do not include sensitive information in a public post. For confidential, safeguarding or account-related concerns, follow the instructions in the appropriate section below.

Moderation

To protect the community, the Just Starting Out team may:

• Edit, move, hide, lock or remove content
• Ask a member to change their behaviour
• Issue a warning
• Temporarily restrict an account
• Suspend or permanently remove a member

We will consider the seriousness, context and frequency of any breach. Serious safety, safeguarding, fraudulent or abusive behaviour may result in immediate action without a prior warning.

These guidelines may be updated as the community develops. Significant changes will be announced in this category.

Last updated: 3rd August 2026

Related policies

• Community Terms of Use
• Just Starting Out Terms and Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Safeguarding Policy
• Complaints and Reporting Policy

Thank you for helping us build a community where people can learn, contribute and grow without having to wade through hostility, spam or somebody’s revolutionary cryptocurrency opportunity.

The Just Starting Out Team

Welcome to the Just Starting Out Community!

We’ve created this space for people who are building a new career, trade or business to connect, learn from one another and feel a little less alone while getting started.

Whether you’ve only just qualified, are preparing to launch, or already have some early experience under your belt, you’re welcome here. Nobody is expected to know everything—and there is no prize for pretending that you do.

You can use the community to:

• Ask questions and get practical advice
• Learn from the experiences of other professionals
• Discuss the challenges of starting and growing a business
• Share useful ideas, resources and opportunities
• Celebrate your progress and support other members

A few good places to begin:

1. Read our Community Guidelines.
2. Browse the discussions or start a topic in the most relevant category.
3. Complete your Just Starting Out profile so other members know a little about you and your business.

Please help us keep the community welcoming, constructive and useful. Treat other members with respect, disagree without becoming disagreeable, and avoid sharing anyone’s private or confidential information.

If you see something that concerns you, please use the report option or follow the instructions in [How to Get Help or Report a Concern].

This Announcements category is where the Just Starting Out team will publish important community news, service updates and other official information. We recommend following the category so you don’t miss anything important.

We’re delighted to have you with us. Starting out can be daunting—but it doesn’t have to be done alone.

Welcome aboard!

The Just Starting Out Team

Welcome to General Discussion

This is the place for conversations about starting, running and growing your business that do not fit neatly into one of our more specific categories.

You might use this category to:

• Ask other professionals for ideas or opinions
• Share an experience and what you learned from it
• Discuss the everyday challenges of working for yourself
• Talk about tools, working practices and business decisions
• Ask questions that may apply across several trades or professions
• Celebrate a milestone or share some encouraging news
• Start a useful conversation with the wider Just Starting Out community

Topics could include:

• What do you wish you had known when starting out?
• How do you stay organised when work becomes busy?
• When did you first feel like your business was established?
• Which everyday business expense surprised you most?
• How do you handle quieter periods?

Keep discussions useful

Please use a clear topic title and give members enough information to understand what you would like to discuss.

Different members will have different experiences and opinions. You are welcome to disagree, but please keep replies respectful and constructive. Challenge the argument, not the person making it.

Before posting, check whether another category would be more appropriate. In particular:

• Questions about using Just Starting Out belong in Help & Support
• Promotional posts should only appear where promotion is permitted
• Reports or concerns about another member should be submitted privately
• Official Just Starting Out news and updates will appear in Announcements

The Just Starting Out team may move a topic if it would be easier to find elsewhere.

Promotion and recommendations

You may mention your own business when it is relevant to the conversation, but please do not use this category primarily to advertise services, collect leads or repeatedly post promotional links.

If you recommend a product or service with which you have a commercial connection, please make that clear.

Protect people’s privacy

General Discussion is visible to other community members, so please do not publish private customer information, personal contact details, confidential correspondence or details of disputes involving identifiable people or businesses.

If you need to report content or raise a concern, use the Report option or follow [How to Get Help or Report a Concern].

All posts must follow our [Community Guidelines and Terms of Use].

Otherwise, pull up a virtual chair and join in. Starting a business involves plenty of questions, occasional triumphs and at least one piece of software that refuses to cooperate for no defensible reason.

We look forward to hearing from you.

The Just Starting Out Team