Biting the bullet

[bullet1747]

Go for it my late dad always told me never look back only forward , I've been SE electrician and loved it the work is out there different houses every day , now in charge of a work place for generators for the worlds largest power rental company another decision I don't look back at doing

Best off luck the worlds all yours for the earning

[winnie&bezza]

He was right there. It would be an opportunity that I'd be stupid to pass me by.

Yes every self employed person I have spoken to has said it's fantastic.

I bet you don't! A big thing you got there.

Thanks and thanks for the encouraging words.

[Prospero]

and even give me a months money upfront to help me out (I wouldn't take it though).

 

Don't be an idiot. Take the money, I often take deposits on bigger jobs, you need to learn to do this and even ask for it upfront!

[davewh100]

good luck with your new venture and from reading some of your previous posts i knew you would take the plunge one day

 

atb

dave

[Vince Green]

Your best advert, by far, is a well thought out sign written van, think of it as a free mobile hording that you park outside jobs. Spend some time working out what you are going to say.

 

Every minute its visible to the public its working for you. People see it. Have 'CARPENTER' in very big letters, you see vans with the name in big letters and what they do in very small letters underneath.

Edited February 3, 2017 by Vince Green

[davewh100]

very good advice from from vince

[clakk]

Take the deposit,dont start off "in debt", i used to build conservatory/extensions and the boss always took the material costs upfront so he never lost any money on a job.Today,s nice customer is a wind vane and can change direction like that .As Nath said make sure the job requirement is listed so no "extra,s " are expected or demanded and always clean away at the end of the day.Customer,s love that and it goes well when word of mouth is getting you work .

Go for it but dont over reach yourself 1 job at a time and b4 you know it you might need a subbie yourself atb and good luck

[KFC]

Written details of all work to be done.

Always take a deposit because cashflow is king.

Do take a wage. Many SE's learn the hard way, including me. that the business must work for you. Too often I've said that I'll wait until the business is making a profit then I'll draw a wage. If the business is not making enough money to pay me a wage then it means I'm working for the business and I'll never make anything.

This includes paying for holidays. When you take a holiday, or are off sick, then it costs you double because A) you're not working so not earning and B) spending what you have earned previously. Most customers think they're just paying for the time you're there but they also have to pay for the time you're not there.

 

A bank manager once asked me how many of the contracts I quoted for did I get. When I told him I got most of them then he said I was too cheap and that I should get half of the contracts that I bid for. I must quote the amount that I need and not the amount that I think the customer wants to pay.

If the customer tries to beat you down too much then don't be afraid to walk away.

 

Good luck with it and wish you prosperity and good fortune.

[winnie&bezza]

good luck with your new venture and from reading some of your previous posts i knew you would take the plunge one day

 

atb

dave

Yes it's always been in my mind and thanks.

Your best advert, by far, is a well thought out sign written van, think of it as a free mobile hording that you park outside jobs. Spend some time working out what you are going to say.

 

Every minute its visible to the public its working for you. People see it. Have 'CARPENTER' in very big letters, you see vans with the name in big letters and what they do in very small letters underneath.

Thanks for advice mate.I haven't got a van as I use a firms van so I'm going to sell the car and get a Volvo estate until I can afford to get a van.

 

Don't be an idiot. Take the money, I often take deposits on bigger jobs, you need to learn to do this and even ask for it upfront!

Haha you can see I'm a newbie to it. Will heed your advice.

Written details of all work to be done.

Always take a deposit because cashflow is king.

Do take a wage. Many SE's learn the hard way, including me. that the business must work for you. Too often I've said that I'll wait until the business is making a profit then I'll draw a wage. If the business is not making enough money to pay me a wage then it means I'm working for the business and I'll never make anything.

This includes paying for holidays. When you take a holiday, or are off sick, then it costs you double because A) you're not working so not earning and B) spending what you have earned previously. Most customers think they're just paying for the time you're there but they also have to pay for the time you're not there.

 

A bank manager once asked me how many of the contracts I quoted for did I get. When I told him I got most of them then he said I was too cheap and that I should get half of the contracts that I bid for. I must quote the amount that I need and not the amount that I think the customer wants to pay.

If the customer tries to beat you down too much then don't be afraid to walk away.

 

Good luck with it and wish you prosperity and good fortune.

Thanks for good advice and I will learn as I go. Through a few mistakes no doubt. Cheers

[Pistol p]

My three main tips are, eat well, sleep well and drive well.

[winnie&bezza]

My three main tips are, eat well, sleep well and drive well.

Haha very true.

[silver pigeon69]

Get an accountant! He should save you more money than he costs and it will take a lot of hassle off your shoulders.

[tonker]

My 2p's worth. I went self employed the day I got married 40 years ago, Now that was worrying what with a new mortgage and everything to pay for.

 

1, Get yourself a good reputation first, then you'll never have to spend on advertising. I've never advertised and never been out of work.

 

2. Start a job and finish it, 1 customer at a time. Nothing worse than a tradesman with several jobs on the go flitting around and pleasing no-one

 

3. Do a good days work for a fair days pay, don't rip anybody off and you'll get repeat work, and that leads you back to number 1, and that goes around again.

 

Best of luck with your new life ahead. and it's easy for me to say but don't work all the hours of the day because you think you need the money.

Families can get left behind, and they area big part of your new plans

 

ATB with it

Edited February 3, 2017 by tonker

[Vince Green]

Get an accountant! He should save you more money than he costs and it will take a lot of hassle off your shoulders.

Yes but shop around because some are extortionate, get a clear idea of the charges, in writing, before you agree to have them act for you.

[Snoozer]

Make sure you've got good insurance including public liability in place..

[old'un]

Don't have your van sign written, it will push your insurance up, best way is magnetic vinyl signs that you can remove.

Don't forget public liability insurance.

For your quotes, invoices and more there is a very good program called SliQ its very easy to use and setup, it cost £41.00 and you get a lot for your money and it looks more professional ....http://www.sliqtools.co.uk/

You will not need to worry about VAT until your turnover exceeds 83k.

 

Good luck and as others have said, get a deposit or you will regret it one day when a job goes tits-up.

[team tractor]

Your best advert, by far, is a well thought out sign written van, think of it as a free mobile hording that you park outside jobs. Spend some time working out what you are going to say.

 

Every minute its visible to the public its working for you. People see it. Have 'CARPENTER' in very big letters, you see vans with the name in big letters and what they do in very small letters underneath.

Worst advice at the minute sorry.

We've had 1 van sign written and it was emptied 3 times.

Sign writing it the worst thing you can do.

On Facebook their is several trader sites and at least 15 vans a week are emptied. We have 25 over Xmas within a 10 mile radius done over on our local spotted Tamworth . This is only the ones I've heard of.

It's a shame as its a great advertising tool but you can't work without kit .

[flynny]

Good luck,

 

Never, never, never, never,

 

Leave your tools in your van overnight, even if your ballcoxed when you finish for the day,

 

EMPTY YOUR VAN,

 

A broken lock on a sign written van is better than having no tools,

 

No tools = no work that day and the cost of getting new that day , just to keep your clients jobs going, people don't want the , " I've had my van broken into" they want the job done

 

YOU don't want to have to tell them that do you?

 

Good luck mate from a fellow chippie and builder

 

Flynny

Edited February 3, 2017 by flynny

[winnie&bezza]

Get an accountant! He should save you more money than he costs and it will take a lot of hassle off your shoulders.

And a good one at that has been said to me by a lot of people.

[Paddy Galore!]

about the cscs card, do you have your city and guilds paperwork? that'll go towards getting at least a blue card which will get you on a site subbing for a carpentry firm if your own work gets thin, if you don't then you can have a gander for specific training companies in your area, it'll cost you a few hundred and a couple of days of your time to get yourself assessed but after that the work is out there, even the dreaded agencies round here are paying up to £20 an hour for good chippies. get your cards down to all the local building firms, they'll probably use subbies when they get busy, also think about registering as a limited company, a good accountant can set this up for you and it doesn't cost a lot more than self assessment, an electrician friend of mine has been ltd for a few years now and saves several thousand a year in tax liability because of this.

above all, well done so far and good luck in the future,

Paddy

[winnie&bezza]

My 2p's worth. I went self employed the day I got married 40 years ago, Now that was worrying what with a new mortgage and everything to pay for.

 

1, Get yourself a good reputation first, then you'll never have to spend on advertising. I've never advertised and never been out of work.

 

2. Start a job and finish it, 1 customer at a time. Nothing worse than a tradesman with several jobs on the go flitting around and pleasing no-one

 

3. Do a good days work for a fair days pay, don't rip anybody off and you'll get repeat work, and that leads you back to number 1, and that goes around again.

 

Best of luck with your new life ahead. and it's easy for me to say but don't work all the hours of the day because you think you need the money.

Families can get left behind, and they area big part of your new plans

 

ATB with it

Thanks for all helpful advice. It's a tough one with the big job I've got as it's quite some months of work there so I can't keep all my eggs in one basket when I'm first starting off. I'll take on smaller jobs if I can get them.

 

Many thanks

[winnie&bezza]

about the cscs card, do you have your city and guilds paperwork? that'll go towards getting at least a blue card which will get you on a site subbing for a carpentry firm if your own work gets thin, if you don't then you can have a gander for specific training companies in your area, it'll cost you a few hundred and a couple of days of your time to get yourself assessed but after that the work is out there, even the dreaded agencies round here are paying up to £20 an hour for good chippies. get your cards down to all the local building firms, they'll probably use subbies when they get busy, also think about registering as a limited company, a good accountant can set this up for you and it doesn't cost a lot more than self assessment, an electrician friend of mine has been ltd for a few years now and saves several thousand a year in tax liability because of this.

above all, well done so far and good luck in the future,

Paddy

I've got my NVQ mate. Thanks for info as I know absolutely nothing about site life and how to get on it. Don't you need to earn over 80k a year to go ltd?

 

Cheers mate!

[winnie&bezza]

Don't have your van sign written, it will push your insurance up, best way is magnetic vinyl signs that you can remove.

Don't forget public liability insurance.

For your quotes, invoices and more there is a very good program called SliQ its very easy to use and setup, it cost £41.00 and you get a lot for your money and it looks more professional ....http://www.sliqtools.co.uk/

You will not need to worry about VAT until your turnover exceeds 83k.

 

Good luck and as others have said, get a deposit or you will regret it one day when a job goes tits-up.

I was looking at the magnetic signs as I will probably get an estate car before I can afford a van. Yep public liability a must.

That sounds good I'll have a look at that link later.

Cheers mate and will do.

Worst advice at the minute sorry.

We've had 1 van sign written and it was emptied 3 times.

Sign writing it the worst thing you can do.

On Facebook their is several trader sites and at least 15 vans a week are emptied. We have 25 over Xmas within a 10 mile radius done over on our local spotted Tamworth . This is only the ones I've heard of.

It's a shame as its a great advertising tool but you can't work without kit .

Oh dear not good! Such a shame. Edited February 3, 2017 by winnie&bezza

[winnie&bezza]

I haven't registered as self employed yet as I'm still on the firm I work for and not sure when I'm leaving as the boss got back from a month in New Zealand today and doesn't know yet. I know it's not going to go down well as it leaves the firm in a big mess so he might get the hump and say go now. Can I register self employed now or wait til I leave? Can you keep receipts for stuff I've bought recently for work and claim it even though I bought them before registering SE?

[Paddy Galore!]

if you have your nvq you just need to apply for your card, it shouldn't cost much more than £50, then renewal every 5 yrs, there's no minimum limit on earnings to be a ltd company, pay yourself a wage from the company and buy everything else you need like tools, van, motoring costs, training costs, insurance, ppe etc through the company, the sparky I know earns around 40k a year, his accountant costs him something in the region of £500 a year which is also tax deductible, he paid less tax and ni than I did over the last year and I earned about 8k less than him.