Looking for a bit of advice about going self employed.

[Anth]

Hello everyone

If i decided to fast track and go self employed i was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of advice on just the basics.
Would it be better to buy a van or lease and if so what size van would be most appropriate.
Secondly apart from the van what other costs would i need to cater for. I have been told 3-4 grand should do to set yourself away. Does this sound right. I know you need insurances, liability for instance bot not sure what this would cost. I know someone who only pays about £120 a year, this sounds cheap to me. Is there any registration fees to pay when self employed.
Is it the right time to go out on your own with the recession. Has any one had a major downturn in work and considering wrapping up. Its a lot of money to fork out just to find in a couple of months there is not a lot of work and having to look for a job.

Cheers, all advice would be greatly appreciated.

Anth

 

[KWCFC]

I'm not even a qualified plumber yet let alone self employed so I wouldnt take what I'm about to say too seriously.

But with the current situation I think it would be a bad idea to be setting up any sort of business let alone a plumbing business right now. I think you should try and get a job working under someone and wait it out for a bit.

 

[Seb.Pickering]

As stated above realy.

I think at this time, as long as you have a good customer basis, you should be able to stay afloat.

If your thinking of starting afresh, im not so sure. This is exactly what i was intending doing this year, luckily for me i have some money behind me, and dont realy need moneys, but for those with weekly/monthly bills, this could become a issue.

Im not sure what ppl think of this fast track training, but i personally think its all pants.
Realy it depends on what area of plumbing your looking at getting into.

No dowt the best way to learn is via working along side/with a experienced and DESENT plumber, not a cowboy.

Depending on your age also, my local Housing regurly have adverts for aprentise plumbers. This way they foot all the course fees, and you can be sure to have job security.


Just my bit...

 

[leakylea]

Seb not to be rude mate but my cat spells better than you!
If your buisness is to succeed it will do so at any time, you need the courage to find your niche in the market and make it work, At a time like this it will be slower than you could reasonably expect, but if you are new to the trade, take the the positives from this by giving jobs that extra bit of attention, cross all the t,s and dot all the i,s on every job and become a good methodical plumber, giving your growing client base a high level of service, that they would be foolish to not use again if required and when the going gets good again, shortly you will not be be a newbie but a competant person who,s buisness is ready to flourish

 

[pnhsolutions]

I have 10 years experience under my belt and i decided that it was time i had a shot at going self employed. I am fully qualified and fully time served. I have been busy over the last 4 weeks and to be honest i am not really feeling the recession. If you are competent and confident then go for it! If you can make money in the current climate then i believe that you will be very successful in the future. I am sub-contracting to a couple of emergency breakdown companies along with as much free advertising as possible. If you look hard enough the work is there. As for the fast track system, I am not a big fan, it took me 7 years to do my tickets(inc. gas) and alot of hard graft! Starting on £45 a week and doing 10 hour days non stop. But i now have the knowledge to feel confident when i approach a problem. You cannot buy experience but you can buy qualifications!
Sorry if that is a bit harsh and do not let me put you off at all! Go for it mate and good luck!

 

[dontknowitall]

Anth - I wouldn't worry TOO much about costs - you seem to have a realistic figure for starting (depending on the age of your van). I reckoned I'd get a cheap van for £500 but found out I was wrong - I spent £6,000 in the end (53 plate Connect) as I wanted something reliable. (And it still doesn't start sometimes).

The main worry would be customers, how much their spend is and how frequently you'll get jobs.

I started self employment last year and had around £14,000 of start up costs to clear (training course, van, insurance, tools, etc). I had an extremely lucky start to my career and walked from job to job, my main one being a 3 month contract paying £180 a day and managed to clear all my starting costs in 5 months. But I was lucky and knew lots of people not related to the building world but who have money.

Now, however, things are very different. I've had two jobs this year. One leaking pipe (2 hours work) and a new basin (and pipe supplies and drain) to fit. I haven't a large customer base and I am not convinced that advertising is going to be profitable. I feel it's going to be quiet like this till Easter.

To me, that's the biggest issue for people starting. The number and type of job and frequency of getting those jobs. People just don't seem to want to develop at the moment - only repair and maintain. Those plumbers who say they're busy are probably the ones who've been around for many years and have large customer bases (and recommendations from those customer bases). And, of course, good luck to them - they've earned it.

As for buying/leasing, etc a friend told me he runs his (non plumbing) business (well over £1m turnover) like his household budget. There are no loans, invoices are paid on time, etc. In the last recession he lowered staff wages and during the boom he gave bonuses and explained to them what was happening to the company finances.

I've applied those same principles to my little plumbing world. Everything is paid for and now, if I need to change and sell, then I know the money is mine and not to pay off loans. It also takes away all money worries.

It's all very well keeping start up costs as low as possible, but you need to be realistic about how much and when the money will begin to come in to pay them off and send you into profit. There are loads more people posting on this forum and this indicates to me that work has suddenly dried up.

NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM - if you've found a niche in the market don't be afraid and go for it! A recession is about the best time to start a new business believe it or not!

Good luck.

 

[Dave]

Seb not to be rude mate but my cat spells better than you!

If your buisness

is to succeed it will do so at any time, you need the courage to find your niche in the market and make it work, At a time like this it will be slower than you could reasonably expect, but if you are new to the trade, take the the positives from this by giving jobs that extra bit of attention, cross all the t,s and dot all the i,s on every job and become a good methodical plumber, giving your growing client base a high level of service, that they would be foolish to not use again if required and when the going gets good again, shortly you will not be be a newbie but a competant person who,s buisness is ready to flourish

I gather your cat didn't spell that for you.....business.....


Are we here to correct spelling or is it a plumbers forum...lol lol lol...

 

[WANNABEPLUMBER]

As stated above realy.

Depending on your age also, my local Housing regurly have adverts for aprentise plumbers. This way they foot all the course fees, and you can be sure to have job security.


Just my bit...

Hi seb where is your local housing trust then????

is my spelling correct here

 

[Anth]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I know that with the reccession, that going self employed really scares the s**t out of me. But on the other hand i have thought about getting into a different trade now for some time. Being self employed has always appealed to me. If i dont do it now then i dont know if i ever will. I just wish we were not in a reccession. I guess a lot of people feel the same.

 

[MUSCULAR]

about plumbing

alright anth my name is ifan, you may think of this as a joke but im willing to go into business with you if you are, i know weve never met but im sure we can arrange something, im currently living in enfield, if your willing to discuss things further please dont hesistate on ringing me on 07951 611105, this aint no joke mate, im a qualified level 2 in plumbing and iam a very hard worker going into business with someone as keen as you is what i need. hopefully we can work things out. Im good at the wet works of plumbing but currently learning the level 3 things. Thank you