starting out on your own.

[greatmoorred]

Right, here is the deal.
Im sick of working for crappy little family companies whos idea of management is to wander around like some kind of victorian mill owner, asking you if you have no work to do should they catch you standing still for a second.I also cant stand the "clock in and sit at your desk all day" of larger faceless places.
As you can see i have become unemployable !!
So, i have decided to start up on my own. Ive got a meeting with the business guy at the bank either on friday or monday.
I have decided to put my building skills to use at last. Garden walls, fencing, trellis work etc...
What do you think ?
Any one gone it alone on here ? any advice appreciated.

[Itchy]

I am and will soon look for a thread wage or own business , some useful hints on there I can't recall where they put it since the change over.

but good for you my boss right now has been taking the piss a bit and doesn't pay me for all the hours I do .,

Though my own biz is about 9-18 months away.

Some hints

Research it VERY well , don't do what somebody else did opened a $$$$ organic food shop in dole city.

Don't burn bridges ever you never know if you'll need them some day.

[cqueen]

Welcome to the club!

You know it makes sense

If you need any help pm me and I might be of some use.
I started small & local and now I'm learning how to go national.

Seek funding from princes trust & DTI, I didnt know about them when I started, they lend you money to start if no one else will.

[Zimbo]

Be sure that you have a market before you commit.
Once you commit, chase your market fairly agressively, you need to make sure that you always have work in hand. You'll get stuff by word of mouth in time, but to start with you need to sell yourself to customers.
Try to have at least a couple of months running capital in hand plus your start up costs before you start. A month or two's morgage / home running costs in a savings account as a backup is also a good idea, in case things are slower than you anticipate.
Find a good accountant, he'll save you loads more than he costs in reduced tax bills etc.
Don't be afraid to involve the wife / girlfriend if she has any skills - admin, phoning round etc. Less time spent on basic admin / paperwork means more time spent actually earning.
And most important of all, keep your overheads as low as you possibly can, it makes for a LOT less pressure in paying the bills every month!

Good luck. The one positive thing, apart from being your own boss, is that it's a far more tax efficient way to work, you get to keep a lot more of the money you earn.

[gammamanuk]

Your like me mate, life shouldn't have to be a routine.

Ive done my education, got my GCSE's, worked here there and friggin everywhere, same old agencys being used, treated like shit and being kicked up the arse the moment i stand doing nothing, or being led on, being told your great at your job, only to be rang the monday morning after and said you didnt fit the bill.

Bollocks to it, im considering moving away, down to my dads 100 mile away, and starting a fresh, theres no life here for me, ive gone from depression, to shit job to depression, met the wrong people, the wrong women, lost my unborn babies, and now im at the the stage where im getting angry and punching anyone who pisses me or my family and friends off, just a viscious circle for me, if i got down to my dads, i could sign on and look for work, be a new life, where no one knows me, and start a fresh, if i was you id do the same.

Some things will never change, you have to make those changes, no one will make them for you, so either start out on your own or move away

[veeeffarr]

[cqueen]

Does she indeed?!

Does she handle loans & grants by any chance?

[T1z3R]

your going the right way so far.
my missus started on her own 13 months ago after speaking with our local business gateway. she got funding from the PSYBT.

listen to what they have to say and as mentioned before do plenty or market research.

good luck and all the best to you
____________________
duck my sick!

[Cillit-BANG]

I did exactly that 3 years ago. Although I did have connections in the building trade, so I knew how things worked, but I live in a different part of the country, so I had to do it all of my own back.

I now own my own house, run my own joinery business, have my own van, and have enough spare cash and time to keep my motorbike hobby happy Touches wood for the future

I started from scratch painting fences, putting up shelves etc, I'm now still self employed but with a turnover of around £40k. It can be done.

Notes-

It will take a while for work to come in, ensure you have the capital to tide you over.
Never take on work your not confident doing.
It helps if you know other people in the building trade to get advice from.
Keep your over-heads down. The best way to improve profit is to minimise spending.
But, buy the best tools you can afford.
No tradesmen like to be under-cut by 'handy-men', it's bad practice. If your confident in doing the job, then expect to charge in the region of £100 per day.
Make sure you have Public liability insurance.
If you don't NEED a van, don't. Commercial insurance isn't cheap, and running costs are higher. I worked fine out the back of a £500 VW golf for a year.
If your getting all your quotes accepted, your charging too little. aim for 1 in 3.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. If it all goes tits up, it's better to keep your options open. If you go and borrow £10k to set up a business and no-one needs work doing in your area, your stuffed. Start small to get a feeler for things.

[WR450_geezer]

[farmer giles]

my old man got made redundant two years ago and he started mowing lawns and things-now he does patios and fences etc..he's really busy in fact I've recently gone self employed as a tractor/digger driver and general odd job guy and am helping him out cos he's got that much work.Its a good thing to do-i was like you sick of working for people that were taking the mick,now i call the shots(to a certain extent)and can decide what i do.Its given me my enthusiasm back which i'd lost due to the aforementioned t%*ts.If you can make a go of it i'd reccomend it.
____________________
the tricky bricky

[greatmoorred]

thanks, i hadnt thought about the insurance on the van
Ive got a laguna that looks like it might have to start working for a living.
Im sure the business manager at the bank will point out lots of potential pitfalls to me.

[cqueen]

I dont understand why this has been moved to dear auntie....

[DAF]

Writing a business plan is key. Don’t look on it as a chore but as something that will help you put your ideas together in a structured format and also clarify your targets and strategy for the business. It’s an old cliché maybe but if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.

Business plan formats will differ depending on the type of business but think about structuring your BP under something like the following headings.

1) Your own objectives – why are you doing it and what do you want out of it?
2) Business description and purpose – Be as specific as you can. Think of it as a mission statement which will be easily understood by you, your customers and any investors
3) Long term plans – where do you want the business to be in, say, five years?
4) Market situation – You need to be sure there’s room for you in your chosen market. To help decide this, you need to think about the size of the market, market trends (and how you might take advantage of these), target customers (how many there are) and also, not least, your competition. Make a list of your competitors, the services they provide and how your services can be different.
5) Target customer – Who are they and what are they looking for? Identify them by income, gender, age, lifestyle etc where appropriate. This will help you identify how many customers are in your target group.
6) Your competitors
- Who are they and is there anything you can provide that they don’t?
- Who are their customers?
- How large a share of the market do they have?
7) Marketing strategy – If you have more than one target group you might want to think of a different marketing plan for each. As an example, you might want to offer discounts to OAPs if you want to specifically grab a share of that market. Then you need to think about your marketing activity and how that might differ from one target group to another. Consider advertising in your local paper, yellow pages and even putting flyers through letterboxes. With spring on its way a well targeted flyer campaign around some well heeled streets (the ones with the big gardens) advertising your skills in fencing, trellis work, patios etc could reap dividends.
8) Operational requirements – What do you need in terms of equipment, premises, staff etc? What are the costs?
9) Financial considerations
- How much money do you need to set up and where is it coming from? How much are you putting in? Unless you’re stumping up a fair amount of cash yourself others might find it difficult to lend you the money; it’s that old adage about putting your money where your mouth is. Also, the lack of a track record/ trading history will make it difficult to raise money from banks unless you have equity in a property and are willing to put that up as security.
I don’t want to go too far into the realms of the accounting side of things for this post (there are advisors, banks etc that can give you full details including templates) but you will need;
- A cashflow forecast. This will provide you with a running total of your income and expenses and thus how much you will have on a monthly basis.
- A break-even analysis to understand how much of a given product/ service you need to sell at a given price to cover your costs and make a profit.
- A profit and loss forecast to help estimate profit levels.
10) Business risks – What might go wrong and how can you minimise the risks? Things like over reliance on a small customer base, bad debts, increase in competition etc

Share your thoughts and ideas with friends and family and, once you’re fairly happy with what you’ve put together as a business plan, ask them to play devil’s advocate and try and pick holes in it (in a constructive way of course). You could also seek advice from professional sources such as your local enterprise agency, bank, and as mentioned in other posts, a Prince’s Trust office. Don’t forget, business plans do need tweaking over time, in line with ongoing business needs; don’t just file it away and forget about it once you’re up and running.

I hope that wasn’t too much of a ramble. Some parts will maybe have more relevance than others but hopefully it’ll give you an idea of the main issues you need to be thinking about. A significant percentage of small enterprises fail within the first six months; often because they bypassed the planning stage and/ or because the owners realised they didn’t have the skills, qualifications and not least, the necessary temperament to be self employed.

Finally, good luck
____________________
2005 Yam Fazer (FZ6-S)

[Cillit-BANG]

Insurance companies for the win again- Commercial vehicles have seperate no-claims, as like cars and bikes.

My first policy was about £900 tpft.
Liability insurance up to £5m, including tool cover at home, £400 per year.
Tool outlay over first 2 years £4000

What you charge per day, is NOT your profit! Unfortunately customers won't see it that way. You'll often get the 'How much, well I only earn £xx and I'm a xxxxxxx'. Remember, you get no holiday pay, no sick pay, no company pension. All this has to be reflected in your charges.

In my first year I was charging around £80-£100 per day, and profit before tax at the end of the year was £13k. But as I mentioned earlier, the first year is the worst because their is bound to be gaps where your not earning.

[TOM M]

First thign i want to do when (if) i finish uni, set me own business up
____________________
Now owner of a 1200 Bandit

[michael j]

I'm self employed. I've never worked so hard in my life. If I'm not working, I'm doing quotes or paperwork. Sometimes wish I could just switch off, but theres always something to think about. Hope it gets easier. I know it will all pay off in the end tho'.
Go for it and good luck
Mike
____________________
Ducati 996

[Itchy]

[cqueen]

Yeah man, better to be rushed off your feet than nothing to do.

[snuff2005]

my dads been self employed over 30 years he had his 1st company in the 70's when he had a team of 50 men working for him, then in the late 80's he went into a attic conversion business which he sold on to his broth and for the last 10 years hes been working as a plumber and hes done ok for him self.
____________________
[MBK Ovetto 50cc] [CPI Popcorn 50cc - FOR SALE - With pics]
[CBT - Passed] [Theory - Passed] [Practical - Collecting funds lol]
[Bike fund: Building up once again yay - ZXR 400 here i come] /phil

[RiderOfTheSto...]