Just gone self-employed! Aaah!
Discussion
So, a few things were bubbling up at work, including an increasingly quieter diary, too many staff, and several very questionable management choices. Things came to a head this weekend, and after discussing at length with MrsDorsetSparky, I registered my own electrical company with Companies House on Sunday night.
Absolutely petrified! Mortgage, 12-week old baby, etc - not the best time to start a new business, but there never is.
Handed in my notice and was convinced I was going to be let go anyway - exit interview today, seemingly it was a bit of a power play from the boss, but to be honest it serves him right. Allegedly he had no idea I was going to leave and was mildly annoyed about something completely unreasonable.
So far, got business bank account opened, Public Liability & Professional Indemnity insurance in place, Companies House and name registered, Google Places Business registered, trade account set up at the local wholesaler, website/branding under way, looking at leasing a van, and will get some branded clothing knocked up once logo is sorted. Oh, and already paid my fees for the electrical governing body I'm going to use, sent off my forms, and waiting for an on-site assessment. Not bad for 48 hours later!
This week has fallen into place well, thankfully - picked up a little job from when I placed a private advert in our village magazine on Monday, which turned into a big job on Thursday/Friday as well, and doing a little job tomorrow for one of our neighbours. After that, very little, so it'll be time to crack on with advertising and drumming up business. It's the sort of village where being a well-respected local tradesman counts for a lot, so I'll be dropping off leaflets house-to-house, and also setting up some online advertising.
It's a real step into the unknown and bloody scary!
Absolutely petrified! Mortgage, 12-week old baby, etc - not the best time to start a new business, but there never is.
Handed in my notice and was convinced I was going to be let go anyway - exit interview today, seemingly it was a bit of a power play from the boss, but to be honest it serves him right. Allegedly he had no idea I was going to leave and was mildly annoyed about something completely unreasonable.
So far, got business bank account opened, Public Liability & Professional Indemnity insurance in place, Companies House and name registered, Google Places Business registered, trade account set up at the local wholesaler, website/branding under way, looking at leasing a van, and will get some branded clothing knocked up once logo is sorted. Oh, and already paid my fees for the electrical governing body I'm going to use, sent off my forms, and waiting for an on-site assessment. Not bad for 48 hours later!
This week has fallen into place well, thankfully - picked up a little job from when I placed a private advert in our village magazine on Monday, which turned into a big job on Thursday/Friday as well, and doing a little job tomorrow for one of our neighbours. After that, very little, so it'll be time to crack on with advertising and drumming up business. It's the sort of village where being a well-respected local tradesman counts for a lot, so I'll be dropping off leaflets house-to-house, and also setting up some online advertising.
It's a real step into the unknown and bloody scary!
Head down for first 12m.
Best of luck with it. Fourteen years ago I gave up a well paid Directorship to go self employed. The stress relief was unbelievable not having to put up with all the corporate nonsense.
The wife and Father were far from impressed at the time with me having 2 mortgages and children to support. The first 6 months were tough and my son (10 at the time) wasn t impressed with his Dad going from a new Company BMW 5 Series to an auction purchased 3 year old Alfa 159.
The wife and Father were far from impressed at the time with me having 2 mortgages and children to support. The first 6 months were tough and my son (10 at the time) wasn t impressed with his Dad going from a new Company BMW 5 Series to an auction purchased 3 year old Alfa 159.
Edited by Rob 131 Sport on Wednesday 15th July 07:38
A 'lease' van will be expensive, to start off with get yourself a cheap old banger, look at a nice shinny van once you're established.
Important to keep costs down when running your own business, vehicle and tool costs, insurance, advertising, IT/subs/internet, accountant etc all add up, you can easily end up working a week a month to cover the costs.
Important to keep costs down when running your own business, vehicle and tool costs, insurance, advertising, IT/subs/internet, accountant etc all add up, you can easily end up working a week a month to cover the costs.
Remember, if in doubt it is a "business expense".
Unless anything has changed, if/when you register for VAT, the VAT can be reclaimed on stuff in stock at the time.
In the short term, don't be afraid to quote low - better to have a few extra hours to do than nothing at all - and then never be afraid to up your prices if things go well.
megaphone said:
A 'lease' van will be expensive, to start off with get yourself a cheap old banger, look at a nice shinny van once you're established.
Important to keep costs down when running your own business, vehicle and tool costs, insurance, advertising, IT/subs/internet, accountant etc all add up, you can easily end up working a week a month to cover the costs.
Very good advice as regards costs. Important to keep costs down when running your own business, vehicle and tool costs, insurance, advertising, IT/subs/internet, accountant etc all add up, you can easily end up working a week a month to cover the costs.
If you’re just working locally and doing under 15k miles per year, I would purchase a van outright (loan if required) rather than fall into the never ending lease trap. Provided the van is clean and presentable, for the type of work your doing a van that is 10 years old is perfectly acceptable.
My brother's approach when starting out was to focus on neatness and presentation.
Got an older van but it was silver not white. Kept it very clean, nice set of wheels on it, the whole town got to know the sight of him and knew he was busy doing work for customers.
Smart clothes - decent jeans and boots, always clean, not tradie cargo trousers and rigger boots.
Simple branding that looked smart on the van and on paper, a company name not formed from his initials.
Invoice well laid out, handed over in a sealed envelope with the customer's name hand written.
Basically the sort of person you'd be happy to invite into your house, not a dusty tradesman with a radio blasting.
Word got around that he did a job right, did it neatly, cleaned up after himself and was polite and professional.
May be useful, may not suit you at all! Good luck setting out anyway.
Got an older van but it was silver not white. Kept it very clean, nice set of wheels on it, the whole town got to know the sight of him and knew he was busy doing work for customers.
Smart clothes - decent jeans and boots, always clean, not tradie cargo trousers and rigger boots.
Simple branding that looked smart on the van and on paper, a company name not formed from his initials.
Invoice well laid out, handed over in a sealed envelope with the customer's name hand written.
Basically the sort of person you'd be happy to invite into your house, not a dusty tradesman with a radio blasting.
Word got around that he did a job right, did it neatly, cleaned up after himself and was polite and professional.
May be useful, may not suit you at all! Good luck setting out anyway.
If/when you get a van the first thing you need to do is take it somewhere that knows how to reinforce the doors & locks so it doesn't become a successful target for the tool stealing scum.
Sort out an accountant & a software package (eg Xero, but others are available) so they can guide you on how to operate more tax-efficiently. Get the wife trained up so you can pay her (saves tax) & maybe even have her as a director (pension contributions). Decide on VAT registration from the start - you can recover costs but will be 20% more expensive to customers.
Sort out an accountant & a software package (eg Xero, but others are available) so they can guide you on how to operate more tax-efficiently. Get the wife trained up so you can pay her (saves tax) & maybe even have her as a director (pension contributions). Decide on VAT registration from the start - you can recover costs but will be 20% more expensive to customers.
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