Employed/Self Employed?

[van hire leeds]

Evaluate yourself. Find your abilities & challenge yourself. You can be self employed if you grab opportunities & be bold & brave in taking risks. Take decisions practically knowing about your inner talents.

 

[lukeallen88]

I am employed at the moment. Ive done a couple of jobs SE but i am finding it hard to go fully SE as at the moment i know when my next pay is.

 

[carl9254]

Been self employed since nov 2009, first 6 months was slow establishing a customer base but been busy since, love it!! if your willing to work hard and your good at it, it will work, never looked back since!!

 

[HSEGovJobs]

If choosing the self employed route, take care. Dont just leap in. I am familiar with so many cases where such a brash move resulted in losing income, a home....etc.

Its not wise to leave your role for a life of freelancing right away if
a) you have not evaluated your saleable skills. What market will you provide services to, and how competitive?
b) you have not laid out a business plan of action showing how you will find clients
c) you have no back up funding or savings
d) you are unable to manage your time efficiently without supervision
e) you have outstanding debts

Instead, plan a date for when you know the above is not you. Then you will succeed.

That said, I am also aware of people who took a leap of faith and just sacked their boss, and woke up self-employed the next day, and landed on their feet. These are circumstances where that person had a strong skillset that was both needed and selling PLUS they were able to pick up business skills quickly.

 

[madmac]

Nothing wrong in being self employed if you are a proper business, whether that be a one man band or a dozen men!
The big problem in the electrical industry right now is bogus self employment that the agencies and companies are using to get around direct employment and the national working rules!
The Govt. needs to stop this practice immediately and get guys paying proper tax and contributions and also the peace of mind of having a full time cards in job!!!

 

[nick182]

i dont want to be self employed. I want to be working for a company getting a nice salary every week and not worry about the tax man or accounts etc.... but no one wants to take me on. Ive sent out some emails to local electricians for unpaid work experience but all i get is the same response.. "how much practical work have u done?" "ive done a few jobs here and there while working for myself" "sorry not enough work at the moment"

ill get a response if im lucky.

 

[Alexander Elec]

I have been self employed for about 10 months now and from my experience its about who you know and not neccessarily what you know. I have been lucky as i was introduced to a newly formed solar pv company who sub me as their electrician for their jobs, they covered all the costs for my MCS registration . from there i have come into contact with several builders and have secured most of my work through word of mouth. I am at a point now where i am having to pass work to friends who are also in the trade and get them to help me with my workload.

The Hard part is as previously stated, making the first contact and crossing that first hurdle. Having some savings to back you up is advisable to cover any unexpected costs and quiet periods. Business cards are by far the best way to spread your name.

I would definately encourage self employment for anyone who has the right frame of mind and self discipline is a must .

Good Luck to anyone who is considering taking the leap!

Alexander Electrical Solutions
NAPIT Approved Installer, working in and around the Fylde Coast area of the North West.

 

[Umeme_ajabu]

So what I have grasped from this is it requires a lot of hard work, time and effort to become self employed. Is it fair to say you get out what you put in?

What Im wondering is what do I need to become self employed?

What are the minimum level of qualifications needed? For example, I only have the standard NVQ 3, ECS and 17th edition. Would I need to get 2391 or could I just fill out unofficial test sheets (as I do with my current employer).
Is it possible to obtain a grant or business loan in order to buy tools, van etc? Especially since testing equipment can be very expensive.
Has anyone here, or does anyone here know of anybody who made a decent living being self employed without having any capital or money saved up at the start?

p.s. Is asbestos awareness essential for working in houses? I have passed the course required to work on the london underground which did cover asbestos but I dont know if this counts with most domestic employers...

 

[lukeallen88]

Hi i am currently employed and I also do work for myself when ever people phone so its fair to say i havent yet thrown my all into becoming self employed but eventually would like to make the leap of faith I suppose there is always pros and cons to being self employed for example youve got no one but yourself to answer to but at the same time you wont get paid holiday or sick pay. as for the asbestos in my opinion i dont think there is ever dangerous levels of it in a domestic enviroment i might be wrong but i dont think it is essential to have passed courses on asbestos awareness. I am lucky enough to have a friend that has his own business in asbestos removal so any queries i put to him.

 

[MilesSparks]

I'm looking at going self employed this year. Are there any decent books/websites that anyone can recommend ?

 

[Octopus]

I'm looking at going self employed this year. Are there any decent books/websites that anyone can recommend ?

The first thing you should do, before taking the plunge, is work out all the different things you will need to buy to start up. Think of as much as you can and then put a cost to each and every item.

Don't using ebay prices, use new prices so if and when you take the plunge, and you can buy something 2nd hand, it will be saving you money.

Don't be surprised if the total is above £5K

 

[Top Cat]

I've been self emplyed for 21 years
A one man band working mainly from word of mouth contacts
Its freedom to start and finish as you please
Thats the one self satisfying all encompassing reason that its better than being a number on a payroll
The downside is that money can be like a rollercoaster,sometimes way above what you get employed,but also sometimes, money recieved compares with the third world

Holidays,what are they?
Security,what is that?
Finish at 5 pm When was that ?
Weekends, forget work till monday.Is that so?

Even given the downside,I could never see myself doing a proper job

Just about somes up self employment.
Been self employed for 28 years and the last2 have been the hardest!

I am probably unenployabe now, if a 20 something told me what to do i may tel him where to shove it!

 

[supasparxs]

Just about somes up self employment.
Been self employed for 28 years and the last2 have been the hardest!

I am probably unenployabe now, if a 20 something told me what to do i may tel him where to shove it!

Like most here, I've been self employed (sub contract work mainly) for most of my working life
however for a change I've manage to get a job on the cards.
but £25k plus bonus is crap for the experience and qualifications I have
I'm working as a tester

 

[Darkwood]

My 3rd yr of self employment, do machines, control panels, breakdowns etc not been effected too much by the economic dip as i dont do house bashing but still been hard building customer base, think im there now and hopefully because i started in a dip then things can only get better

 

[Misselectrix]

Have just finished training so in the process of making this decision. Devlin some great ideas on getting started being SE may give it a go. It is my preferred option as this was half the reason for retraining.

 

[robsparky1975]

I am just going through my 1st years trading and it is not good reading,in fact i would of earned more stacking shelves,could be selling the van,testers,etc all soon as i cant carry on like this,dont want to be off putting to anyone but it does cost to set up and get established,you need money to make money,alas i have none left.

 

[Octopus]

I am just going through my 1st years trading and it is not good reading,in fact i would of earned more stacking shelves,could be selling the van,testers,etc all soon as i cant carry on like this,dont want to be off putting to anyone but it does cost to set up and get established,you need money to make money,alas i have none left.

You have such positive threads, surely you can't give up so soon!

On a thread a few months back, I suggested that the first years aim should be to make a profit, and a profit could simply be £1.00 - everybody considering going self employed needs to realise that it could take 2 - 4 years to make a "salary" and should budget accordingly.

 

[robsparky1975]

Me positive threads,thanks murdoch,im willowing in self pity,perhaps i need to watch braveheart to get the fire back in my belly,i think i need to give it more time as you say rome was not built in a day,more effort required.

 

[nick182]

you should try coming up with a different game plan... some sort of strategy! Have you tried letting agents? i know exactly how u feel but u gotta hang in there n not give up. Where theres a will. theres a way... apparently...

 

[nick182]

around about 1 of 5 commercial premises have dodgy lighting.. anyone else noticed this as they walk down the street? I did.. popped my card in the door on my way to the post office next day i got a call.. a week later im up £1500.. U just have to pick ur targets really well..

forget rated people... just get the address off the website and leaflet drop the whole street.. that works well on empty weeks i have nothin on... try that!