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cagedanimal2010
1st step towards my own company, i left my job yesterday!!! now im slightly craping myself!
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jpmiff
Well done,Good look and all the best
OP
nickblake
dont Crap your self it will be the best thing youve ever done i did it 3 years ago when the company i worked for went bust , not done any advertising , and ive not stopped the biggest problem you will have is knowing when to stop working all hours im doing 6 days a week at the mo as i had a school contract during the summer and im still trying to catch up
any way good luck
any way good luck
OP
garyinderby
As Nickblake said, take a chill pill, started up myself last year and feet havnt hit the ground since. will say dont be tempted to work all week as you will need time out.
Anyway best of luck and keep us all in the loop as always great to see how guys are doing.
Gary
Anyway best of luck and keep us all in the loop as always great to see how guys are doing.
Gary
OP
J@mes
Good luck! I am jealous as I don't have the balls to do it!
OP
peterb2428
1st step towards my own company, i left my job yesterday!!! now im slightly craping myself!
Hi,
Congrats on having the balls to go it alone - are you going ltd or sole trader as if your looking to work for companies they like the ltd but it's an individual choice really.
I left work as you and it's been fine
Good luck and as others have said don't worry too much as it will work out
ste mac
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All the best for your new business.
I did the same three years ago, but a career change as well. Massively daunting at first, but I have never looked back.
15 years as a mechanic & auto-electrician. The company I used to work for sent me on a C&G 2377 PAT testing course, and whilst I was there I enquired about other courses and a career as a domestic electrician. I then enroled on a EAL Domestic Installer Course & then a C&G2382 BS7671 2008. I got some experience with a local spark and have been happily self employed for 3 years.
I did the same three years ago, but a career change as well. Massively daunting at first, but I have never looked back.
15 years as a mechanic & auto-electrician. The company I used to work for sent me on a C&G 2377 PAT testing course, and whilst I was there I enquired about other courses and a career as a domestic electrician. I then enroled on a EAL Domestic Installer Course & then a C&G2382 BS7671 2008. I got some experience with a local spark and have been happily self employed for 3 years.
OP
BlueToBits
Good luck.
I did it 25 years ago and would never go back. The most important things I have found to watch out for are :
It is just as important to be a thorough at the buisness side as it is to be thorough a the electrical bit.
If the deal doesn't sound right, look right or smell right, it usually isn't. Walk away, or at least double or triple your price to make it worth the grief .
Don't under-sell yourself just to win work. It's really depressing to have to work extra hard knowing you are losing money whilst doing it, and you can't sustain it for very long.
Sell yourself on how good you are and the value you offer, not on how cheap you are. It's much harder moving up market than down market, so don't start off in the gutter. Someone will always under-cut you no matter what your price. As long as you are not in cloud cuckoo land you will get the work you really want because the client wants you, not the other guy. What would you pay for a set of VDE screwdrivers £1.99, £19.99 or £99.99? I bet you would pay over £30.00 if you liked the look of them. If the client is determined to get the absolute lowest price, let someone else do it. Don't allow yourself to be drawn into a Dutch auction. He will probably complain at the end of the job anyhow.
Do the sums before you quote. Don't forget to include costs for your van, busness insurance, advertising, tax, office materials, subs etc.
Cash is king and declare every penny you earn with pride. We all know someone who has fallen foul of the tax man. If you can't do it legit, you won't last long and you will never sleep soundly. The taxman's bite is much worse than his bark.
I find that not asking for a deposit but insisting on full payment on completion works best for domestic jobs.
If you are a subbie for another contractor, remember you are just a tool to him. He has plenty of others in his tool box and if it's in his interests to abuse one, he will. If he misses one interim payment and won't write a cheque then and there, he is either suffering cash flow problems or has no intention of ever paying. Either way, the longer you stay on site, the less likely you are to see any money.
Be very wary of Ltd companies, particularly in the current climate. You have virtually no recourse if they go under, either by misfortune or on purpose. The owner can walk away from all his company's debts almost totally unscathed and start up again with a clean slate the next day, leaving you and everyone else the company owes out to dry.
Cash-flow is the usual killer. Watch what you spend as eagerly as what you collect.
There are very few that never advertise. Look at how many adverts there are in your local yellow pages. Big adverts are not always big companies. Spend your advertising budget where everyone else does and ignore all the telesales calls.
Spread your self around. 10 small clients is better than 1 big one.
I did it 25 years ago and would never go back. The most important things I have found to watch out for are :
It is just as important to be a thorough at the buisness side as it is to be thorough a the electrical bit.
If the deal doesn't sound right, look right or smell right, it usually isn't. Walk away, or at least double or triple your price to make it worth the grief .
Don't under-sell yourself just to win work. It's really depressing to have to work extra hard knowing you are losing money whilst doing it, and you can't sustain it for very long.
Sell yourself on how good you are and the value you offer, not on how cheap you are. It's much harder moving up market than down market, so don't start off in the gutter. Someone will always under-cut you no matter what your price. As long as you are not in cloud cuckoo land you will get the work you really want because the client wants you, not the other guy. What would you pay for a set of VDE screwdrivers £1.99, £19.99 or £99.99? I bet you would pay over £30.00 if you liked the look of them. If the client is determined to get the absolute lowest price, let someone else do it. Don't allow yourself to be drawn into a Dutch auction. He will probably complain at the end of the job anyhow.
Do the sums before you quote. Don't forget to include costs for your van, busness insurance, advertising, tax, office materials, subs etc.
Cash is king and declare every penny you earn with pride. We all know someone who has fallen foul of the tax man. If you can't do it legit, you won't last long and you will never sleep soundly. The taxman's bite is much worse than his bark.
I find that not asking for a deposit but insisting on full payment on completion works best for domestic jobs.
If you are a subbie for another contractor, remember you are just a tool to him. He has plenty of others in his tool box and if it's in his interests to abuse one, he will. If he misses one interim payment and won't write a cheque then and there, he is either suffering cash flow problems or has no intention of ever paying. Either way, the longer you stay on site, the less likely you are to see any money.
Be very wary of Ltd companies, particularly in the current climate. You have virtually no recourse if they go under, either by misfortune or on purpose. The owner can walk away from all his company's debts almost totally unscathed and start up again with a clean slate the next day, leaving you and everyone else the company owes out to dry.
Cash-flow is the usual killer. Watch what you spend as eagerly as what you collect.
There are very few that never advertise. Look at how many adverts there are in your local yellow pages. Big adverts are not always big companies. Spend your advertising budget where everyone else does and ignore all the telesales calls.
Spread your self around. 10 small clients is better than 1 big one.
OP
SDELEC
yeh, good luck!
OP
cagedanimal2010
cheers guys much appreciated that im not the only one!!
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