Hi all, bit of info on myself before i start posting, my names owen hynes im just in the middle of starting my own business ( most types of flooring ), from liverpool, your all probably suprised to hear that i am 18 years old, i am optimistic as you have probably already worked out haha, i completed my flooring diploma level 2 at st helens college, but to be honest it wasnt the best place to go as i started there the same year the course started and everything was upside down as the place they used it was an empty old factory for scs sofas, so that meant the first half a year doing designs of vinyl tiles on a 1m square board whilst the bays where built by the joiner apprentices! extremely frustrating, but once we got cracking on the proper floors, we got all our supplies free off karndean and laybond, so was working with mostly karndean and a bit of amtico for the duration of the course, obviously did sheet vinyl carpet etc, also worked for whiston carpets for 6 months, so finished college in june last year then just friends and family started asking me to various floors for them which they were over the moon with then suddenly my name was getting passed around to other people, then before i new it i was working on average about 4 days per week, thats when i decided to start my own business within the next few weeks. ive actually been on this site a few days and seen matt and wood you like that are also on another forum that a joined some time ago, ive probably been through all the threads on this site already and got a lot good tips, yes i have got a life haha, but call me sad but that means im serious about what im doing and i absolutely love everything to do with flooring, i think to myself sometimes will i have respect if i join these sites cause of all the experience you guys have? but obviously im not going to give out advice im more looking to gain advice and tips from all the experience on here, ill probably posting a lot hope you dont get bored of answering my questions haha!, also buying from rugrats shop!, if you have actually took the time out to read that thankyou its much appreciated take care owen
Hi mate and welcome. Well to start with im sure we would all appreaciate your input answering some posts. Age has nothing to do with it. To be fair we have a few old chaps on here that like to hear from the younger crowd of 'new' methods etc that have come out since they was trained. By the sounds of it you may be the person to give us lot of hints and tips. Obviously you cant take away from the older crowd the expearence they have, but without the younger users telling us about the new things they have been shown we all get stuck in the past! Anyway, what forum have you come accross me and woody before on?
I am going to support Matt in what he has said about you and for you,it will be nice to have up-to-the minute views on whats new in the flooring industry.Looking forward to your input mate .
Hi Owen! Never to young to learn I always say ;-) (Or am I getting old and is it the other way around?) Any wooden floors in your port-folio yet?
best of luck matt. A very tough time to start out. I used to be base in liverpool myself for our wood flooring importing business.
Thanks for the welcome lads much appreciated, yeah matt sure, ill do anything to help, saying that the tutor we had in college was almost 60 (nothing wrong with the age) an had been off the tools for 12 years so he was the first to admit he wasnt 'upto scratch' with the latest methods etc obviously not his fault but that were darren comes in, darren had his own business had a few people working for him aswell, he came in once a week and worked closely with myself and another lad there, to be honest there was only me an him that were serious about becoming a quality floorlayer just like himself, he himself taught me a hell of a lot more in 6 months than i did in my whole course with my tutor! So really picked up a lot of tips and methods off him, totally invaluable info! An i always say its because of him i am were i am now, he pushed me to do a lot more difficult stuff compared to all the other trainees there, the only thing is didnt have enough time to teach me how to do bending borders , looks fantastic in bathrooms having looked at the pictures some of you have posted on here, anyway enough of another one of my essays haha, thanks for reading again lads Ps.. Matt it was diynot forum i seen you an woody on mate Yeah i have wood you like ill post them up very soon Take care Owen
Lookin forward to seeing more posts from you Owen.Maybe some photos of your work that might be of interest to us old-uns.
best of luck owen, im real serious about this job too, im 22 and started in 2006, i work for a company 8-5 but most week nights im out and about doing the old "cash in hand" method i've thought long and hard about going self employed but i still live with parents and to put it quite boldly im to afraid to go for it, i also buy tools from rugrats shop, not bad gear if i say so myself, anyways hope all goes well for you mate
Thanks ronbaldo, to be honest i am myself a bit afraid to go into business but its what ive always wanted so i guess its now or never, even though im still young i would rather do it now than later on in life, do you do all flooring mate or just specific types ?
Hope you don't mind me saying this Ronbaldo, but to me it seems you have a ready client base - sure they all want to refer you to neighbours, friends, family? And still living with your parents could be a great advantage too - low overheads? It's as Owen says: it might be now or never, security is no longer always to be found in 8 - 5 jobs working for others.
I like the vulnerability and the naivety of the "young uns" but also on a stronger note the enthusiasm and the shall i-shant i approach int to the minefield,wilderness and the flippin jungle that the older set go home at night on numerous occasions and say,"why the heck do i put up with this lot!.All id like to say is keep coming on here and enjoy it cos it aint a bad trade to be in. :ugeek: :idea: :shock:
Ill have to second that what woodyoulike said about security of the 8-5 jobs, as ive mentioned i worked with whiston carpets for 6 months which i had to leave because of lack of work unfortunately.
i lay carpets, vinyl, laminate and karndean, layed a few safety flooring but im not overly confident, i could do it but id take my time 2 make sure i done it right, as ive said where i work its just a watch and learn, no courses or that. its a brilliant trade, thers always goin 2 be someone who needs a floor layed at some point yes guys living with mummy and daddy still has the advantages i suppose(minus taking a bird home at the weekend, cough haha) if i ever had 2 leave workplace(paid off or other reasons) im sure i could find work elsewhere in the trade
hey up Owen thanks for the kind words about me coming in and helping you achieve you the skills you have today yep i must agree you were probably the best young floor layer i have come across in a long time always asking questions and always wanting to learn just a shame the tutor was such an idiot otherwise i would of been there all year with you's cheers Darren.
