hello lads, been a while since i've posted. well after 6 and a half years of working with the company i've left and started fitting at another local firm. the manager at my old company was doing all of the fitters heads in(hasn't had any experiance of laying floors himself). so i decided to go to a smaller firm who have knowledge in the trade, the benefits are getting the saturday off, the downside at this new company which i've worked for, for 2 months now haven't gave me a payslip yet(im a bit of 'don't want to really go demanding something when im new, nobody else gets a payslip either) I thought you would have to by law, its just cash in hand, plus i have to drive to jobs in my own car and take materials(car not a van btw). so im thinking of going self employed and look for work round the area, i do alot of cashers and im well known plus got a few mates through the years who i know would help, im 24 so not long till insurance would go down when i turn 25 next august, got 3 points back in june mind you :-(. just wanting all you real experianced fitters if im making the right move, just got engaged and me and the missus looking for a place and shes trying 2 plan the wedding, everything happening at once haha. anybody whos read this i saulte and thank you. cheers x
I went on my own 2 years ago and have never looked ack and will never work on the cards for someone ever again, it's very hard at first some late night weekends chasing money but then there's the other side good money on some jobs customers that pay you when you finish time off when you want, etc make a list of everyone you know that may need your services you know plumbers builders developers etc then ask all family and friends if thy know any of above and send a letter to them explaining what you offer, try to see as many as you can face to face, I spent ( and still do ) hours on net searching for local builders letting agents plumbers and send letters to the then week later follow it up with a phone call, the last list I done I got 16 houses on one site to carpet from a developer, Google free ad listings aswell and get your name on as many as you can for Internet searches I've got around 60 free adverts on net and not paid for any advertising this year only down side is you normally get a phone call from listings trying to sell you premium ones but it gets easy saying no after a while good luck I you do decide to do it I always said I would try as never wanted to get to 60 and wonder if I could of had a better working life and regret not doing it
Does your mrs work mate. If so that's helps if you have quiet weeks. We have been going 14 years tomorrow and the last few I've been snowed under with work. Takes years to build up good contacts. But with my wife being a teacher then it wasn't too bad in the early days and her money covered the house bills etc. It's a gamble mate but worth taking IMO.
Also, if you're looking at buying your 1st house you need to get as much through the books as you can so you can get a decent mortgage. Downside is all the tax you'll pay.
get some leaflets printed and keep some in car and van if you see a house with scaffolding up or building site pop one through the door or pop in and see foreman With one I had 5000 made up for £30 a little expense but in my experience they work so worth it, it's amazing how many house conversions / sites you see when you look when diving from a to b
Sounds alot of work/stressfull but i suppose it would to start with in whatever you do. I've thought about doing my survival and trying to get something offshore but i like my job too much and being able to come home to your own bed etc. The missus does work at a local chip shop just now but not as much hourse as we'd like. Shes an operation soon and will be out of work for 6 weeks so we're snookerd for her till the new year really. The only positive is the hopefully the backing of my mum and dad. Dad runs his own buisness and would help me. Thanks so far guys you've been a big help
As for coming home to your own bed by the time you finish days work call in to do quick measure on way home get home unload van have some food listen to mrs talk rubbish for an hour spend another hour or two on here then start quote you just measured then back on here again check Facebook it's 1am before you realise so you won't see much of your bed or is that just me
Im from scotland I hardly use facebook anymore but i catch your drift haha. My dad has his own accountant to if that would be any help. Im sure my missus could help me aswell. My mum runs another family buisness too and id think shed be able to cut her hours eventually to help out
If you can get your mrs to email / print and post quotes and invoices that helps a lot I normaly scribble some prices down along with job description etc during day when stop for fag then give it to mrs to sort out on computer, but sometimes have to do it myself that takes a lot of time, sounds like your family know all obout family businesses which will help a lot, sounds like you thought about it a bit I thouGht about it for over a year before I took the plunge, like I was told if it all goes wrong you still have a van and can do many fill in jobs delivery / rubbish Clarence small removals etc until you get back on your feet and start again,
All good info here guys thanks alot. Whats ur opinions on van sharing with a mate and doin it as a team? My dad says no go as can lead to fall outs etc. Im just a big panicker and afraid to take the giant leap haha
It can be awkward as if one of you has a cock up and costs the other some money maybe very quiet in the van and spending a lot of time with some one can lead to fall outs I would say be on your own to start with and double up if needed and see how it goes it's easyer to double up with a mate later down the line than ditch him to go off on your own
Depends on who's van it is. They'll have to take more share to pay for van wear/tear etc i wouldve thought Ive never shared so only speculating. if you get on with the guy then cant see why not?
