Hi guys.. Ive been employed by a flooring firm for the last 6 or 7 years ....cap n cove ...carpet ...lvts etc etc ....love my work and do pretty well on the whole...thinkin of going self employed and want an honest impartial opinion on whether or not its the right thing to do.. Reason being is that im worth more than im bein paid ..it not the firm or the job..its the poxy basic wage..advise ?
let us know what you getting paid, your location and what's generally expected of you in a typical day / week etc
Erm its a difficult one this. I've worked on my own for past 7 years. Have a website and and get alot of recommendations too. It took quite a while to build it up. Could you not subby a couple of days a week and do your own the rest while you build it up. Must admit was doing a day a week of carpets for shop recently but sacked it off after 4 months. Everything was can you do me a favour and we'll get you lots of LVT work which I had a 1 decent job and 2 crappy ones. I was helping them with info as well because the salesman doesn't know his arse from his elbow where lvts and prep work are concerned. Sent me to screed and fit a job in new extension with no windows and wet concrete!!!! Wtf. I digress though. Do you get a van, holiday pay, regular money? Might be worth staying if you do. Not always easy on your own.
Flat week 350..in merseyside....last week for an example 300m carpet tiles with some prep and a 30m capncove kitchen full screed 2 of us on it 4 days. 5th day 6mm ply n lay 40 m flatlay polysafe..again 2 of us.. work differs every week .
If you did that meterage for yourself you'd be loaded ! But going it alone means you must generate your own work which is not easy ? To start the amount of work you can expect to generate is 0m2 & you'll end up subbing for not much more than your on now but will have to pay out for everything your self like van fuel ect. Not trying to put you off just saying you'll really have to pull your finger out & it takes time to build a reputation & contacts to generate the amount of work needed.
Is that £350 gross or net, please tell us net?!! Either way you'll have pretty much covered ur weeks wage with the carpet tiles.
How long did it take you guys who supply & fit to build up your work load and contacts enough not to have to subby? did you stay subbing and build your work gradually ?
I've worked for myself for about 10 yrs & I still do some sub work but that's because I've subbed to them for along time & get good jobs & rates from them. I'm do mostly my own work though & I'm getting busier all the time. You'll get out what you put in !
Ive been self employed 3 and half years roughly now. At first all was subby work. Now its 70% my own, 30% sub and getting better. The best contact I have is an estate agent which generates a lot of work. But the bloke I sub for has helped me get to where I am so I will always help him when I can.
Self employed 33 years, 26 years only fitting what I sell, transition from subbing to selling about 3 months
Its hard out there. Ive been self employedfor over 25 yrs if you dont get any jobs you dont have any money simple .maybe ask for a rise.
If speak to the shop you work for. If your making them the money you say they will increase your pay instead of let you go. At the shop I'm at we usually take an apprentice. They get an hourly rate around minimum wage. Once there good enough and confident enough they get there own van and tool and get paid by the meter. If it's a good shop they know there no point in having an unhappy fitter. So off your good enough I'm sure they would in erase your pay as that's pretty low.
We have all been at this point, you train up or you train someone, you always think you are better than you are, and they always consider you the boy, they don't realise your turning into a man, and need more money, just as LVTman said, talk with them and explain, a good shop will want to keep you, and if they can't afford you then sometimes you just have to move on, Lots of times you will go elsewhere and be treated as a fitter, just depends how good you actually are, If you go elsewhere be honest and don't bull***t , say your improver and your be paid accordingly, I get a lot telling me they are the dogs and have done everything, but in reality they didn't have a clue, especially on the contract side, Getting work all week is the problem, your get days hear and there, but even large shops have difficulty keeping fitters employed all the time,
Just go for it mate, I make much more money working for myself than I ever did as a subby. I don't fit every day, I have a lot more time on my hands as a one man band, and I take my holidays when I want. When I was subbying I could barely afford the bills, and holidays were in Yarmouth in sh1tty little caravans alongside dole scum. Since i've gone on my own I've bought the wife a new car, I'll be getting a new van this year, and we're just back from a nice family holiday in Florida, and planning for another one next year. It's hard at first, but if you've got got a few quid to tide you over (or a Dad who'll loan you a couple of grand as I had), you'll be ok. DON'T die wondering mate.
