Bricklayer going self employed

rictus123

Exactly as the title suggests, withen 12 months il have done my skills test and be a fully qualified bricklayer :j At my place of work im on an hourly rate, due to go up next month as i go into my 4th and final year. Il be sitting my skills test before next summer(turning 20 in the summer)

The builders i work with do less hours than me and are on a price, making almost 3 times as much as i currently do. A good price, however, im looking at putting in all the hours in when the good weathers here(times like now) but i wont be forced to work when its minus 3(ie, when you are not supposed to build!)

So i think il have to leave and fly solo! I did a homer not long ago and charged £18 an hour to build a conservatory, this included putting in the concrete and backfilling it plus putting in the solum concrete. Out of 6 people giving a price i was told(after i did the job) the second cheapest the customer could get was £35 an hour, so he gave me a bit more as a bonus. Now if i was to have a basic rate of £25 an hour even, starting out, on an average 65 hour week that would be a take home of £1k a week...anyone care to check this?

Now for some more questions, how do i go about starting self employed? Just get my advert on the local builders merchants calenders, adverts in local papers, get my advert in the yellow pages and kindly let satisfied customers know im starting out and needing word of mouth to help me out? Id get a picture portfollio going as i progressed through my jobs and would get all the refrences i could. I have a solid relationship with a self employed joiner, slabber(i could do slabbing though), you name it really, i know someone in ever line of work i could vouch for and vice versa.

Now for tools/equipment. Obviously cement mixer would be handy, along with a workvan/lorry(might be hard to insure a lorry though at 20!) plus get a trailer and scaffolding. Look to get a mini digger/forklift but could always ask the gfs dad for a lend as he has both! Look to hire then eventually buy my own and work my way up. Other things id get would be samples of bricks/block and materials to show customers. Anything obvious im missing?


Before all of this i take it id have to registar a limited company(just me on the books) and get myself sorted for the tax bill and NI contributions id have to make....anything else on these lines i need to think of? Get an accountant from the off?

Now just any advice, anything helpful is really appreciated!

Sorry for the long post but surely it just shows how seriously im taking all of this! I know it may seem a while off(12 months or so at least) however im getting started now, head in the right books and getting the info i need so i dont miss a thing when the right time comes.
It seems a bit of a dream right now but im going to make it happen, theres nothing i want more. Thanks for any help/pointers.

DCFC79

You say about buying scaffolding but would it not be cheaper to rent it as and when you need it

rictus123

DCFC79 wrote: »

You say about buying scaffolding but would it not be cheaper to rent it as and when you need it

Well i might rent it when i need it then eventually buy if going solo works out. How much is it to rent scaffolding as opposed to buying it? Much better in the long run to buy it surely.

The figures i quoted, yes they are maybe me looking at things through my rose tinted glasses but thats a figure id like to be at on year 2. Starting out i could get by on very little salary for myself, just enough to cover expenses for the first 6 months- then id look to getting as much work as i could, putting my name out there. My expenses every month are about £400 so divide that by £20 an hour thats just 60 hours or so a month(guessing) to get £400 a month after tax and NI. 60 hours a month is just 15 a week, im pretty sure as long as i always have a job to go to il be fine moneywise.

alunharford

rictus123 wrote: »

Out of 6 people giving a price i was told(after i did the job) the second cheapest the customer could get was £35 an hour, so he gave me a bit more as a bonus. Now if i was to have a basic rate of £25 an hour even, starting out, on an average 65 hour week that would be a take home of £1k a week...anyone care to check this?

The first rule of being self employed is to get your rate right. If the going rate is £35ph then there is no need to throw away £80 per day - charge £35 (or maybe £32 if you want to undercut the competition).

Unfortunately, whilst I think you've underestimated what you can charge, you've also seriously underestimated your costs. The reason they charge £35ph is "that's what it costs".

Just running a business costs about £1000 per year (accountant, stationary, phone bills etc - it all adds up).

You'll also need professional indemnity insurance (in case stuff you build falls over), public liability insurance (in case it falls over onto somebody) and to set up a limited company (in case the insurance doesn't cover it). I expect that'll cost you another £1000 per year (but it could be 2-3k - you'd need to get a quote).

Remember that the VAT man will take about 15% of your money away from you.

And some of your customers won't pay (but you'll still have to pay the VAT man!)

You won't spend all your time working on stuff you can bill for - advertising, invoicing and handling the business side of things takes time too.

inmypocketnottheirs

Def get an accountant from the start.