Both of us self-employed..is it a good idea?

elly-spendaholic

Hi, I am usually found on some of the other boards, but wondered what you thought to this idea.

I am self employed and have been for over 3 years. I earn quite a steady income (although I do have 'scary' moments where I can be quiet for a day or two..)My OH is employed and has been at the same company for 10 years. Before this he had his own business that he gave up as he was fed up of having to work 7 days a week.

My OH is at his wits end with his job at the moment, he gets treated badly and its over 40 miles away each day which is dragging him down. He has thought of a great business idea and would like to set up and work for himself again. He is concerned that a. if he leaves his job he would be walking out on 10 years service, and b. because I am already self employed he is worried about a definite set monthly wage not coming into the house anymore.

Do you think he should go for it, or we would be better off with a set monthly income? Just wondering how we would be affected if we wanted a loan or finance of some kind? I know banks don't look to kindly on the self employed...any advice would be great x

paddyrg

'Better off' takes many forms, only you know if your lifestyle is worth the extra risk

PlutoinCapricorn

Would it be possible for him to start the self employed business alongside his job and build up gradually, then leave if and when he is up and running?

Finding the time might be a problem, as might tiredness and restrictions in his contract of employment.

Savvy_Sue

Well, obviously there are risks with both of you being self-employed. But then there are risks when both of you are employed - we get threads from people who've been made redundant / had to leave because of ill health and had the same happen to their partner within the space of a few weeks.

So, if it's the kind of business which won't need a 7 day week commitment (at least once it's established), then why not?

Yes, it may make getting loans or a mortgage more difficult, but you have a track record. So are you planning anything which means you want a loan or mortgage?

It would definitely be worth building up a buffer before he resigns. For all sorts of reasons ...

elly-spendaholic

Thanks for the replies..yes i think we will go down the route of him going self employed, i know it will make him a lot happier in the long run. Its a good idea to get it up and running before he leaves work so he can walk straight in to his new business. We have no plans for any loans at the moment so guess we shouldnt worry about the banks. Thanks guys x

paddyrg

Good choice! It WILL be scary at times, but being happy is so worth it. May be worth cutting back on spending for a couple of weeks as a trial upfront before cutting the cords - if you can prove to yourselves that you can live on potatoes and smiles for a week or two you will feel less afraid knowing that in the worst circumstances you can still stay alive!

PlutoinCapricorn

There is also the question of what exactly is wrong with the existing job apart from the commuting - can anything be done about to improve things? Could he arrange to work one day per week from home - I know some employees who do this.

elly-spendaholic

We already looked into his existing job to see if he could make it better in any way..his bosses are horrible and have cut his section to a couple of people but still expect the same work output as when there was 6 of them- they told him that they want to close the section down but can't legally do it, so are just being very demanding so they leave lol! He works in the car trade so isn't able to work from home unfortunately. He has wanted to set something up for himself for a long time now, but has been too scared to take the plunge! We already stick to a tight budget as we are paying extra on some debt so should be able to manage while he starts up.

I'm quite looking forward to this new chapter in our lives! X

PlutoinCapricorn

It seems that the decision has been made!

It does seem that the job cannot be salvaged. What are the chances of a redundancy payment - I understand that you should never mention this to the employer but 10 years' service should count for something.

The best aspect is that he has experience of being self employed so knows what it can entail.

paddyrg

Redundancy payment is a good idea - if they want to shut the section but can't, why not say 'Hey - I'll go quietly if you pay me off' - then put half of that against your debts and keep the other half on-hand as a cash buffer (always useful for self-employed work!)