Tradesman - Giving up employment to become self employed

penny_pitstop

My boyfriend is currently employed full time as a Carpenter but has been toying with the idea of going self employed for a while now.
He has just been offered 8 weeks work at double the pay he currently gets. After the 8 weeks he would have to look for more work.
Anyone who knows the trade will understand this is generally how it works, moving from site to site - where ever the work is.
He is unhappy where he is but worried about making that jump.
We have been looking into buying a property but will put that on hold fir a few years and continue to rent if he goes self employed.

I'd love opinions/input from Anyone who is or who has been in a similar situation.

nickj_2

if he thinks he can get enough site work then that will be great , however you may find there are times when there is no work and you will need smaller private jobs to fill in . word of mouth recommendation is king for this ,
you haven't said what part of the country you live in but where i live, people on the whole are having extensions done to their houses rather than moving so there are plenty of smaller jobs going .and people who are moving will want stuff done , also there's quite a demand for small jobs which most people don't want to do , i have a plumber friend who only does stuff like repairing leaks , changing washers , loo seats ... he doesn't do any jobs that take more than a day and he makes a good living as most plumbers only want the big stuff like bathrooms , central heating etc , they don't want the hassle of changing a washer
your boyfriend needs to get his name known to local people where you live , i did this by getting involved with loads of village groups where i live , this has paid great divivdends , i went from working for just one major contractor to having more than enough work from private customers to keep me busy , if you are good at your job and reasonably priced you will get work as long as you're in the right place

phill99

You need to remember there are a lot of downsides to self employment. There is no sick pay, no pension, no holiday pay, no guarantee of work, no one to pay for repairs to the van when it breaks down, no pay of the job is rained off etc.

Your BF may have been offered twice the money to do a job for 8 weeks, but that doesn't mean he will earn twice as much. From his income he has to set money aside for tax, pay a pension, pay for a van, it's upkeep and running costs, his mobile phone, accountancy fees, indemnity insurance, advertising. Then he has to find time to do quotes for customers, type them up, raise and send invoices, keep his books.

Now he comes in from work and his time is his own. But with self employment you never finish. You will always have people calling you (I've had people call me at 10.30 on a Saturday night before) and there at always books to keep etc.

Plus there is the cash flow. Your BF will get his money each week regardless. If he is sub contracting, he might be on 30 day payment terms or even 60 days with some large contractors. That means you do the work but you won't see any money for it for 2 months. In the meantime you still have to pay your mortgage, council tax, diesel, insurances. And occasionally eat.

pinetree

As other posters have said there are pro's and con's. It used to be not sure now but to get a mortgage as self employed you needed to show 3 years books, so I would advise getting an accountant (if your OH does go self employed) as ours really helped when we needed our mortgage. Think ahead of all your options and be prepared, best wishes

BobQ

penny_pitstop wrote: »

My boyfriend is currently employed full time as a Carpenter but has been toying with the idea of going self employed for a while now.
He has just been offered 8 weeks work at double the pay he currently gets. After the 8 weeks he would have to look for more work.
Anyone who knows the trade will understand this is generally how it works, moving from site to site - where ever the work is.
He is unhappy where he is but worried about making that jump.
We have been looking into buying a property but will put that on hold fir a few years and continue to rent if he goes self employed.

I'd love opinions/input from Anyone who is or who has been in a similar situation.

In this kind of business your BF needs to be able to quickly build up a client base and have some savings to fall back on if in the short terms he does not have work.

If he is working full time for one firm for 8 weeks when will he have the opportunity to develop such a client base? Might be better to have the same 8 weeks work over 16 weeks and spend the rest of the time looking for other work, networking, posting circulars offering his services etc. A better option might be to team up with other tradesmen who can often pass on work to each other when its outside their field.

unclebulgaria

I'm self employed and the biggest mistake I made when I took the leap was underestimating my start up fund. I allowed for £5000, this would have sufficed 10 years ago but wasn't nearly enough to cover days/weeks without work and being cheated out of labour payment by a dodgy builder who saw me coming! If he has a van/tools already that's half the battle. Getting your name around and building a client base is another, getting paid on time can be a headache. One of the biggest pluses is having a supportive partner ready to listen and give advice because even though he'll be self employed it will affect you both in more ways than you can imagine.
P.s. I have loved working for myself, just found the stress a little hard to shoulder sometimes hence the supportive partner tip.
Good luck.

MummyMummy_2

The only way he will know if the grass is actually greener is to give it a go. Obviously hes got to consider what everybody else has already said (ie no holiday pay, sick pay, only getting paid when you actually do work, dealing with customers and their complaints on your own etc etc) but on the otherside his hours are dictated by him (to a point of course as again no work means no money), he sets his own prices, he has control over how he works/runs his business and there is the potential to earn more as he wouldnt be earning a set salary.

Is there no way he can keep his full time job and build up his own business in his spare time? I know its not ideal and i do think to really give somthing your best shot youve got to put your everything into it (and im sure having ptentially no money to pay your bills will make him get out there and actually get business) but i appreciate security is important. The more you put in the more you get out of being self employed, i always get the impression that people think customers/clients are just gonna come flocking in as soon as they tell the tax people they are self employed. If only it worked like that!

Can he afford to go self employed? I mean does he have money for the tools/equipment needed, the insurance, the vehicle hell need to Carry all his work equipment around in, the signage for the vehicle, the design for his website/business cards/flyers (before of course you pay out for them to actually be printed), the money for a seperate business phone (those you dont have a seperate line i think are craaazy haha never ever would i have clients/customers phoning my private number at all hours), a uniform etc etc. I personally think when youre starting a business you shouod start as you mean to go on... That means looking and acting professional from the start. Home made leaflets and cheap looking websites would put me off using a company before ive even spoken to them to get a quote, so dont underestimate how important portraying a good image is.

Why not speak to your local chamber or business link and ask their advice? Hmrc run free workshops (or they used to) to help you with tax etc etcX