partner wants to go self employed but worried about paying bills.

vickynleon

brutus1983 wrote: »

has he got any leads to any regular work yet?
has he been out and advertised himself?
has he got any capital to keep himself on the road if his van brakes down, broken into and tools stolen (tool insurance can cost more than the tools)

my advise is keep in the current job and whilst looking for regular work when he decides to go self employed as maybe a subcontractor to other firms (you didnt say what he does)

when he gets enough work to come through then leave the current job andgoout as self employed

ok i'll start with wht he does which is a smart repairer so basically doing bumper scuffs, alloy wheels, seat repairs etc. he has got alot of work lined up from companies so i'm sure he'd do great but its still a scary step.
he also has a mate who is a dent guy but all he can do is remove dents so if he removes dents that need painting then he will pass on my partners number,

He has his tools covered under his trade insurance so thts ok, any problems with his vehicle he normally fixes himself or he has mtes in the motor trade so that shouldnt be a problem as he has always done mechanical things.

He's had business cards made up that he has started handing out and we have just ordered magnetic signs for the side of his van, we are going to priceup leaflets also which i will then deliver to all houses in our local area and also drop some offto businesses. we were thinking of maybe advertising on facebook to as thats seems to be the way the world is going and obviously easily shared and he can upload pics for people to see his work.

i'm pretty sure we wouldnt need any benefits because if all goes to plan he should be earning alot of money but sometimes things dont turn outhow you want them to. what we would try to do aswell is put away as much as we can in the summer to keep us going through the winter if we have severe weather and he isnt able to work. thanks

[Deleted User]

vickynleon wrote: »

Thats what he will be doing is working part time on the weekends for the next couple of weeks but he already has alot of work lined up so i dont think he'd be struggling for work but we need to think about it just incase.

The reason he wants to go self employed is so we can be better off because at the moment we are struggling so unable to save. WE may not even need help but i'm just thinking of the worse case while he is building up contracts. He's working his butt off at the moment and it takes it toll on the family because our children suffer because he doesnt have much time for them. He works 6 days sometimes 7 so cant physically do anymore as his work is very physical so very tiring. thats the reason he is wanting to go self employed so we can be better off.
He will be working full time but aftermaterials were just estimating that at start off he would bring home about £150pw. we don't want to claim benefits thats why we have always worked full time but he really wants to make a go at his own business and this is the only way. Everything we have he has bought himself. if i was feeling better i would of been going back to work full time but atm i am currently under alot of medication which takes a while to settle down so starting off part time until i can manage full time.

in the 60s and 70s when i was a kid my dad did 4 x12 hour night shifts then worked for himself all weekend as well,we hardly saw him,but when we did we had a great time because he had the money

most people who become self employed fail in the first two years,almost always because they were under capitalised,my advice(having been there)is dont go SE until you have enough cash to see you through the first 12 months without taking a penny from the new business
and OP please tell me the business isnt carpet cleaning??

brutus1983

but 150 a week isnt alot really is it?

personally id do it at weekends only not being funny if my car had a scratch i wouldnt pay someone to come out and fix it but thats just me moneys tight for everyone the way you was explaining it it sounded like he did something in the building trade

but yes more he can advertise himself and get himself known the better maybe even get ads in boy racer magazines or get in touch with car fourcourts

brutus1983

woodbine wrote: »

in the 60s and 70s when i was a kid my dad did 4 x12 hour night shifts then worked for himself all weekend as well,we hardly saw him,but when we did we had a great time because he had the money

most people who become self employed fail in the first two years,almost always because they were under capitalised,my advice(having been there)is dont go SE until you have enough cash to see you through the first 12 months without taking a penny from the new business
and OP please tell me the business isnt carpet cleaning??

true when my dad set himself up it took 6 months of working till he could pay himself

brutus1983

also 1 more ting never rely on friends passing work onto you i went self employed part time relying on a friend passing on work for domestic electrical work and it never came when i became qualified if you cnt find the work yourself and hve to rely on other people it will neve work

ILW

Has he done a fully costed business plan for say the next 3 years?

gingergee

Re college: very soon you will have to apply to college via ucas, with a personal statement etc. As well as that they are stopping funding for a lot of courses. It will be a student loan situation. And then of course there is childcare which they will expect you to pay out of your loan. Not trying to put you of but if your starting a new business and wanting to go college i think your taking a huge risk. The economy and benefits is so unstable or it will be if be securing a regular job asap or keeping the ones you have.

dktreesea

OP, if your OH goes self employed now, as things stand at the moment no one currently self employed will be migrated to the UC until April 2014.

If he makes £150 per week before tax from the start, he will be doing quite well. I know people say to keep on with the current job while building up the business, but the thing is with the motor trade, it works better during the daytime. People want their cars back come the evening and weekend.

He needs to work out though if he can afford the worst case scenario. What if he only earns, say, £20 profit a week? Does he have sufficient savings to support you all while he builds up the business to £150 a week before tax?

I know a little bit about the car trade industry. Of course it is more lucrative being self employed rather than working for someone else. Far more lucrative. And enough to prompt many people in it to be self employed rather than working for someone else. Not all professions are like this. Retailing comes to mind. There's plenty of retailers with a bricks and mortar shop who don't make a net profit equivalent to the full time NMW.

However, at the same time, given you have a mortgage rather than are renting, so can't fall back onto housing benefit, I do think your partner needs to be practical. Starting a business isn't a time to be scratching around for the mortgage money each month. The worry would drive you both spare. You need a bit put by to fall back on, even if it's only 6 months mortgage payments.