Iv only gone and done it now

[bakerboy]

So, after many stressful nights and lack of sleep, yesterday I finally handed my notice in to my boss, have been there 8 years in July. Got the job restoring/making furniture straight from college and been there ever since but i decided that I finally wanted to fulfil a few dreams before I get old, married, have kids, be all grown up, move out and buy a house. So self employment will be upon me in t-minus 4 weeks. I'm totally releived that iv finally handed it in. For me that seemed to be the hardest part and tbh I kind of became part of the furniture but that's when I realised it's time to move on. Onwards and upwards as they say and I'm sure there'll be many sleepless nights in the future but if you don't try you'll never know and I don't do regrets. So if anyone has any tips/advise is very much appreciate it. Many thanks!!
Dave

 

[aggravated farmer]

good luck

business cards are bs here. word of mouth is good. If you are honest and fair price, word spreads. don't be on the phone when on a job.

 

[Welsh Farmer]

First of all .... good on you for taking such a brave and bold decision. I wish you every good fortune in your new venture

This is a very small tip, but a valuable one for any self-employed person starting out .... get your NIC stamp sorted out asap. It's surprising how many people simply forget all about it because it's something that has always been taken care of with your PAYE. Even if you pay it by standing order always remember to check that the payments are in fact being taken because it's up to you to ensure that they are being paid even though HMRC might have made the mistake in not collecting them correctly. Good Luck

 

[masseybreaker]

do a good job and charge a fair price. do what you say your going to do . and its better to try and fail than never try good luck

 

[2wheels]

good luck, do not underprice yourself.

 

[roscoe erf]

turn up when you say you will or if not let them know your running late

oh and don't let a few slack weeks put you off good luck

 

[Baker9]

good luck

business cards are bs here. word of mouth is good. If you are honest and fair price, word spreads. don't be on the phone when on a job.

As Aggravated Farmer says, do not be on the phone when someone else is paying you and word of mouth is the most effective means of getting new business and finally do not be on the phone when your customer is paying you, this is the one thing to really annoy me as a customer.
I would assume that you have some potential work lined up.

 

[roscoe erf]

by the way what are you going to be doing

 

[Muck Spreader]

First of all .... good on you for taking such a brave and bold decision. I wish you every good fortune in your new venture

This is a very small tip, but a valuable one for any self-employed person starting out .... get your NIC stamp sorted out asap. It's surprising how many people simply forget all about it because it's something that has always been taken care of with your PAYE. Even if you pay it by standing order always remember to check that the payments are in fact being taken because it's up to you to ensure that they are being paid even though HMRC might have made the mistake in not collecting them correctly. Good Luck

Agree with that. I would also suggest you get sorted with an small business accountant. When I had a number of small businesses in the UK, the guy I had paid his fees several times over in the money he saved me. However, I always did my own book keeping and vat returns as this is the expensive but simple bit.

 

[Lincs Lass]

Best thing I ever did ,,only been going abit over 4 years but as many have said,,price yourself corectley ,,dont get greedy as theirs allways somebody else that will undercut you ,,iff you cant give a customer a confirmed date then keep in contact with them or they will think you are not interested ,
Reputation speaks volumes

 

[Danllan]

Without any doubt, keeping your word has to come first. I've been let down any number of times by people who've said they will do something at a given time and then haven't done so - as soon as they turn up late I tell them to forget it and I get someone else in for the job. Sometimes this is very inconvenient, but it's a point of principal - if they are early they are wasting their time, if they are late they are wasting mine! (Genuine emergencies are exceptions to this, but I've only come across two of those so far.)

Next... cash and tax. If possible keep a separate tax account where all dues go in and are not touched for anything other that tax. If possible don't borrow or get credit, save and pay cash. Don't give credit either.

Last, do everything on a contractual basis; even a simple e-mail / text - stating what's to be done, when, for how much & when payment is due - will save any amount of trouble in the future if someone decides to be a bad payer.

It will often be tough but if you are straight and are prepared to work hard you'll do all right. Good luck.

 

[4course]

be careful of doing a lot of business with one person/company they will almost certainly let you down in my exp 10 little ones are better than 1or 2 big ones especially when starting out and every job u do try to get paid in stages either deposit or part payment 1/2 way through esp if you are buying in product to cut your risk and then put at least 25% of any payment out of reach for a rainy day as a buffer remember cash is king and bear in mind that a donkey of your own is better than 1/2 a horse

 

[Sandpit Farm]

It will certainly be a culture shock. Now is the time to do it, if you have family support and low-cost accommodation.

You will find cash flow is an issue so never get lax with sending out invoices as you will find some folks are very slow to pay. The problem is that when you are busy working, you aren't marketing and invoicing etc so you always end up with quiet times. Use those times as a normal working day doing the boring jobs.

I found that professionally printed flyers worked. I would send out 50 per week then make calls the next week to check they had received them. It seems invasive but if you are polite and not pushy - most folks are happy to say whether or not they need help. It also gives you an idea of who else looks after these people and whether they are potentials for the future. However you look at it, you've broken the ice.

Build a buffer of cash before taking holidays etc. it hits hard with cash flow. If you don't work, you don't get paid. It is really hard to stop thinking how much your holiday costs both in terms of actual cost and earnings you are missing out on.

Also make sure that whatever route you pursue, it needs to be scaleable with no threat to the business. Will you be happy doing the work at 50?? Can you build enough to employ people?

 

[bakerboy]

Thank you everyone for the excellent advise, have taken note of everything you've all mentioned.
Iv built up a small pot now and untill I leave as a 'just in case' pot. Although I feel I'm doing at the best time, I still live at home paying board, nothing like what it would be for rent and no overheads as have a small workshop at home, for future plans I would consider renting a larger workshop, so far iv tried my hardest to get work booked in already for when I go, my brother is giving me 2-3 days then I have 4 other jobs booked in, iv decided this week that I won't be going in to domestic woodworking as from what iv seen you come across a lot of problems with poor payers, large materials outlay so I will just be sticking to what I feel to be a niche market which is repairing/re making ash frames for vintage vehicles and these are what I have booked in for when I leave. I will still be restoring furniture as and when I can find it which I will probably start advertising for soon. I am also trying to get some farm work booked in for the summer, so seasonal work really as that is most definitely something I want to do without fail this year.
Have a meeting with an accountant next month just to go through a few numbers and figures and really what I can claim for as I'm not really that good with paperwork, I will be able to keep on top of the usual invoices/receipts etc but for someone who does it all the time and hell of a lot quicker at it id rather just get someone else to do so I can just crack on with the work for now. Will see how it goes anyway.
I may be young but iv been brought up in an old fashioned way so my phone is no interest to me when I'm working unless an important call comes up but yeah I'd be annoyed if I was paying someone and they were on the phone all the time so I apply the same courtesy. Some wise words from you all so thank you again.

 

[TopBanana]

Would your old boss be prepared to give you 1-2 days a week work until your client base gives you enough work to be self sufficient?

 

[Oscar]

I would like to just add my advice having been self employed for 30 years now. The most important thing I have learnt is CASHFLOW!
You can survive for a few years making a loss but you will not make it to a year if your short of cash and have no means of paying your bills.
As others have said don t forget the NI, tax ,insurance and I would recommend getting personal health/accident insurance.
Best of luck with your new venture.

 

[bakerboy]

Would your old boss be prepared to give you 1-2 days a week work until your client base gives you enough work to be self sufficient?

He may do. I did say to him on Friday that as I'm going self employed I would quite happily help him out if he was stuck. I don't want to leave on bad terms as Much as a shame it is to leave it's time to move on but I will happily help him out still. On an agreed rate of course.

 

[itsalwaysme]

A couple of days a week can be useful "bread and butter" money until jobs start flowing

 

[How much]

Bear in mind that someday you will want to buy a home and while you accountant is hopefully being creative to keep your tax bill low remind him you do actually need to make and show a PROFIT so that when you need a mortgage you have some accounts showing a profit to enable you to borrow.
I know a few self employed who have fallen fowl of this

Good luck

 

[Old Boar]

Dont worry if you have the odd slack period - people I know who have started out go through times when the work dries up, but word of mouth soon means they are too busy, scared to turn work away and end up working 7 days a week trying to keep clients happy.
I found getting the work/life balance really difficult when self employed, so be kind to yourself and set at least a day off a week for yourself. That way work is still interesting, but you have time to chat, go out etc and get some perspective on it.

Good luck.