Help and advice needed

[woking_green]

Hi,

I am seriously considering leaving my full time job and starting up my own business as a plasterer. I qualified some years ago and have always done private jobs to help out family and friends. I have never advertised whilst working my full time job for the past 5 years, but more and more people are asking for work to be done, to the point I THINK it may be worth giving it a go alone.

The job I do at the moment gives me no pleasure what-so-ever but pays me a good salary of £35k a year. I also have a young family to support with all that comes with it, mortgage, loans, etc.

Todays current financial climate worries me greatly and I dont want to go for it and leave me and my family in grave financial trouble. But I now am at the point where thinking about working for myself is all I think of and research.

WHAT DO I DO!!!?? :|

 

[HFE Signs]

Difficult one, only you can decide this but if this helps.... I was in the same position many years ago, I decided to leave a very good job (engineering manager 30k many years ago) to build computers, I have to say it was a good learning experiance but couldn't compete with dell and pc world, I then started the sign business and many years of hard work later it was the best thing I ever did, now I have teams of sales. designers and a good workforce... My advice is don't be a jack of all trades, specialise in plastering & tiles, big demand for that.. very best of luck my friend

 

[Deleted member 106855]

Admittedly I'm a student and I have no first hand experience but I would consider you speak to your boss about maybe reducing hours and allow yourself some lee-way to start up slowly, this way you might be able to make up the income you'd be losing from your reduced hours by doing more on the side, until it becomes a fully self-sufficient company.

 

[LABJES]

Mmm yes difficult one. Just be sure that the 'weekend work' will translate into a full time role. Can you fill 5 days a week very quickly and sustain it? Can you charge proper prices or are you offering 'Saturday' rates ? Maybe dip your toe in if you haven't already, see if you can fill Sat And Sunday for a few weeks regularly and if you get to that point consider giving up full time job.

Footnote for legal bit...... you must treat your Sat/Sun work as earnings and pay the relevant taxes

 

[unet]

Hi,

I am seriously considering leaving my full time job and starting up my own business as a plasterer. I qualified some years ago and have always done private jobs to help out family and friends. I have never advertised whilst working my full time job for the past 5 years, but more and more people are asking for work to be done, to the point I THINK it may be worth giving it a go alone.

The job I do at the moment gives me no pleasure what-so-ever but pays me a good salary of £35k a year. I also have a young family to support with all that comes with it, mortgage, loans, etc.

Todays current financial climate worries me greatly and I dont want to go for it and leave me and my family in grave financial trouble. But I now am at the point where thinking about working for myself is all I think of and research.

WHAT DO I DO!!!?? :|

Hey Working Green,

if you have a young family and have to pay the mortgage then my advice is dont do it.

test the water first - do some weekend jobs - sort your advertising out etc.
You dont like your Job... Tough! Millions dont but you young family needs feeding first

most of the plasterers I know started by doing weekend jobs and then moving to self employed status over time.

GL btw
Rob

 

[Geoff Carter]

Hi

Getting paid for the jobs you do and cashflow will be
your big issues. Depending on your target market,
they too might find cash a problem and paying for
your services might not be a priority and this could
leave you at risk.

Finally, what does your partner think (I don't need to
know - honest) but whilst you are doing the plastering,
she has to manage the consequences so her opinions
and total support either way is vital.

Consider how your current job could be changed such
that it is less challenging or distressing.

I guess there are a lot of people out there that would
love a £35K job right now, and you have one.

Take great care with this decision, and I wish you well.

Geoff

 

[estwig]

If you feel you would enjoy spending the majority of your life working in a damp, dusty cave, undertaking hard physical labour, being too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter and having to fight for your money every day of the week.

Crack on!!

 

[Matt1959]

you mention you have a mortgage....

Regarding mortgages - maybe you haven't borrowed to the max against your current 30Kpa but if you have, self employment will cause all sorts of problems when remortaging within 3 yrs from now unless you earn alot of money quickly. So if you need to move house or remortage (eg coming to end of fixed rate deal) chucking the £30K job could cause alot of problems in that department....

 

[solarenergy]

Hi guy,

Have you made up your mind? I do not have enough working experience. Still I think I can give some suggestions.

Firstly, if you are quite experienced with your field. If you have more than 10 years experience. You can just do it. Life is short, we need to take the chance.

Secondly, do a calculation, if your private work can support you and your family. If it can make your ends meet, it is right time for you to start your business. At the very begining, it will be small, it will grow with your hard working.

Wish you good luck!!

 

[commercialtransfer1]

Hello Working Green,
My advice would be to continue building up your plastering as well as keeping your main income from your current employment.

Also running your own business, as I'm sure you are aware is not just going out in your van and actually doing the plastering.
All the paperwork, accounts,advertising, v.a.t etc take a good deal of time up, which would probably be during evenings which will impact on your family life (I know I did this when my children were young) and you cant get these days back no matter how much money you have!

 

[kulture]

Plastering is a very demanding job physically. Also whenever I have used a plasterer I always have two guys turn up. One a labourer who mixes the plaster and keeps the plasterer busy with plaster. That way the job is done efficiently.

If you want to try it, book a couple of weeks holiday in a couple of months time and try to fill at least one full week with plastering jobs. Then see how hard it is.

 

[julie001]

Matt 1959 has a good point. If going self-employed, you will find it virtually impossible to remortgage until you have 3 year's accounts... (Although there is nothing to stop you from remortgaging whilst still employed, and then going self-employed shortly after).

 

[mariya]

Hello

You are asking for help and advice about business. In which business you are interested. Do you have any future planning about that? Because starting any kind of business first think about that then make a planning. At first try to think about your job. Take Leave for some days. So in this case you will be a safer.









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[mariya]

Hello

You are asking for help and advice about business. In which business you are interested. Do you have any future planning about that? Because starting any kind of business first think about that then make a planning. At first try to think about your job. Take Leave for some days. So in this case you will be a safer.









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[woking_green]

Many thanks to everybody for taking the time to offer advice, it is greatly appreciated.

To update, I am looking into doing compressed hours and increasing my hours of plastering. I have just agreed to take on two large plastering jobs and will use holiday days to do it. And after one facebook comment, a sort of advert, I have numerous smaller jobs in the pipeline.

People are wondering why I would consider leaving a well payed job in this current climate, well I am a police officer! Says it all!

Thanks again for all your advice