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Don't work for builders.... unless you get your materials money up front, after all they do, and believe me they like to hang on to it. IMHO (having been bitten on the rear end too many times in the past) The rest of the advice given by the guy's is sound, especially the paper work. It is amazing how it mounts up. Good luck with your venture and wishing you and all the members a Very Prosperous New Year.
its not just builders, quite a few people will get you to buy materials and do a lot of work then refuse to pay you even for the materials....you find that the more financially well off they are the less likely that they will pay you, you could end up getting the "its on my land so its mine now haha haha" then it's small claims where you could lose out.....best to stick to small domestic until you have built up funds in the business accounts as one bad builder or buy to let landlord and you could find yourself being unable to pay the tax office due to being stripped of funds ...who will close you down and could take your van and house...
 
Even the people you work for who you class as friends can do you over. A "mate" of mine knew his business was going under but still got me in to do the work on a job he was getting paid cash. That was 2 years ago and it was a couple of grand.
 
If you are having flyers sent out watch out where they get posted, a chap spent a lot of money doing this only to get very little work,turned out most of them had been posted on a large council estate with very few privately owned houses.
 
great advise jonni770, you have some very wise words, thank you so much for sharing this. Regards, joxland.

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great advise jonni770, you have some very wise words, thank you so much for sharing this. Regards, joxland.
 
thank you all for your reasuring words of wisdom, i know it is going to be a hard slog to get up and running, but it has got to be more rewarding than working for a company. Anyway here comes 2yrs of beind skint :behead:
 
It's definitely better than working for a company. I believe there is less risk involved. If you work for a company and they have no work, then your stuffed. However, working for yourself you build up contacts easier and you will allways have someone to ring if things slow down. All else fails just hire yourself out as sub contract labour only

One peice of advice, get a credit account with at least 2 wholesalers as soon as you can. They will probabaly give you 3k limit to start, which should be fine. Let each of them know that you compare their prices. Keeps them on their toes.

You must have contacts and a feeling that you could potentially have work come in otherwise you wouldn't be considering going alone. If so take the plunge and swim hard, you wont look back.
 
If you can do a decent job to start with and also get the basics right then you will go along way.


  1. Turn up on time : if your going to be late phone ahead (always keep the customer updated)
  2. Clean and tidy : yourself and work space.... get a few polo shirts done up to start with - your logo, scam provider etc. Buy a roll of carpet protector from local jewsons - great stuff
  3. Communication is key : where possible I always try to phone back a missed call asap and reply to emails within 24 hours maximum : 90% of mine get replied to each evening
  4. Organisation : you've got to keep on top of your paperwork & work schedule to keep things running smoothly (if thats possible!)

I wish you all the best, hang in there it is well worth it if you get it right.

Sy
 
If you are in a rented property or on your own, i would also get a virtual landline number for your area. This way your advertised number can be taken with you.

People prefer to see a landline number and you can answer it from your mobile.
 
Been on my own since May, been a rollercoaster ride, had very few days off the work will come if you market yourself. I have made a few mistakes along the way. Definately worth it as others have said, one thing that keeps me on my toes - i never know what i am doing next week, work literally comes in on a daily basis so you have to be prepared always. One more thing van stock, keep a good supply of the basics always. The amount of times i have had to drive miles for a part, plus the way i price my jobs they have to be finished in one hit most times, not going back to do such and such.

Do it, i agonised for 10 years to do it, silly boy i wish i had done it ten years ago.
 
If you are in a rented property or on your own, i would also get a virtual landline number for your area. This way your advertised number can be taken with you. People prefer to see a landline number and you can answer it from your mobile.
very true about the landline number, even if applying for a job....people don't like mobiles as they are always having it drummed into them that no landline number/ a mobile number = bad news there's a company called efax on the internet that do these kind of things, as well as a few others..... quite a few people now are asking for SKYPE and some even want you to take a video call......so make sure your mobile/tablet set up can take that too for on the move...
 
Build a referrals relationship with a decent plumber and an appliance engineer, and perhaps a plasterer too. You'll have lots of opportunities to refer customers to them and hopefully they'll refer people to you in return.

Always give customers a couple business cards - one to keep and one to give to a friend.

Get some professional-looking flyers printed and go round posting them yourself. You can do about 800-1000 in a day if you're fit. I got 5000 printed for around £120. I only got chance to deliver about half of them as I got so much work from them!

If you're up to it, build a simple website yourself. It doesn't need to be fancy - customers just like to see a website address on your marketing material cause it makes you look legit.
 
good point from gap30 about stock on board to save a return journey on the small price
jobs. Keep a price list about you, dont guess when the customer's settling up. Have it
showing the retail prices you've arrived at for the double socket, standard size
extractor fan etc.
 

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