Sacked so giving been self employed a bash

[bisketuk]

Evening all!

As in title i got sacked last week.... 2 wrong numbers on a time sheet in 7 years of service and im out the door, at least they dont have to pay me redunancey in 3months now eh.

Basicly looking for some pearls of wisdom as i know there is alot of experienced guys on here.

Ive got the basic things "i think" i need ..... tools, van, test kit, regs books, blank test sheets, a girlfriend that happens to be an accountant lol etc

Anything you guys feel is a "must have" item for any self employed sparky? invoicing software maybe?

And im sorry but this is such a silly question but can anybody advise me of agency's in my area (swindon/wiltshire) i have googled but either their not online or im blind lol

Any other hints and tips would be great guys as ive not been self employed before and unforuatly my current options are very limited so i am going to give this a bash for a few months and see how it goes.

Many thanks!

 

[Cyberprog]

Invoicing: You can use something like Free Online Invoicing - Billing Boss that's free, and will allow you to email invoices etc. as well as print etc.
Phones: Get a landline redirected number from something like Sipgate - if your better half is at home, get a softphone or IP Phone to receive the calls on, otherwise forward them to your mobile. Gives more confidence for customers calling a landline - and having your better half answer can also aid this.
eMail/Website: Get a .co.uk Domain name, and use this for email, and at least stick up a basic "Business Card" website. All helps, and a contact form for people to send you queries. (I have a 50% off link for hosting at £7.50 a year here: http://helm.cyberprog.com/AutoSignup.asp?AdminAccNum=LRCLUBS and a .co.uk Domain is a Tenner for 2 years. What you do with the hosting is up to you, but I can probably sort something basic for a few quid if you've no skills, or install a Joomla setup for you to play with)
Then use vistaprint.co.uk or similar to get your business cards done/flyers for advertising.
What I'm basically saying is present yourself as potentially bigger than you are - use "We" rather than "I" in your marketing materials, even if you're just a single person working for yourself. It builds customer confidence, and presents a professional image that increases that, therefore potentially increasing ROI.

 

[bisketuk]

Thanks cyberprog!! thats all really usefull stuff.

i have a website going now with moonfruit for free but i dont have a .co.uk its a .moonfruit.com so will look into getting a doman name ( im a bit of a dab hand with webdesign and the like)

That billing boss is amazing, i have a iphone so if im reading the website correctly i can take card payments from clients using my iphone onsite? sound too good to be true for a free service.

So which is better a local number 01793 or a 0800 number? not sure how much a 0800 number costs but i have heard its not alot, however i know i can get a local number and use call forwarding all on my skype account, ill have to shop around for the best price tomorrow i think.

 

[Cyberprog]

Yes, remember that billingboss is owned by Sage, who also own Sagepay - it does cost a monthly fee, and requires a merchant account, but you'd require a terminal (monthly cost) and merchant account to take cards anyway. That said, this would be something that you can always add a bit further down the road, but be savvy with payments. Cheques are fast becoming a thing of the past, while online payments via BACS are more and more popular.
Consumers do like electronic payments though with cards still, but for smaller jobs you could look at the likes of PayPal, but BACS is simpler and costs nothing to receive unlike PayPal, and has less potential downsides/comebacks.

You can forward a domain to moonfruit, but I wouldn't recommend it, purely because it looks less professional to a tech savvy person.

Either or really, most local people won't care about calling a geographic, while people out of the area may prefer an 0800. I'd start off with a local number and perhaps experiment with an 0800 at a later date once you're more established. You'd pay both ends of the call cost on a 0800, both their cost to call you, plus the redirection to a mobile.

 

[SirKit Breaker]

You don't need to buy a .co.uk or similar, there are loads of them free, just have a look.

Have you got any PL insurance?

you don't mention which field of electrical work you are in, Dom, Ind or commercial?, i would offer different advice for finding work depending on what your preference may be.

Cheers..........Howard

 

[bisketuk]

Hi mate, yeah ive got pl it came with my van insurance up to 2million. I worked for the miltary all myCarrer so had a good mix of maintiance rewires in houses new builds and big heavy smelly 3phase stuff and some 11kv so a good overall mix

 

[Apollo]

Evening all!

As in title i got sacked last week.... 2 wrong numbers on a time sheet in 7 years of service and im out the door, at least they dont have to pay me redunancey in 3months now eh.

Basicly looking for some pearls of wisdom as i know there is alot of experienced guys on here.

Ive got the basic things "i think" i need ..... tools, van, test kit, regs books, blank test sheets, a girlfriend that happens to be an accountant lol etc

Anything you guys feel is a "must have" item for any self employed sparky? invoicing software maybe?

And im sorry but this is such a silly question but can anybody advise me of agency's in my area (swindon/wiltshire) i have googled but either their not online or im blind lol

Any other hints and tips would be great guys as ive not been self employed before and unforuatly my current options are very limited so i am going to give this a bash for a few months and see how it goes.

Many thanks!

Hi There,

I thought i'd try and offer you some information about this.

Did they just on the spot sack you? If so they can not do that if you were a full time employee and had not had any Disaplinary cases against you for this in that time then it's plain and simple - they cannot sack you.

If you can also back up the claim about redundancy an employment tribuneral would rip them to shreads.

Think you should get some more advice from an expert. in this day and age, especially if you've been with them for so long, your almost bomb proof unless you've done something that warrants the outcome.

as for going alone in business, go for it, best move you can make, then you have no one to blame for anything but yourself, best way to work IMHO.

 

[Cyberprog]

You don't need to buy a .co.uk or similar, there are loads of them free, just have a look.

Howard, you get what you pay for, and for a tenner it's not worth trying to save money only to end up in a situation where if you fall out with the company who registered it you don't wind up having to buy new business cards, re-sign write your van etc. etc.! I've heard so many horror stories from people who've had "free" domains it isn't funny!

 

[ian.settle1]

You don't need to buy a .co.uk or similar, there are loads of them free, just have a look.

You have to check on that as most ask now if it is for a business email account.

 

[Adam W]

Just to echo what's already been said a lot of customers like to know they're dealing with someone local.
If you're near the border of the exchange, BT used to offer a service called 'remote call forwarding' where the line ends at the relevant exchange, and could be forwarded to, say, your mobile.

So for instance you could get an 01202 number and an 01258 number, both forwarded to your mobile, so firstly it would appear you have 2 local offices, and secondly customers in both areas would get the impression that you're 'local'.

Similarly you can get a mailbox service to make you sound more professional,
eg instead of: flat 3, Cherry tree rise, Pickett Lane
you could be: Unit 23, Industry way, Corporation Business Park.

It probably goes without saying that company T-shirts are invaluable, firstly because it's free advertising and secondly because dressing a bit smart looks so much more professional that turning up to work dressed as a tramp (you might laugh but a lot of sparks do it). At the very least, consider a plain coloured polo shirt. The idea is to make you look like a small part of something bigger than a one man band, similarly carry your tools, fixings etc in purpose made containers (preferably with company logos on them) rather than in old biscuit tins.

You could even get a welcome mat printed with your company logo to roll out as you enter a customer's property.... Too far?

 

[malcolmsanford]

You could even get a welcome mat printed with your company logo to roll out as you enter a customer's property.... Too far?

Far too far ............... You never worked for a certain Mr ...............did you Novus.

But the rest top advice mate

 

[Adam W]

You could even get a welcome mat printed with your company logo to roll out as you enter a customer's property.... Too far?

Far too far ............... You never worked for a certain Mr ...............did you Novus.

But the rest top advice mate

LOl no, but that's what I had in mind.