Starting up to do weekend work

[RickS]

Good Morning All,

I'm after some guidance on what I need in order to start carrying out my own work on a weekend and evenings. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I am an apprentice trained electrician (from an engineering background though, so machine wiring etc). Previous to that I applied to be an apprentice sparky doing house re-wires which I did for 3 months before moving into engineering. I'm now a project engineer so not really a relevant role.
My qualifications are 2330 lv3, 2382 17th edition, foundation degree in electrical and electronic engineering (probably not relevant). I'm waiting to do my inspection & test and 18th edition top up.
I've carried out a few house re-wires for mates which have all been passed off and numerous re-wires before moving into engineering.
Is there anything else I will need in order to carry out my own work such as AM2 etc?

Sorry for the waffling on a bit, thanks for any advice.

Rich

 

[davesparks]

You need insurance and to register for self employment so that you can declare the income on your tax return.
You possibly need your employers permission to do this too.

 

[RickS]

Hi Dave, thanks for the info.

 

[Octopus]

And tell your vehicle insurance that you will be using it for business

Plus you should read and understand part p

 

[Deuce]

Also a good idea to sort a basic, simple to use book keeping solution - gets tricky to make time for the admin once you're rushing around doing the actual work!

Most basic packages have all you need to track business income/expenditure and print off/email quotes & invoices.

Also a good idea to build a relationship with a couple of other local trades plasterer, builder etc so you can attend quotes together for various jobs, always useful if you can offer the customer a full solution in one go.

Best of luck with it all.

 

[Deleted member 105166]

I'm after some guidance on what I need in order to start carrying out my own work on a weekend and evenings.

One of these may come in handy for the evening work...

On a serious note, within domestic, other than emergency callouts and free/'mates rates' jobs for relatives & friends, the evening work opportunities may be somewhat limited. Maybe look to work for a commercial contractor, which may provide some 'out of hours' opportunities in retail/industrial, also avoiding you all the part pee stuff?

 

[Midwest]

Do people pay for work done on the cheap, evenings & weekends?

I'm never had never had my flubbergaster so flabbergasted.

 

[Risteard]

Do people pay for work done on the cheap, evenings & weekends?

I'm never had never had my flubbergaster so flabbergasted.

LOL. Normally if they want the work done on evenings and weekends I would advise them to expect it to have an upward effect on the price rather than a downward one!

 

[Octopus]

I can't remember the last time I was asked to work at the weekend ...

 

[Deuce]

My date rate + 30% for weekend work, unless it's part of a project running several weeks. If I'm honest I apply the same if it's a project I just don't want to do so much

Then again, if this guy wants to start a new career with some weekend work, being one of the few sparks to be happy about weekend work -and put in a lowish price - is not a bad way to start.

I wish the sparks I have get in at short notice on a weekend were so decent

 

[Baddegg]

You’ll want to join a scam as well rick if you want to notify any works....good luck to you though

 

[rolyberkin]

Just be careful of this approach, I did it for a while before leaving a previous employer and it can be an absolute nightmare. There will be occasions when things don't go right and you have to go back the next day or worse still get called back. Jobs may not go as planned and you risk ending up with a bad reputation if you cannot rock up the next day and sort any issues out. People don't take kindly to you being in their house faffing about whilst they are trying to watch Strictly or X-Factor!

 

[Midwest]

With the list of 'things' the OP needs, to do the work officially, is not financially viable.

If you want to earn the ropes, you could just try working for another contractor at weekends, if you can find one. Just need to be CIS registered and perhaps some insurance.

 

[Deuce]

With the list of 'things' the OP needs, to do the work officially, is not financially viable.

If you want to earn the ropes, you could just try working for another contractor at weekends, if you can find one. Just need to be CIS registered and perhaps some insurance.

Out of interest, what would you think the costs for capital to get kitted up are these days?

And the what would you think the ongoing operating costs are?

Just curious as I know a guy that does occasional work and he does complain that his insurance doesn't scale with turnover. He complains about pretty much everything though so...