how did you start up

[jfc]

Left school on the friday and started as an apprentice carpenter and joiner on the monday . Did 4 or was it 5 years with a dry rot / woodworm company and then went as self employed doing loft conversions . After the third loft i was given my own team and left to get on with it . Left there and did a few office refurbs and loads of house bashing , a few night clubs but all the time we where having to buy in non standard stuff so i started to offer to make it . Before i got the roof on the workshop i was getting work

[engineerone]

jason you have to be the only guy who would claim that they went to night clubs to get work

most of us are much more honest ;D

i think the biggest mistake almost everyone starting out on their own makes is not looking at the "proper" overheads.

senior has mentioned how little he knew about the governments' interference in daily life. tax, ni, vat and the bloody red tape.

be careful about hiring consultants cause half the time they have no idea of what you are doing, same for most accountants and lawyers.

remember you need two kinds of insurance, property and liability.

i would suggest your first purchase should be a dedicated computer, the cheapest you can, and get an accounts package like myob, or maybe intuit. i use myob and it is simple, and easy to use. used from day one it will help you keep a proper set of accounts from day 1.

starting out you will not have too much paperwork/accountants
and it will teach you what you need to know for later when you can afford staff and a bookkeeper. don't forget until you turn over about 5million quid, your accounts do not need to be audited, but it is worth doing properly from the get go.

paul

[nickw]

I got fed up with the continual takeover-redundancy-takeover cycle in IT and also the need for continual learning just to stand still. Took ages to get permission from SWIMBO to make the leap, but a job from the next door neighbours, coupled with paying off the mortgage, finaly gave me the edge.

So now no one can take me over or make me redundant, and all the learning that I do remains valid for more than a couple of years, and is cumulative - great.

I echo what Paul says about accounts, it's vital to keep them in order from day one, reconcile them with your bank account(s) once a month, and get an accountant to check them, and do your tax return, at least once a year.

[9fingers]

I'm still employed in the Electronics Industry with woodwork as a hobby/projected retirement activity in a years time where if I get good enough, I might make a few pieces for family & friends for little more than the cost of the wood and wear & tear on tools.

25 years ago I was metal working for a hobby and started doing larger & larger jobs for small companies who needed to put my bills through their accounts. I then set up as a sole trader which has been a good tax scam as I can offset my capital expenditure against PAYE tax from my day job. This has effectively turned my free time into tax free machine tools gradually over the years. I will wind up the business next year with all the tools written down in value and use them for my hobbies once again.

Bob

[dantovey]

I've started out on my own this year, after 10 years working for a kitchen company both in the factory and out fitting. In the last 2 years I was running the factory but always fancied going it alone.

The chance came this year when a friend suggested I share the overheads on his workshop. It works well; we keep our two businesses separate but it's nice to have someone else around. It means that we can both keep under the VAT threshold and still make a good living.

Most of my business comes through builders and joinery companies who I have known for years. It suits them to pass fitted furniture enquiries on to me.

I'm working every hour under the sun at the moment but I'm taking home more money than I was earning before, owe nothing, and am having a ball.

[timberman]

OK, here's my work life story .

My first ever job was as an apprentice chef at the top local hotel.
I stuck it for a while, but the late nights early mornings gradually took it's toll, especially when all my mates were out on the town, and I'm stuck in a kitchen working with a head chef who imho was a complete arsehole.
I left and started as an apprentice chippie, and went through life, working away from home contracting, the usual crap. Got another job working in machine shops etc. I left that and did something completely different for a few years and finally I got the sack ( I had a big mouth in those days). It turned out to be the biggest turning point in my life.

I had only a weeks wages + 2weeks holliday pay. Hell, what am I going to do now (panic). A few days later I met a bloke in our local pub who was looking for someone to repoint a house, (he didn't want the job). So I thought well I can do that. So I went round and gave him a ridiculous price . It took me nearly 3 weeks (I did a proper job). When i went to get paid the lady next door asked me to do hers , another 3 weeks later............................... I ended up doing 4 houses on that road.

If I see another bloody pointing job again .I'll.............................

And the jobs just kept coming in, I employed people on & off over the years & and gradually more & more people wanted bespoke items. When ever anyone mentioned they wish they could do with anything to do with timber I would pipe up and saw I could make you one of those no trouble (even if I'd never made one before).

Then I got really really lucky, I met another bloke or rather his missus (nothing dodgy ) through another hobby I had, she asked what I did for a living, she said that's interesting my husbands a builder. We met a few days later and he told me me he had a small joinery workshop and if I wanted I could use it as he didn't use it much. I thought he was joking, but he wasn't.

That started a whole new ballgame for me, sadly he died about a year later but I'll always remember him, smashing bloke.

So to bring this little story to a close, I've been self employed for the past 26 years and in 2002 I became a Limited Company (a long time ambition of mine).

I've realised that you never ever know whats going to happen next,
and if you don't do that something you want to do you'll regret it for a long time and you might not ever get another chance.

[Lord Nibbo]

Well I have never worked for anyone else and would go with a lot already said re: Accounts, Accountants etc. My turnover before selling the company was on average about £4m per year, I've never heard before about having not to have audited accounts if your turnover is under £5m but I had to have audited accounts every year

Anyway the reason for me posting. As a one man band yes I would recommend it, but if your dream is to be an employer then think again. I don't think i'm exaggerating if I were to say your overheads will go up at least four times probably more starting with insurances, paye, H&S etc etc. Employing others is the start of endless red tape that forced me into employing people just to do the red tape, It's almost impossible to list the bureaucracy that has grown totally out of control over my working lifetime, it was bureaucracy that finally made me sell my company and retire. I had had just about had enough of it.

Edit.... I might add, my work was nothing to do with woodwork. I owned a quarry that supplied high quality ground limestone for agriculture and specialized in manufacturing split faced reconstituted cotswold bricks, Architectural dressings , pavers and paving.

[mailee]

I won't say I envy you guys although I do. I have often thought about doing it off and on over a number of years. I am pretty sure that I would be OK too although you never know until you take that first step. I have had conflicting advice from people in the trade over the years with a majority saying it is getting harder all the time to make a living. I do have another friend who started just like me and twenty years on has a very good thricing business employing 30 joiners! I am now too old to do anything about it I feel being 52. I do wish I had gone for it years ago and got the bee out of my bonnet so to speak so would encourage anyone to go for it. I will continue as I am until retirement which I hope not to be too long but will always regret not having tried. I know how much hard work it is as I am always busy myself often working most weekends and evenings, not to mention the full time job too. If you are young enough and have the skills and inclination do it would be my advice.

[engineerone]

thought i would check my facts again.

companies house form gba3 confirms that most companies that turn over less than 5.6 million, and have assets of less than 2.8 million are not required to be audited.

also since april 2005, most of these companies do not need to provide companies house with full sets of accounts.

paul

[dom]

I started straight from school into the catering industry, 25 years later I retired, I had achieved my goal.
Two years traveling and possibly a little misbehaving I realised that if I carried on this way I might die.
Woodwork had always been my hobby so I went to work for a company that restored old buildings in and around Oxford.
I learned more in those two years from some very ancient gentlemen than all my previous years of woodworking.
On my return to the real world a workshop came available on the farm (600 sq. ft) I thought it was huge.
Fortunately there was a lot of passing trade and despite only ever wanting to use solid wood, veneered boards soon took over after 5 years of working alone an opportunity arose to take over two small companies and a lot more square footage. It worked.
Now I'm selling up and returning to my original workshop, I will make what I want when I want.
My advice, be honest to your clients and suppliers(white lies don't count) It takes years to build a reputation, only a minute to destroy it.
Two successful careers, no wonder I look like crap in photographs ;D

Dom

[paulchapman]

dom said:

no wonder I look like crap in photographs ;D

I know what you mean, Dom



Cheers

Paul

[Alf]

Oh I dunno...







... the machinery's okay. ;D

Cheers, Alf

Wondering which mind in which gutter will run with that one... I meant the Felder, okay?

[Lord Nibbo]

engineerone said:

also since april 2005, most of these companies do not need to provide companies house with full sets of accounts.

paul

Ah! I retired in 2000 so it has changed since my time

[timberman]

senior said:

paulchapman said:

Would you buy a secondhand car from this man

P.S. Good thread this Senior, brought back a few memories

[mailee]

Looks like you just dropped your coffee cup Dom. ;D

[dom]

Vengance will be mine



And anyway the pigs were just being friendly.