Going it alone - advice please

Discussion in 'Builders' Talk' started by Thermo, May 7, 2004.

  1. Thermo

    Thermo New Member

    Hi all,
    i know ive posted this elsewhere but im after as much advice as possible! I am at the stage where i am fed up ith my current job and seriously thinking of taking the big step of going it alone as a gardener/landscaper in the south east. I am currently studying as well to get qualifications in this field. I am after any advice that you can offer with regards to any pitfalls you have come across or common mistakes made when setting up a business, or good apractice ie marketing, selling yourself etc. Thanks in advance for any help

    Thermo
     
  2. Charlie Far!ey

    Charlie Far!ey New Member

    Going it alone is a big step - you step out of an insulated regular job where they tell what timne to finish, what time to start and when to take a ****. Forget the clock, forget 9-5 Mon to Fri, forget trust and forget status. You aim, you focus and you fire but you follow the bullet through thick and thin but stay with it all the way until you hit your target. You aint got friends and you cant phone no-one for help. Sat and Sun are normal working days and all night working is an option but the main thing is maintain control - know where you're going, how you intend getting there and what you want when you get there. Apart from that it's easy.

    Once you have made the 'step' then you will never go back to working with anyone - Prostitition is a better option than working for someone - Do it and you will never regret it and at least you will die happy.

    [Edited by: The Moderator]
     
  3. Johnny Grant

    Johnny Grant New Member

    Hi Thermo

    From day one make sure you put away a percentage of your income for your tax (say 30%)each time you receive a payment.
    If you don't it's to easy to think you are doing better than you think and all of a sudden you will have this tax bill to pay and you will always feel like you are playing catchup after that.
    30% seems a lot but if you put it into a savings account by the time you pay your tax you will have made a bit of interest and probably have some bunce which will feel like a bonus.(Although I would check this with your accontant, if you doing really well you will paying 40% tax after a certain amount)
    If you will be VAT registered make sure you keep well up to date with payments, I once ignored reminders and they came to my house to take my car, drawing board, everything I needed to carry out my work.
    Don,t forget your national insurance stamp to pay each month.
    You will enjoy your work much more working for yourself with no one you have to answer to to do the work how you like to do it, other than the customer.
    It's an excellent challenge going on your own and if you do a good job the satisfaction you get from a happy customer which in turn leads to recommendations and more work.

    Good luck for the future, let me now how you get along.
     
  4. big all

    big all Screwfix Select

    heeelllooo j g

    forgive me if im wrong i thought they couldnt
    touch the basic tools of your trade
    or where you lucky enough to avoid sequestration
    [painfull]of your assests
     
  5. capnpugwash

    capnpugwash New Member

    Listen to the wise word of CF. I'd only add that cash flow could be your biggest problem so be careful with your overheads. As JG states put away 25% + to cover the vultures. I put it into Premium Bonds and won a £100 !!! Wot a result - made a profit off the revenue.
     
  6. Pugley

    Pugley Member

    In addition to the advice already given, I would also ensure that you know how to use a spreadsheet program like Excel and ensure you keep meticulous records of every single penny that goes in and out of your business.

    That also includes being crystal clear about every aspect of your overheads eg, office (room at home) car/van, petrol, servicing, telephone, postage, insurance, tools, depreciation computers/stationery, clothing, advertising, tax, training, accountant, etc, etc, etc.

    Only when you understand all of these costs will you know if you are actually making a profit or subsidising each of your customers. It's quite difficult to actually hang on to those pounds that pass through your palms!

    Like CF I dont think I could EVER work for someone else again, even if it does mean only working a 50 hour week! In fact I am probably unemployable - but free.
     
  7. Thermo

    Thermo New Member

    Guys,
    thanks for the help so far. The main theme seems to be the accounting, luckily i have a secret weapon....my wife is a qualified accountant! Not so easy to fire her if it all goes wrong i suppose. Any advice with regard to advertising, business plans banking etc? Any advice is gladly received
     
  8. Robbo

    Robbo New Member

    Dont know how to repost this short of retyping it word for word....Perhaps some kind soul would do it for me - otherwise the best advice I could give can be re read in just talk -customers from hell ( currently page 5) second page in
    ROBBO
     
  9. Charlie Far!ey

    Charlie Far!ey New Member

    Your gonna need your wife for a lot more than sex in the coming times. First conduct a SWOT analysis and from there identify how your weaknesses can be surmounted and made benefical by drawing in the skills needed to resolve them.

    Your business plan is to be clear and concise with probable flaws and diagnosis of failure and successes, from there a forecast of upper mid and lower scenarios and then create your forecasts with probable observations (at least 40) and using a correlation co-efficient (revenue/time) and the straight line (A+Bx) create the line of best fit and utilise gap analysis for the scenarios. Once the model has played out in your 'probable' scenarios you will have a clear idea what you must achieve to aspire to your forecast.

    Once in action maintain the data harvesting and the actual observations to enter into your model so as to clearly see where you are and what you must do to achieve your targets. Your wife will understand the jargon here.
     
  10. Pugley

    Pugley Member

    Whilst "swot analysing" I think it would also be useful to focus on a few additional initiatives:

    - Develop an innovation strategy which is marked by an explosive number of lightning fast small starts that match the environment's turbulence

    - Aim most small starts at small markets and find your exclusive niche.

    - Treat each would be, new or old product an experiment to be constantly modified.

    - Be aware of the trap of shared resources - that is, partially committed people or facilities.

    - Substitute pilots and prototypes for proposals.

    - Find trial sites and field champions for new products/projects/programmes

    - Cut your average "time to first tangible test" of everything by 75%, in every arena, in the next 24 months.

    - Put NIH (not invented here) behind you and learn to copy and learn creative "swiping" (different from "swotting")

    ..............And if you get really bored with above, place an ad in the local newsagent and go a touch and feel some real tangible customers - then get stuck in!

    I'm sooooooooooooooo glad I left the City.
     
  11. capnpugwash

    capnpugwash New Member

    OR, to make it really complex, you could just whack out a few handbills around your area and see how it goes.
     
  12. Makin-Tracks

    Makin-Tracks New Member

    Well do your home work and keep an eye on the accounts as you go. Keep the customer happy. I find I explain as I go any problems I encounter and the solutions works well. They have no idea about what you going on about half the time. But it puts them at ease that you are willing to explain and do a good job.

    Keep your apointments up and on time.

    BUT learn to try and switch off from work. All of us here work way more than the 9-5 hrs and customers will try and call you on a Sunday night 8pm or later you have to be have a life outside work or it will affect you and your missis. I know that as I didn't do the above. But the company is of a good size now for me to relax abit.

    and GOOD luck

    Where in the South are you working from I cover the M3 area.
     
  13. Thermo

    Thermo New Member

    Firstly thanks one and all for the advice so far
    secondly to the last few posts.....HUH???????
    thirdly to martin, in the area of east and west sussex
     
  14. marlboro

    marlboro New Member

    A couple of things coming from the 'customer' angle, hope it's of use and not too egg-sucking.

    If I was shelling out a good few quid I'd like to see some sort of reference. Maybe some tame relatives / mates that you could do some work for? I'd be comfortable that you'd recently set-up as long as I could see the end results were good.

    Secondly, if you're recommended to me it's worth more than any advertising, marketing or good-year blimps! Obviously the quality of work drives the majority of the recommendation, but (it was mentioned above)- keeping the punter updated on what's going on makes for a calmer and more positive job. If someone's happy with you work it might always be worth leaving a few cards with them so they can pass on to their mates and do your marketing for you!

    Good luck...
    Marly.

    P.S. When you're minted on this splendid advice I'll claim my free 130' x 50' garden makeover; the 'natural' look only works for so long!!
     
  15. Bigted

    Bigted New Member

    Just advertising alone is not the full picture, you need to keep your company name in front of the clients and get them to recommend you to other friends and family. I started using a system that has gained me over 300 new customers inthe first year.

    I can honestly say that I dont need anymore customers but they keep coming through that initial marketing push. You can get a free report and CD from them, I thing they were called crusader Marketing on 0800 011 2982 its a 24hr recorded message
     
  16. gangman

    gangman New Member

    Don't think I'll bother.
     
  17. deacon

    deacon New Member

    i think jonny grant may be a bit high at 30% , if your good wife is an account then she will tell you you have an married couple allowance of some £4700 , you then would get tool allowance and countless other allowances
    Lets put it simple earn £20000 minus 4700 allowance , lets say 4000 expences petrol and allsorts that would leave say 11000 tax at 22% 2240 dived 52 weeks is £43.00 per week not the 115.00 which jonny suggested , yes you will have 9% national insurance on your profit but that would take to 60.00 a week or so , if you go in saving to much you will find that maybe it not all its cracked up to be
     

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