Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Well I do know the chap so not likely to con me (I hope) from a purchase point of view it will cost very little, probably just a notional amount tbh for reasons noted above. I'm more concerned with the risks that you highlight (a) existing clients may cancel (b) existing clients may let current contracts run then leave (c) move from mostly risk free salaried job to risky own business could mean dive in income or worse still no income at all!

He's offered to send me his cashflow + I'll ask for the accounts & get an expert to review them + I'll also check him out at companies house.

Thanks for advice, TX.

ScoobyWon't

Could you do it on the side? That way you still have a job should working for yourself not work out.

Budgie

iTrader: (4)

Ouch Steve, under cut me just like that
I thought we were mates, that just goes to show that when money is involved even your mates are rogues
Make it 4% TX and I will even check out the fella's business for ya

FYI John
When I set up my company 17 years ago it took 11k of personal investment, I drew no wages from the company for 4 months and in those 17 years I have suffered about £750k of bad debtors.

MMT WRX

Good idea.

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

What is the purchase price ?
Can you afford to pay for it
Would you have to borrow the money ?

Could you live for six months on no salary ?
Have you savings for six months salary after you paid for it ?
What is your break even to live eg food mortgage family debts etc ?
Could you live without 4/5 weeks paid holiday a year
Can you work another 20 hours per week ?
Would you earn enough to top up your savings ,pension etc ?
Would you have to buy another car ?
What's your stress levels like ?
Could you cope on double the stress ?

How much better off would you be 10k 20k
Would you be a millionaire in ten years time ?

The reason I ask that is most millionaires are there before they are 30 or within 5years of being in business !!

If it went **** up chances are you would not get your old job back again or anything in the industry could you retrain

And of course the simple question

Would you be cheaper then your competitors

If not
Don't bother
Keep you 20 year old job and employment rights and security

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

+1 on the lord harding post, one man band is bloody hard work 24/7 and unless there is a fortune in it i would not bother, too much like hard work for too little reward, sure you get a certain amount of satisfaction out of being self employed and your own boss, but you still have to kiss your clients ***.

And taking holidays kills your bank balance as it's a double wammy ie you pay out and earn nothing while your away.

When i did it, i worked for 3yrs to get back to zero, and i was so happy when i did that it was like i'd made my first million, lol.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

F*ck me you guys are negative, is there any upside at all?!

TX.

Budgie

iTrader: (4)

Of course there are upsides, if all goes to plan, which it doesn't
But the first down hurts like hell
Survive that and you learn to laugh in the face of the downs

Neanderthal

iTrader: (6)

I set up as a sole trader 3 years ago (will be into my 4th year in May).
I didn't do it through ambition or any life plan as such. Just circumstance of being made redundant, then gradually doing more and more private work to the point where I was doing more than 16 hours a week.
First year I made £14k profit, 2nd year, doubled that, this year, well I had to register for VAT.
I always get asked "it must be great to work for yourself?" to which I reply.. "you never work for yourself, you always have clients you work for, they expect you to give them a service like they're your only client. You work twice as many hours a week, you have the stress of accounting/tax/vat returns, you don't get paid holiday or more importantly paid sick leave and would I ever recommend leaving a secure (as secure as can be in this day and age) job to set up by yourself?.... NEVER!"

As the other 'negative posters' above me have said, if you think you and your family can handle the stress and uncertainty of your regular wage then go for it, but be under no illusion that it'll put a strain on your finances and relationships. I have regularly slept in the spare room after working till 2-3am so I don't disturb the wife's sleep.
Happily for me, I've now set up a ltd company, got an accountant, and most importantly, got a business partner to share the load and help grow the business.

Matt

Luan Pra bang

To put on perpective though I started a new business with 30k barely survived the first two years then ended up in somthing else by chance. Now earn plenty working part time. It can be a rocky road but things can work out its just never as simple as you think it will be at the start.

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

I think the concern people have is basically its a list of contacts your buying not a shop /building /van full of tools
Sort of like when people used to buildup an insurance round get a list of clients then sell it on

After 20 years in the trade you should be able to access your own list of contacts and ultimately if it was good you could /would of done it years ago

Tread carefully and my advice would be to stay in the job you have done unless you can afford to loose it

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Last year I set myself up as a part-time self-employed engineering consultant.

Fortunately my existing employer decided that having me working for them 3 days a week instead of 5 was preferable to having me work 0 days for them, so they've actually been supportive and flexible about it - and that's made it a whole lot easier. I do at least know that even if all my own clients were to disappear overnight, I still have 3 days' worth of work a week, and that pays the bills.

That's been a huge load off my mind, and there certainly have been times - especially early on - when that was the only work I had. I spent the rest of the time having to cold call companies looking for business, which was a pretty horrible way to spend the time - nobody likes being pestered by random strangers - but it worked, and I got a good customer out of it.

Now I've been established a while I have several regular customers, and they're keeping me more than busy enough. I've been working every evening and weekend for weeks, and of course, every client expects priority over all the others. That's quite a tricky juggling act to manage. It's all too easy to de-prioritise things like spending time with my family and taking physical exercise to the point where they simply don't happen.

Not sure what the answer is to that one quite yet; to some extent I think it's a side effect of only having 2 complete week days available to do clients' work. Nobody likes being told that the next day I have available to work on their job - however minor - is a week away, so I have to do evenings and weekends just to keep momentum up. I suspect this would probably get easier if I were working for myself more of the time.

One thing which did catch me off guard is the extent to which my workload can vary from one day to the next. Rather than steady, predictable 9-to-5 working hours, I can easily have an hour's work to do one day, and 15 hours' worth the following day whcih is no fun at all. Being alone in the house all day with just the cat for company is harder than I expected it to be too.

So: is it worth it? Hell, yes. There's no office politics, no bureaucracy, and if I think something should be done a particular way then that's exactly how it is. No job is ever a pointless waste of time if you're charging by the hour. Plus there's always the rather nice feeling that my work is being taken seriously - otherwise they would't be paying for it. I feel valued by the people I work for, and that's a big deal.