Hello all. I would appreciate your opinions on Self Empolyed

[Plip]

Hello, this is my first post, I am looking for a sanity check on a business plan I have.

I have signed on for a C&G 6129 fast track course. £5k
I do not intend to go for the NVQ as I plan to go self employed as soon as the course is complete (6months).
I am mid forties and this is a totally new career path for me.
I have limited contacts in the industry. 1 well established plumber has offered to help me out of i get stuck on the job. (free advise). I do have a contact in decorating who I can sub too.
I consider myself well presentable and client facing. And am confident with people.
My business would be based around central London.
I really enjoy doing my own plumbing around the house, and have completed several fairly big projects (new bathroom/replace rads) to my wifes satisfaction.
I am prepared to work 24 hours to get the business going.

The million dollar question...

On starting the business. Does anyone think i am realistic in expecting to make at least £450 a week inclusive of tax, insurance, transport, advertising, admin. tools.
Excluding material costs?


Apologies for the matter of fact tone of the post. I need to make a descision and want as much info as I can get.

Your thoughts, and any abuse you think appropriate greatly appreciated.

All the best

 

[uug197h]

The million dollar question...

On starting the business. Does anyone think i am realistic in expecting to make at least £450 a week inclusive of tax, insurance, transport, advertising, admin. tools.
Excluding material costs?

hi welcome to the forum

I would say you have slim to no chance of making £450 per week on starting your business this may happen 2 or 3 years down the line when you have a good customer base (if your doing plumbing alone)
if you do full bathroom inatallations (plumbing, tiling, electrical, plastering and painting) or full kitchen inastallations (same as bathroom but add joinery) you will have a chance but again you need the customers and the referals.

you may need to advertise for weeks or months for work to start coming in on a regular basis don't expect to go out after your course and start traiding the next week

£5k course
£3k van
£2 tools and insurances (including van and tools insurance)
£1k advertising
£5k living expences
£1k float for material costs

than should cover you for 6 months and hope the work has started coming in by then

 

[willplumber]

I would say look around for other courses, i just finished a national diploma in plumbing heatign enginering and intend to do the same as you. i was offered a course at 5k from a certain compay which i can say via pm if you like, i decided to NOT go for it with THAT company as it was a bit.....DODGY! i did however get a great course for about 1500 at a discount which is normally 2.7k with another college, the plumbing institute. i can give you url via pm.

this will bring down start up costs.

Will
Brighton Plumber - your local brighton plumbing expert

 

[dontknowitall]

I posted this elsewhere. I'm mid 40's [cough - nearly 47] and live out in the sticks, so a little different to a city as I think people are much more likely to recommend and there's hardly any plumbers around here. Mind you, as I say later, more sheep than people too!

Please feel free to pick and choose from this posting, but the main point I making is that work seems to be a little difficult to find at the moment.


If your finances are in good order you will probably be okay. I did a fast track course last year and have managed to earn enough profit to pay for it, my van, tools, stock, insurances, clothing, tax, etc.

BUT

That was last year

AND

I was very lucky to pick up a three month job and a few other good paying jobs. (March to September).

September to Christmas was okay, but mainly fixing taps, loos and small maintenance type jobs. About 1-2 a week paying £35 to £50 each job.

This year, January was a 2 day job arranged before Xmas. Then nothing.

February was three small jobs (one leaking pipe fixed in an hour), a leaking stop tap (15 minutes) and moving a kitchen sink (most of a day).

March was a week's work putting in a shower, enclosure and tiling. And another job for installing an electrical shower (1/2 day's work). And a third job (1 hour) renewing a cold water cistern ball valve.

Work is picking up a little now the weather's better, but it seems no one is interested in a new bathroom or kitchen or anything new. It's maintenance only on the whole.

If you look at my jobs above, it doesn't exactly pay the mortgage. The competition around here is nearly non existent but then so is the population .... more sheep than people, even after foot and mouth.

Most of my work comes from recommendation and when you're brand new (to anything, not just plumbing) it takes a while for your name to be known, then you've got to be good at your work and be good value to be recommended. It's not easy.

Course (cost £5,000+??) (plus VAT naturally!)
Van (plus VAT) (anything from around £1,500)
Tools (I'd suggest at least £300 will be needed for the first few jobs - buy as required, e.g. don't buy a second tool box until the first is too full)
Insurance - van and public liability
Accountant fees
Stock (at least £100 for some basic fittings, spare loo siphon, ball valve, garden tap, etc)

Total £8,000 for sake of argument.

How to pay for it ... look at my jobs above e.g. change ball valve, one hour. Ball valve costs say £5.00 and you charge £10. Fitting £25 including call out. Gross profit £35.00. Net profit £30.00.

Now the deductions:

Less petrol, less small amount of PTFE tape, less wear on a spanner (they sometimes need replacing too), less electricity for your washing machine to clean your clothes if you get mucky, less tax, less national insurance and less a few other things. Final profit around £10. Remember you need to pay for a service on the van, depreciation, advertising budget if you advertise, telephone bill, etc, etc.

'xcuse my maths ....!! So you need 8 x £10 = £80, 80 x £10 = £800, 800 x £10 = £8,000..... You need 800 customers like that to pay for your initial outlay.

That's why I suggested at the beginning, if your finances can see you through the start (especially in a recession) then go for it. On the brighter side, a recession is about the best time to start a business.

But be warned, it could be an expensive mistake if you haven't access to money to see you through the first year or two.

Choice is yours and I've painted a gloomy picture. But defy me and make a go of it!!

Best of luck!!!

Final note, for basic plumbing (e.g. small repairs) you don't need qualifications. If you don't touch electrics you don't need Part P, if you don't touch unvented hot water cylinders you don't need that part, you don't need to be CORGI registered if you don't touch gas (loads of plumbing without gas!), etc, etc.

If I had my time again and it was this year, I'd go on a short course where I learn to solder and bend pipes and a few principles on how water works around the house and then I'd buy a few books on the subject and pick easier jobs to begin with.

Hope this helps.

 

[willplumber]

Question of the same vein what is the best advertisement route? i have gone for local paper and yell.com so far, any other suggestions?

will

 

[dontknowitall]

I've been thinking of marketing recently and feel that advertising is a waste of money at the moment. Recommendation is always the best route but apart from that I think that putting a business card through peoples' doors is the next best thing. It's extremely boring and degrading doing this, but it does seem to work.

A leaflet is likely to be binned, but a business card is smaller and easier to keep (or pop in the boiler for example).

As far as I'm concerned with advertising if you get no response, there's no proof as to why not. Was it your wording? Was it the recession? Was it no plumber was needed? The list goes on and on.

Then again, in another week, it could be that the water authority turned the water off in a street and this caused various problems so plumbers were kept occupied. (Happened to me 2 weeks ago!)

 

[willplumber]

Well its true that there is no way of tellign why your not getting phone calls! i am goign to do the same as you and walk the streets and i take on the business card idea good one! plus then combining printing costs just the cards not leaflets too. I am thinking of targeting areas e.g. i ahev family on the isle of wight so will puts ads there for bathroom install and stay with them for the week or soemthing. My main issue at the moment is £ i am skint afetr the course fees and travel to and form it, now i am confident and have skills, just no van and few tools. been doing some reseach on start up loans and grants. need jobs to get mpney to get van, need van to do jobs to get money to get van.....catch 22! BYcycle trailer here i come!

 

[justlead1]

Hi Plip, I have been in the industry for many years and now live in a small community in the country. However if i ever moved back to central London, i have always thought i could earn a living within (at the rate you mention) one square mile of my home, But the longer you practice plumbing(in my case) the less you want to change washers, plumb in W/machines, repair gutters tile showers, paint pipes,etc,you get the drift. There is a massive market for plumber/handy man in your area. It just a case of marketing your self in a local freindly manner. Why not go green, push your tools around with a sign written supermarket trolly, it will turn heads and create conversation and leads, or white blind on your front window at home with plumber lives here Call xxxx for service. The conventional route will eat up your money, just joining corgi, institutes, hetas and so on costs big time, and puts massive pressure to earn just to stand still. At your age the cost of set up would amount to about a 15th of your future earnings. (thats a year in your life you work for nothing) Carefully consider what you and the family realy want before taking the leap. Good Luck

 

[Bernie2]

Hmm!

Any self employed plumber will probably tell you "Its getting the bread and butter jobs that count!" In the North, domestic work is mostly for housing associations and being fair they don't want to pay much, but they do give work continuity. Most small firms have a mix of both housing association and private. Some guys go for BG work either gas or central heating. But once again prices are very tight.

It takes years to build a customer base of well paying private work and you have to be versatile and take on any sort of work you can get, just to pay the bills.

And don't forget, everybody wants a free estimate and they take time to do. Try linking in with a few other trades and sharing the work between you. There are a few trade associations knocking about as far as I know. That way you can offer your customers a comprehensive any trade service.