Anyone self employed?

[Danny2009]

I've been messing around with cars ever since I was 13 had my first car at 14, went to college when I left school got my mechanics qualifications,

At the end of last year I got a unit mainly somewhere warm light and dry to work on my cars but do a little mechanic work to pay for the rent

I've started working at a garage full time 9am till anything up to 8pm 6 days a week and only get £30 per day shocking hate working there talk to me like shite

Anyway the point of this thread, I'm thinking about sacking the job off and going balls out with the unit set up self employed buisness

Anyone got there own buisness on here or anyone know where to point me in the right direction to getting started, I think I'm going to into job centre and ask for some info

Cheers lads

[Anton]

Jesus mate why would you work for that? I'm self employed and charge more than that per hour!

I would go to the job centre and get some opinions. Or look for another job??

[Niall]

why on earth are you working for well below minimum wage!?!?

In order to be self employed, it really is as simple as phoning HMRC and telling them you are. They will ask you a few questions and thats it. They will also send you a handy pack about starting as self employed. Dont forget to keep records of all in and out payments.

[Danny2009]

Ino I made more working at unit per day than I do a week there, I just fancied a 9-5 job gaurenteed wage ect but hate it, they told me week trial at £30 a day and will go up after the trial finishes 3 weeks later and the wage hasn't gone up but the hours have

I never advertised before and got bits of work so I think if I advertise ill get the buisness it's help reguarding what I have to do tax wise and health and safety proof of oil desposal ect ect

[Toms306]

You don't even have to phone afaik, can do it online. I've been looking into it myself recently, theres a helpful starter guide on the .gov website.

Think this is the relevant one. - https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader

[zx_volcane]

Go for it, and don't look back!

Most garages charge min £40 / hour these days

Would initially try to avoid putting any costs at all out, ie can you work mobile without using a unit?

Whatever you do don't go get a loan out to cover needless setups costs (ie do you really need to take advertising out or print business cards initially?)

[Tallguy_2]

How old are you? Trade insurance is a large headache here

[gareth7]

I went self-employed over 12 years ago and I've never looked back. Don't get me wrong, it's hard graft but it pays a damn sight better that being PAYE.

As Tallguy_2 says....insurances are a MUST including public liability, and make sure you discuss it thoroughly with a broker/insurance company to ensure you're adequately covered.

[Danny2009]

I'm 21 in August so hoping I can get a traders then, I already have the unit I've got a few cars I'm breaking so that pays for the rent so far

Anyone no a i surance that will do trade for a 21 year old

Going to go in tommorrow and quit self enoloyed is the way forward

[Tallguy_2]

Most Trade insurance won't touch you til your 25 unless you want to pay 4-5 grand

[Eeyore]

£30 a day is crap. I get £50 a day for sitting in an office managing facebook/twitter pages and designing websites! Im 20 too btw!

[Danny2009]

I'm paying 2 grand for a straight diesel so a extra 2k a year to drive what I like sounds like money well spent, can also put the Missis on it to save her paying insurance just need to find one,

Useful link that Tom been reading through it some good info

[Tallguy_2]

For me to get a trade policy it was 7k, I'm 24 with 7 years NCB

Yet to insure my old RS4 which was group 20 was £700 and the range rovers only £740

[Seb_Ryan]

Youll find traders policy for around 4k will only be upto a 2l engine or say 150bhp.. gotta have an add on for 4x4 in some cases, and sports cars, and imports aswell

[Danny2009]

Been looking every where today best one ive found is can drive anything upto a 1.8 without a turbo which is useless tbh and my insurer won't let me drive other cars third party till I'm 25 so I'm not sure where to go now traders insurance would be a big help but looks like ill have to wait for it

[Chris_90]

Been looking every where today best one ive found is can drive anything upto a 1.8 without a turbo which is useless tbh and my insurer won't let me drive other cars third party till I'm 25 so I'm not sure where to go now traders insurance would be a big help but looks like ill have to wait for it

Carnt you get a traders policy in some one else's name i.e your dad/mum maybe with you as a named driver? not sure if they work like that but worth a try?

[Danny2009]

Could try it my cousin has a traders policy so I'm going to have a word with him but be nice to have my own

[Birk]

I got my motor trade insurance at 23, I'm a self employed trader/mechanic and have my own architectural company.

If your good at doing everything on all different types of cars, you will survive, just advertise and get the word out.

[Danny2009]

Cheers mate yea Ill get some advertising done where did you get that traders?

[Birk]

Academy insurance.

[mercfan]

Just go for it mate. Walked away from a 50k a year office job for life in London a few years ago, rented a unit on a farm and never looked back. With the trade insurance, there are large differences between different companies. Definitely, any mention of breaking/dismantling/scrap will any policy rocketing upwards. Keep it simple car trader/mechanic. Put limits on liability and mileage. Are you really going to work on £60k cars? Agricultural property is a good way to start out until you get established. Cheaper overheads. If you don't have refuse removal or drainage, the council will have a hard time finding a reason for you to pay rates.
Taxation is simple. Keep records of everything and do your annual self-assessment. Things are simple if it's just you working there. If you don't let anyone enter your unit, that takes away health and safety rubbish. Environment agency don't really bother much with what is going on on farms. Either way, re-use anti-freeze in old bangers you may fix up and these days you get paid for waste oil. And that's all you need to say if you get asked.
Other than that, get yourself a car transport trailer and a sprinter/transit size van.
When you're self employed, there is a saying that becomes you watchword: never put all your eggs in one basket. With a car transport trailer, you'll get requests to pick up a broken down car and fix it. The van will allow you to make use of quick one-minute opportunities. One day had a call from a main dealer nearby. Liquidators were coming along later that day. A frantic hour later £1k lighter in the pocket, I had several van loads of brand new genuine parts, amongst which 6 brand new factory crated engines.
Which brings me to another point. DO NOT BE AN ARROGANT IDIOT.
Once you are in the trade, you'll see everyone talking to anyone. Word spreads quickly. And you will reap the rewards from being nice and kind to people a million times over. Did a dealer a favour once when he was in trouble and since then got untold amount of cars for £50, even a few free ones.
Keep your eyes and ears to the ground, network with others in the trade, always have cash in your pocket, treat your customers as you would like to be treated and you'll be just fine.
For trade insurance, talk to Steve Boardman 01204 887100. Dealt with him for many years and no-one comes close. Currently full trade cover incl 7.5 ton, recovery, exotic and sports cars, demo cover etc. all in under £1k, but then I am twice your age with about 15 years NCB.
As I said in the beginning, just go for it. You've got nothing to lose.
Good Luck!

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Just ask if you want more advice/info

[Danny2009]

Thanks mate that's a massive help! No doubt ill be contacting you didn't realise there was so many self employed people on here

Need to start looking for some premeses I have a unit ATM but its not ideal to run a buisness from.

[mercfan]

Tell me more - what have you got - a lot of people don't mind if the labour is cheaper.
Think in the customer's mind "that's why my bill is so high - paying for this guy's flash premises"

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I've got a few cars I'm breaking so that pays for the rent so far

When you're advertising the bits, mention that you don't mind giving people advice, that you're a qualified mechanic and that you can fit the parts for them.

Instant extra cash for no extra advertising cost.

And if you treat them well, they'll come back for more and for servicing, etc.

And next their family come along, their friends, those friends' family and next thing you know, you'll want to employ someone...

As always, word of mouth is best. And very satisfying!

[Danny2009]

I've got a unit it's really ran down wouldn't want to work from here

I agree word of mouth is where I get most of my current work from as I don't advertise as of yet

[mercfan]

Have a ask around on local farms - there are some nice buildings around and some farmers like the idea of a mechanic being around (mutual benefits). And they are a lot cheaper as well, plus other benefits as previous post. Just turn up presentable and be open and honest about who you are, what you want to do, etc, etc. AND tell them that you're help keeping an eye out against traveller trouble (straight away bonus points).

Personally I found that the best advertising is by passing little bits of your (indirect) advertising budget straight onto your existing customers. Works wonders. Some people will give you £20+ off your next purchase/bill for bringing them a new customer. It works online (google/yahoo/etc affiliates) and it works in the "real" world as well. Better and cheaper than the most expensive ad script.

[Danny2009]

That's a really good point I wouldn't have thought of that people always love a discount, a lock up on a farm type thing would be ideal, not getting in the way of people and plenty of space

[mercfan]

That's it yes. Just ask around. You'd be surprised how many there are around.
Be a bit fussy - you'll be glad in the long run.
Look at the lay of the land - rainwater/flooding/etc.
The type and condition of the farm road. It's a right PITA working on cars if their undersides get covered in mud on the way to your workshop.
Security arrangements - does the farmer live there? How many entrances to the farm and are gates locked/access controlled.
How is the electricity supply and how is being metered, ie will you have your own meter (advisable to avoid future conflict if you end up running power/air tools a lot of the time). 3-phase is not essential but a nice bonus, as the equipment is cheaper to buy.
You obviously already know the advantages of a smooth floor that's level with the area in front of the doors, but worth asking how thick the concrete is - think anchoring down a two-post ramp.
Ask what happens with rubbish - if he's a twat, he'll say "your problem mate".
Others will permanently have a big skip for this purpose. And others will just burn it on a regular basis - tractor tyres an all - good fun if you're not a tree hugger
This last one is the kind of farmer you want to go with. Will save you a lot of grief in the long run. Far less likely to have a kitten about a few drops of oil on the ground, let alone an accidental spillage of several litres of black oil all over the place
Happened to me once on a farm where I was tinkering. Revving an old tranny and next thing it threw a rod out the side of the block and black oil everywhere! Farmer, who was a bit of a twat anyway promptly told me to take my stuff and F-OFF. Did me a favour actually as I found a much better place the same day. And that one just used to say "don't worry about it - chuck some saw dust on it and cover it over with old tyres or something"
Anyway, I'm sure you get the idea - go and ask and look at places and see.
The best ones are never advertised - you just got to go up the driveway and be polite and ask (farmers are inherently suspicious of strangers turning up). And if they don't have anything, ask if they know of anywhere - they all know each other's business - not enough occupying them watching the crops grow

[Dicky]

Most Trade insurance won't touch you til your 25 unless you want to pay 4-5 grand

AXA insured me for my traders for £1700 but i was restricted to driving under 2litres out of work hours, 21 with 0 NCB