Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello,
I have recently been thinking about picking up a building trade and maybe going self-employed in the near future. I am wondering if anyone else on here has done a building trade or been self-employed.
Any feedback or your experience in those areas would be greatly appreciated.
Hello Erwin, what field were you thinking of starting with?
Some, such as electrician, need qualifications and there a lot where considerable experience is required if you are not starting as an apprentice.
In practical terms however, you will need:
1 - ether setup as self employed or as a limited company in order to bill the customers and pay taxes. Few people do cash in hand / no questions asked payments now and it is technically illegal not to declare income.
2 - understand the accounting rules for your company type. An accountant is worth speaking to so you understand the laws in operaton at the moment and your frequency / type of accounting declarations.
3 - If you are working on your own (rather than for anothe builder) then you probably need your own tools. Make sure they are marked (maybe etched) with your name and they are insured as theft is likely to happen at some point.
4 - How will you get to the jobs with your tools? Having your own car is fine but you will end up making it dirty, probably a bid dinged up (at least inside) and should really notify your insurance that it is being used for work which can get expensive.
5 - You are all ready for work now so how are you going to get the jobs? You will need a strategy for this whether working for someone else, advertising or some other form of introducing yourself to potential hirers / customers.
6 - getting paid is often a challenge in these difficult financial times. You need to think of how much deposit to get before starting, how the payment terms will work and how you will be able to persue non-payers.
7 - Cash flow is likely to be lumpy, especially in the early days while you build up a reputation so careful planning is needed to be able to cover your bills. Taking packed lunches, living frugally and deferring spending are smart moves in the early days to help until you have enough cash coming in to make this more comfortable.
8 - tax is payed quite some time after you make the money typically so it is important to save that money somewhere you won't be tempted to spend it. Penalties for not paying tax can be severe so don't spend it unless you have only a worse potential outcome to avoid.
If you are up for it, let us know your trade and I'll give some more specific pointers.
I would most likely go with an electrician or Carpentry. I guess you have some knowledge
?
Erwin said:I would most likely go with an electrician or Carpentry.
Electricians need to be certified because of the sheer volume of regulation around the work they do.
There is a good breakdown on the requirements here:
https://www.professions.co.uk/careers/how-to-become-an-electrician/
Most of the work is controlled by building regulations part P ( see https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/1285/can-you-do-electrical-work-yourself-in-the-uk#37986 for explanation about what this means in practical terms) so without active qualifications you will be restricted on what you can do.
Carpentry is a much less regulated profession but needs arguably more skill and less knowledge. It is slightly more of an art as wood is a very changable product and understanding how to work with grain etc is essential to getting good results.
I find carpentry much more rewarding to perform as there is a feeling of creating something from raw materials and the end product is normally on show (floors, cabinets, doors etc) but it also comes with a lot more cuts and scratches than electrical work.
Do you have any background in these areas?
I'm from a famly of carpenters and engineers and have been working on house renovation projects for 6 years so know enough about all the trades to help them out substantially or do their jobs when required.