Going Self Employed

NFL_Psycho

NFL_Psycho

NFL_Psycho

Associate
Joined
16 Oct 2005
Posts
32
Location
East Yorkshire
Hi, Im currently putting some deep thought into starting up my own PC repair business and I was wondering if anyone has any useful tips or advice?
 
Woah, epic revival, I'm sure you can tell that no-one responded because there are no 'useful tips' - stay away. :cool:
 
Well you can't get child care vouchers.
Found that one out today.
employees can, but not the employer, cause of course being self employed means you are automatically wealthy!!
 
If you are going self employed you have two choices: Sole Trader or Limited Company.

All sorts of pro's and con's to both but there are tons of websites out there.

The most important piece of advice is make sure you are very self disciplined. There is so much that you need to sort out in terms of your accounts but also stuff like insurance etc.

If you are organised and do things as soon as they come in its easy - don't let things build up - I've done it and it takes ages to sort out.
 
Just register as self employed with the Inland Revenue or whever they're calling themselves these days. You can do it all online.

I started with a few ads in shop windows, then an ad in Yellow Pages and regular leaflet drops. I'll warn you though, there aren't as many viruses doing the rounds and computers are a lot more reliable than they used to be so repeat business is a lot lower than it was when I started out. The reason I gave it up was I spent so much time chasing new business to replace the repeat business that was not as frequent. Yellow Pages also isn't as popular as it used to be with punters and the advert is expensive. If you're going to have one make sure you don't mind working round that area. What I'm trying to say is get an ad that covers all the crappy estates in South London and that's the business it'll bring in: lots of scum who want something for nothing, will try and make you feel bad for charging them and then won't be repeat business. On the other hand get an ad in a nice area and it'll be well-off middle class families who make nice tea, have well behaved kids and will be calling you back regularly - this is what you want. Target these areas with leaflets and try not to get it done on the same day as the free papers and pizza deivery leaflets :)
 
Thanks for the replies. I think Ill just do some cash in hand stuff for friends/family and see what happens via word of mouth.
 
On the other hand get an ad in a nice area and it'll be well-off middle class families who make nice tea, have well behaved kids and will be calling you back regularly
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A shockingly niave statement.:eek:

... walks off in disbelief at the narrowmindedness of some ocuk forum users
 
My dad is self employed and he recently had a heart attack, now he is off work without sick pay. Just one downside to it.
 
Just to subscribe to the thread; I need to set up 'properly' (I'm doing web development - money comes in from clients and ad revenue) so any more links are appreciated :) Wondering whether to go Ltd, Sole Trader, what other options there are, and what the pros & cons of each are.
 
furnace said:
Just to subscribe to the thread; I need to set up 'properly' (I'm doing web development - money comes in from clients and ad revenue) so any more links are appreciated :) Wondering whether to go Ltd, Sole Trader, what other options there are, and what the pros & cons of each are.
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Well with a ltd compant you have:

  • Share holders - Depends if you go private or public, private - You can only sell shares by word of mouth/advertising, Public - Your shares are put on the stock market
  • Limited Liability- If you get into ridiculous debt, you wont be fully accountable for it.

Sole trader is basically the opposite, no shares and unlimited reliability.

Dont quote me on any of this though, as we were doing this section of business this time last year and im a bit rusty :\
 
Megahurtz400 said:
Well with a ltd compant you have:

  • Share holders - Depends if you go private or public, private - You can only sell shares by word of mouth/advertising, Public - Your shares are put on the stock market
  • Limited Liability- If you get into ridiculous debt, you wont be fully accountable for it.

Sole trader is basically the opposite, no shares and unlimited reliability.

Dont quote me on any of this though, as we were doing this section of business this time last year and im a bit rusty :\
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As an accountant (albeit a rubbish one) I can confirm this. Being ltd though, you have to produce annual reports, in accordance with silly rules, sorry I mean best accounting practice, and make them available to anyone who wants to see them.
 
after reading up on what was needed i think sole trader is the best option for furnace.
is it mainly yourself doing all the work? if so i think a ltd company would be a lot more hassle than going down the sole trader route.
 
there are some agencies that will sell your skills to companies for a cut. Might be worth looking into for experience and reputation building... and they can help setup an umbrella company to help with taxes and some cases sick pay. I looked into going freelance in the past but never running my own business. Maybe worth looking into going freelance for a while before making the jump to running your own business.
 
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