should i or shouldnt i ???

[Gray_rs]

If you have enough work and money to buy the equipment you need go for it, I have been trying to tell Iain to take some money out his cars and do this instead of working out his dads place ,

[markk]

I have no idea what you do, but would I be self employed - never again.

[cossie dunc]

Dont employee anyone mark do it on your own employees only take the piss

A wise old man once told me the 1st rule of self employment is: don't have any staff..........he was right

[BUSYBOY]

Thought about this myself mark many times but never had the bottle to do it cossie dunc has some very good points above , I still get people telling me now "go for it , youv got loads of guys that need bodywork " but at the end of it all I earn a fairly good wage, 5 weeks paid Hols + paid bank Hols , can work school hours if I want too (9am /5pm ), allowed to come & go as & when I like with alsorts , sick pay to a good degree , now working where you do I'm sure you do even better than I do so what you need to think is your going to have to give all that stability up & go into something that's going to be a big money pit to start off but saying all the above mate your good at what you do & are good with folk so might be the best thing you ever do & wish you had done it 10 years ago ,, I might very well say in 10 years why didn't I have to balls to go for it
Good luck mate but think carefully mate the grass isn't always greener on the other side

[cab2cos]

I HAVNT been on here many years but going by what I've seen and hard about you mark, I think your a top fella and want go Far wrong.
A big step, but one all must everyone on here will say DO IT.

[dom123]

I agree grass is always greener! The problem is people are after every penny's worth of work these days and argue the tiny details. It's a hard place to be I wouldn't do it until work picks up in general.

My accountants cost a year are 2k alone!
My phone bills are 3k a year, 4 mobiles/ home line and fax..

The list goes on and on!

[mboon]

I must admit Mark,

My parents had there own company in the ground works/building trade and its a nightmare. The amount of people that do not pay the final bill, and the courts just put a CCJ on their name which they do not care about. I know this is different with your trade as no money no car but need to keep a very close eye on it. Only takes a few people to be like this and your not sure where the mortage money is coming from next month

[spiritof'76]

Ultimately it has to be your decision based on what you believe is best for yourself and your family......... there is no easy answer sadly as there are so many pro's and cons !!

I've been self employed for 13 years now and despite all the drawbacks it does suit me as i'm not good at being told what to do but it does rule your life and you can 'never' switch off and your working day doesn't end at 6 0'clock when you down tools as then your up to your neck in paperwork and returning calls and getting stressed worrying about wether enough work is booked in to keep you afloat so all these things ultimately rule your life and your family life will be compromised to an extent

Plus unfortunately i think the days of you being able to do us underside freshen up's for £1500 will be gone as your overheads will force you to up prices considerably and you may then find the type of work you enjoy will dry up to a degree

Not trying to put you off as being master of your own destiny may be the making of you but just don't go into it without your eyes wide open to the reality of the fact that it's tough out there and the current government is not really on the side of the small business

[spiritof'76]

Just read my reply back and now i think it sounds too negative lol ........ truth is that i don't think i will ever go back to working for someone else even though when the going gets tough i always threaten to lol but when things are going a bit better its nice having the freedom to make your own decisions and not having to grovel for time off......... not that i take much time off as i can't afford to

[RS 500 Registrar]

Mark

I have no regretts about starting North yorks rs spares ,,BUT,,

If i am honest , if i could find a full time job that paid a reasonable wage then i would jump at it

Its ok haing a business when the money is rolling in , but these days people are happy to buy cheap small items but spending big money is not the case

Its ok doing work on peoples cars as a side line as all the money is in your pocket , but look at your last job and now remove a percentage of the money you made for

rent
rates
wages
tax
elecy
Phone bills
van running costs


and thats the main expenses , there are a hell of a lot of hidden costs that you only find out about when your on your own

I do resto work now and to be honest when i work out my hourly rate its less than min wage , simply because if i charged for every hour i wouldnt get any work

Its not as easy as it looks so think hard before you jump

I have been on my own for 11 years now and to be honest im sick of the hassles of it all as i just seem to keep paying out all the time ,

Yes there are posotives , you can come and go as you please ,but , if your busy you dont even get a week off , I have had one full week of in 11 years and all i did was worry all week about being of for that week , lol

Think hard Mark ,

Its different for those who started in the good times and have a customer base than it is starting from scratch in these times , and remember that your customers you have now will have to pay more for your work if you go it alone ( will they be happy to pay a lot more for the same work ) ???

I sound negative mate , but its reality , running your own business isnt as good as people say , there are a lot of hassles that go with it and unless you are charging the earth then you wont be much better of than having a full time job

Ill let somone else tell you about all the posotives but thought you also need to think about the negatives

Good luck if you decide to go for it

Paul

[Mark Barber]

very interesting guys thanks i will be very carefull and as you say jules only so many cars to resto

[spiritof'76]

very interesting guys thanks i will be very carefull and as you say jules only so many cars to resto

I had better book in for a tidy up before you make the jump and the price doubles

[RS 500 Registrar]

Mark

to let you know a little reality

I was contacted by a fela who asked me to do an undrside resto on a car that you had quoted £1500 to do

I laughed at him and told him to get the car booked in with you asap , there is no way in a million years you can do a underside resto for that money if you are working for yourself

you will need to double that price Mark

How many folk will pay 3k plus ????

I do a lot of under bonnet restos now and they arnt cheap to do , and as said i do them for a set price and when i work out my hours im on min wage at best

Also remember , I have no rent to pay as i have my rather nice big workshop at home

If i had rent to pay i would simply go bust as i couldnt possibly charge enough

John taylor tried the resto thing and gave up and went back to car sales as there smply wasnt enough in the resto work

[Mark Barber]

i wont just be doing cossy stuff i will be doing mot s/work accident damage and car sales too but i must admit im getting put off here lol

[scotram]

Mark,

I started my own garage 4 years ago from a small 1 ramp lock up and worked myself for 2 years, the business grew very fast and forced me to move to bigger premises.

I now have 3 mechanics, 5ramps and a MOT station and always fully booked.

If you can provide better service than the competition in your area then word of mouth is the best possible advert, your resto work may not be the best way to make money although always a good part of your business to fall back on.

I sold any toys I had (4yr old M3) to start up and owned all my plant and machinery which gave me extra security as I didn't have any pressure from bank, I can now afford to provide better for my family and buy toys I could never of afforded to buy while employed and doing work on side.

Day to day running of garage can be tough but enjoyable and rewarding, I couldn't go back to working for anyone now and the positives far outweigh the negitives for me.

Cheers scott