starting off trading

[plumber.]

Hello Everyone,

I'm looking to start doing plumbing and heating work and wanted to set up properly.
What things do i need to have in place before i can start trading as self employed plumber?

- Public Liability Insurance or trade insurance?
- Business name?
- Contract in place before starting work?

Any other things I would need?

Thanks

 

[helpsy]

A back-up plan !

 

[Ray Stafford]

Qualifications and experience?

 

[chris watkins]

No family & 27 hours in every day.
A good accountant (as hard to find as a good banker IMHO)

 

[SimonG]

Sense of humour

 

[helpsy]

Patience !

 

[plumber.]

Qualifications and experience?

Half way through my second year of city and guilds level 2. Working with a plumber part time, changing boilers, heating and general plumbing work.

 

[tomplumb83]

Willing to do 'extras'

 

[basildog]

Ready to break every rule in the book just to keep your head above water sometimes !
I do not mean safety I mean accounting ,banking ,tax ,etc

 

[helpsy]

Tool kit, materials and most importantly a bank account ! Or cash !

 

[CXR100]

i agree with chri watkins, left house 7:30 this morning, back 10:15 toningt! would imagine it would be a nightmare if you had kids and a wife!!!! and i work 6 1/2 days most weeks, (sunday morning goes to deal with the hangover , then sunday afternoon goes to look ar jobs or price up , clean van ready for the week ect) never home before 6-7 , usually a 12 hour day!

 

[basildog]

i agree with chri watkins, left house 7:30 this morning, back 10:15 toningt! would imagine it would be a nightmare if you had kids and a wife!!!! and i work 6 1/2 days most weeks, (sunday morning goes to deal with the hangover , then sunday afternoon goes to look ar jobs or price up , clean van ready for the week ect) never home before 6-7 , usually a 12 hour day!

Yes been there done that and built up to a million pound a year turnover !
Woke up one day and thought I hate the business I hate the customers and I hate the guys that work for me ? Also hated the wife and the mortgage so packed it all in and now have a life !

 

[plumber.]

I've noticed learning theory is one thing but doing work on site is another. At times it can be really hard work, messy and long hours.

 

[CXR100]

well im currently working for somebody 7:30 - 4 then doing my own work ar £13pph after work , i know its not good money but im trying to build a good reputation so i can have enough private work to do it alone one day! i up my prices a bit by bit, so i am very far off a million pounds!! haha! but im only 21 so far ........ from small acorns grow mighty oaks ey???

 

[Chalked]

Utr number!

 

[basildog]

Very true I started out with a beaten up old escort van a lawnmower and a chainsaw !
2 years later brand new Hilix and a Kubota mini excavator and first employee !
Can be done but then sometimes you just think what am I doing it for ?
Last week spent 3 days in a hole putting in new sewers to a manhole !
Earnt naff all and hurt like hell but I came home all muddy with not a care in the world and the radio to keep me company in my hole and no wages to pay or other people to worry about !

 

[Killy Bing]

Very true I started out with a beaten up old escort van a lawnmower and a chainsaw !
2 years later brand new Hilix and a Kubota mini excavator and first employee !
Can be done but then sometimes you just think what am I doing it for ?
Last week spent 3 days in a hole putting in new sewers to a manhole !
Earnt naff all and hurt like hell but I came home all muddy with not a care in the world and the radio to keep me company in my hole and no wages to pay or other people to worry about !

Kubota with their oil pump issues ?

you need a bobcat

 

[basildog]

I would not touch a Bobcat with a barge pole !
My first excavator I had for 9 years only thing ever changed was the battery !
Had a brand new Bobcat in on hire was the biggest pile of rubbish I have ever had the misfortune to drive ?
Yanmar take some beating ?
Jcb mini excavators a waste of time ?
I have driven and tried them all over 30 years so know which ones I like .

 

[Killy Bing]

all our stuff is now bobcat !
quick and powerful
i think you might of had a dud one.
no issues with any of the stuff really.
Jcb are useless now, we only have a pair of micro's now. oh and a fast trac
Daewoo are pants, i have one to rebuild.....yay

hyundaii are useless in the small ranges, 14 ton and up are good. we have a pair of 18's

also have keypad login's on all of them.
and bobcats own "tracking system" actually works.
if someone tries punching in a code or starting it after 11pm to 6pm then we get a phonecall !!!!
if it moves more than half a mile from the drop point same thing again,

 

[basildog]

Bobcat is a mish mash of bits and bobs bought in ?
Kubota engine in the one I drove ?
Some machines seem good at first then you work them and you get a feel for how they perform ?
I cannot remember the name but drove a 5 tonner earlier in the year that was a lovely bit of kit except it kept blowing the main pump oil pipe !
Some machines feel nice when just trying but when you start working you start to realise slew is too fast or something just not feeling right !
I used to dig a lot of manholes ! (GRAVES ) you need a delicate touch on that one or great aunt Mable gets dug up !

 

[helpsy]

What about Hitachi all over the place controls. How about Halla?

 

[Killy Bing]

Volvo = rolls royce of high end machines

 

[helpsy]

Volvo= I roll

 

[CXR100]

where do you find room for all these excavators in the back of you van boys?? never needed one to do plumbing work myself! haha

 

[Killy Bing]

where do you find room for all these excavators in the back of you van boys?? never needed one to do plumbing work myself! haha

Dads company that i spend my spare working time on.

good for oil lines.....mini digger and a chain trencher!!!

 

[LPC]

The ability to deal with stress. I still don't cope with it well at times, when things aren't going quite as well as i'd have liked.

 

[erpkid]

Main thing you will need if going self employed then everything else will follow is customers. They pay your bills thus feeding your family and keeping a roof over your head. Their needs will drive your business as far as direction, training and equipment purchases over the years. We can be a cynical lot and some of us are tempted to use a pejorative term for them. Follow this at your peril. There will always be challenging customers but a business that fails to deal with them appropriately is one that will fail.