going self employed advice....

I would totally agree with @ stevieo the op was asking for sound advice about going self employed, getting your name around is key to your future existence if you have to go in low at the beginning ie £80-£90 a shift then so be it I would imagine it would be around the same as he is making per 5 days at the moment, the main thing the guy has to and will do, is getting used to pricing various types of work in which he would appear more than capable of undertaking, tbh its a big gamble he is thinking of taking on, I have been self employed since 1989, came off the tools in 2001, just priced and supervised, 2009 back on the tools after the crunch, so all I would say is fair play to him and if it does go tits up just go back and work for someone else at least he can say he gave it a go, if it was me in his boots I would stay where I was and just do as many homers as I got, pocket the money and enjoy life ;)
 
sorry I would say go in at the going rate is the way to go... suggesting you undercut time served people to practice and get a reputation in my opinion is race to the bottom... if you want more experience or dont have the confidence to go it alone in someone elses property the get on the cards with someone until you do...

If the customer is willing to pay a time served spread £500 why should they not pay you that... you maybe slower but thats your problem :D

Working for anything less than the going rate will drive down prices because I doubt you introduce yourself to the customer "hi I am new to this crack and just practising on your house then I will charge real money when I think I am good enough"

When I was on the tools I would most of the time be the most expensive quote... if I got the job great.... if not... I did not care because I would get one or two and the rest of the time I will be doing stuff I like doing :D
 
Fair comment @Danny was only going with the ops opinion of being self employed and getting into the hard world of self employment it would appear the guy is not new to the trade but just needs to find his feet in terms of pricing properly, but tbh if he has a decent starting wedge then yes pricing accordingly might be a good bet for him, maybe also find out what the local guy's are taking for whatever job's required
 
phew thank fek you agreed to that
Nicm said:
You won’t see plumbers or electricians going in at half price.
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Correct in my resurrection, I shall be one of those trades, money for nothing cheques for free, instead of being in dire straits some times :whistle:
 
Danny said:
sorry I would say go in at the going rate is the way to go... suggesting you undercut time served people to practice and get a reputation in my opinion is race to the bottom... if you want more experience or dont have the confidence to go it alone in someone elses property the get on the cards with someone until you do...

If the customer is willing to pay a time served spread £500 why should they not pay you that... you maybe slower but thats your problem :D

Working for anything less than the going rate will drive down prices because I doubt you introduce yourself to the customer "hi I am new to this crack and just practising on your house then I will charge real money when I think I am good enough"

When I was on the tools I would most of the time be the most expensive quote... if I got the job great.... if not... I did not care because I would get one or two and the rest of the time I will be doing stuff I like doing :D
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But he didn't say he needs practice, he said he needs customers.

Not much use being a £200 a day workman and sitting at home.


I don't understand why the OP thinks he can't work weekends anyway. The proper sensible thing to do would be to work weekends until you can't fit all your jobs in and then leave.
 
Stevieo said:
Being self employed is a doddle. The key is looking after your customers and shepherding your cash.

I fell down on this towards the end of the boom.. the work dried up but I'd been partying like everyone else.

I'm self employed again now, albeit in a different discipline, but the principal is the same. Always think of yourself as skint. Be mean with yourself and don't be afraid to pay for quality materials or talent. (but always bicker a bit if you can) No chucking it about after a big job pays out.


Be grim and the world's your oyster.

I started my current business with £1100 and nothing on the horizon and I'm still here now.
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What is you do stevie?
 
Stevieo said:
But he didn't say he needs practice, he said he needs customers.

Not much use being a £200 a day workman and sitting at home.


I don't understand why the OP thinks he can't work weekends anyway. The proper sensible thing to do would be to work weekends until you can't fit all your jobs in and then leave.
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I think he got big ideas of mega money but pretty sure he isn’t ready yet.
 
To be fair I didn't charge at the start what I charge now. Think I initially charged £100 a day because I thought that was fair
 
I'd had a few beers last night so not my most eloquent posts but I just think as a trade we need to kind of help each other out and try to keep to a basic pay structure then the experienced lads get to earn the money they deserve for that experience and speed and the younger less experienced lads earn a good crust, everyone charges similar and we all win....I quoted a room not long ago and two lads were going to do it in a day for £220 including materials, it makes me look like I'm overcharging and they make the same they could working in Tesco...work out the rates in your area and go in at that, you will win some and loose some like everyone else... And don't ever tell anyone your new
 
Lodan said:
I'd had a few beers last night so not my most eloquent posts but I just think as a trade we need to kind of help each other out and try to keep to a basic pay structure then the experienced lads get to earn the money they deserve for that experience and speed and the younger less experienced lads earn a good crust, everyone charges similar and we all win....I quoted a room not long ago and two lads were going to do it in a day for £220 including materials, it makes me look like I'm overcharging and they make the same they could working in Tesco...work out the rates in your area and go in at that, you will win some and loose some like everyone else... And don't ever tell anyone your new
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Agree on all the points you make there man.
If you want to work for peanuts work in a shop where you don't have to invest anything except your time
 
Stevieo said:
But he didn't say he needs practice, he said he needs customers.

Not much use being a £200 a day workman and sitting at home.


I don't understand why the OP thinks he can't work weekends anyway. The proper sensible thing to do would be to work weekends until you can't fit all your jobs in and then leave.
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Sooo many ways to get customers without degrading the trade...

I agree with working weekends... if you are serious about going it alone then you will do what it takes... you dont work 9 -5 hours at the start....
 
Working weekends isn't going to get you anywhere if you have already been plastering for a firm Monday to Friday.

You will be tired and rushing trying to make every job fit your spare time a pose to giving it it's full attention.

Most bad work I come across is when people are doing it at weekends normally chancers.

Sometimes in life you just have to sink or swim..

@Lodan is a classic example he started up and didn't even have the plastering experience.. .

But will to succeed and a pair of bollox have got him far in a short time!
 
zombie said:
Working weekends isn't going to get you anywhere if you have already been plastering for a firm Monday to Friday.

You will be tired and rushing trying to make every job fit your spare time a pose to giving it it's full attention.

Most bad work I come across is when people are doing it at weekends normally chancers.

Sometimes in life you just have to sink or swim..

@Lodan is a classic example he started up and didn't even have the plastering experience.. .

But will to succeed and a pair of bollox have got him far in a short time!
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Cheers @zombie, I'm doing my best brother and winning most of the time
 
I do agree with zombie you need to sink or swim, if you really need to succeed it will improve your swimming skills...I had no money, no plan b and no other way than to make it work, so you just do
 
I know people who have worked site then gone on their own, then gone back to site because they were quiet and that's understandable but if they stuck it out they'd have been working on their reputation and moving forward with self employment. As my dad is fond of saying "it ain't easy!"
 
JessThePlasterer said:
I know people who have worked site then gone on their own, then gone back to site because they were quiet and that's understandable but if they stuck it out they'd have been working on their reputation and moving forward with self employment. As my dad is fond of saying "it ain't easy!"
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we use to do domestic most of year... then in november find a site jump on that till feb then do domestic till november :D
 
Whats the one tool that all trades have but a plasterer will use more than any other trade?









The undercutting tool!!

Plasterers are the worst out any other trade for undercutting, one of the main reasons I left the trade. On some jobs I was getting undercut on I had no idea how the plasterer could make money out of it but that just sums up plastering, a race to the bottom. Other trades seem to know to keep there prices high so as not to devalue there work but that seems to be lost on a lot of plasterers. I've no idea why that is
 
Not sure either, but I believe it's due to the larger plastering firms about, that basically try and grab as much as they can get a hold of,so put low prices in, then give it to subbies at an even shitter rate, and because so much work is so "cheap" it means that the rest have to price cheap to compete to get what else is left. We'll that is my opinion of how it works here anyways. Whether or not that's right or not....
 
Simon85 said:
Not sure either, but I believe it's due to the larger plastering firms about, that basically try and grab as much as they can get a hold of,so put low prices in, then give it to subbies at an even shitter rate, and because so much work is so "cheap" it means that the rest have to price cheap to compete to get what else is left. We'll that is my opinion of how it works here anyways. Whether or not that's right or not....
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The trouble is that basic plastering is, with the greatest of respect, semi skilled. Particularly on small jobs and particularly with skimming. Some here even argue that fully qualified skimmers are semi skilled and experience is everything.

When there's guys out there for whom, indeed, experience IS everything.

Oftentimes, the domestic customer is happy with a job that's better than he could do himself.

So that leaves you looking at the bigger jobs where you really do need a proper spread/gang and crucially, repeat work from small builders and developers who actually know what they are looking at and are willing to pay a trusted man/company.

My suggestion would be to shun the filled markets and specialise away from the markets that appear to be fcuked up - large developments especially.
 
We cover most aspects, sand cement floating, skimming, rubbing up outsides, bands, projective base etc, dashing, roughcast, mono, acrylic top coat so at least aren't tied to one, like skimming, although I understand ur point. I'm part of a gang, just for a wage, but we mostly do private new build work, renovations, and we are also on a large site in between, though he's in direct so at least no middle man creaming off. Had been offered houses on a subby basis but prices aren't where I'd like them to be yet, not really worth while leaving for the added stress. Yet anyways
 
Simon85 said:
Basically f**k all of that goin over here that I have seen. Maybe get a van if in with the right ones, but basically everyone here, is self employed. I myself have worked for the same person for a year and a half yet I'm self employed. Always been the same, was with a fella for 8years on self employed basis. Means they don't have to to sick holiday and pensions. Upside is get 2 grand tax rebate a year lol
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You left your fella of eight years! How did the kids take it
 
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