G
gaspastemania
transporter !!!!
What are you a sparky ?
What are you a sparky ?
- Thread starter gasleak
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- british british gas gas working yourself
Discuss British Gas Vs Working For Yourself in the Plumbing Jobs | The Job-board area at PlumbersForums.net
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Y
yorkieplumber
Just got the above in December, but let me put that in perspective, i have been on my own for nearly 29 years and boy the first 3 years were tough, then things SLOWLY picked up, been self employed is not a bunch of roses i hear comments like i have more time for family etc, thats total bollocks you have to graft harder and work longer hours to make a decent living, but having said all that if you do get your head down you can earn decent money, just make sure you charge accordingly, read to many posts on here about what some of you guys charge and i cringe a lot of you are working to cheap.
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A very interesting thread. I'm literally just starting my 3rd year of trading but just about to post my 2nd full year of accounts at the end of next month. I'm setup as a limited company and (with net profit and wage) made around £12k in year one and looking closer to £16k this year. A very very low wage in relation to the amount of hours I've put into it. Even now I still get the odd month that is really quiet (this one is in particular). Then I phone round the other people I know, the merchants etc and find they're all having quiet months too which makes me feel better.
There's been so many occasions where I've thought of throwing in the towel and that's were the recession's been great in focussing the mind. Difficult to throw the towel in when there's no jobs to go to!
I charge towards the top end of what plumbers do in my area, around £200 per day for labour. I don't seem to lose a lot of quotes though so I actually think dropping my prices would make me less money, not more.
On a regular basis I see the results of people who charge £100-£150 a day and realise that actually there is a market for the guy that wants to charge sensible rates.
But would I leave a job on £40k and startup a business in the current climate? I would have to be madder than a nut-house to do that.
PS on the subject of vans, British Gas sell all there vans on Ebay once they get past 3 years old. Keep an eye out and it's possible to pick up a Renault Master with 30k on it, full racking, ladder/pipe carrier rack etc for £3k. I did and it's been a fantastic runaround - you get a full service history with them and 25k on no major problems yet. Doesn't cost that much more to run than a small van either.
There's been so many occasions where I've thought of throwing in the towel and that's were the recession's been great in focussing the mind. Difficult to throw the towel in when there's no jobs to go to!
I charge towards the top end of what plumbers do in my area, around £200 per day for labour. I don't seem to lose a lot of quotes though so I actually think dropping my prices would make me less money, not more.
On a regular basis I see the results of people who charge £100-£150 a day and realise that actually there is a market for the guy that wants to charge sensible rates.
But would I leave a job on £40k and startup a business in the current climate? I would have to be madder than a nut-house to do that.
PS on the subject of vans, British Gas sell all there vans on Ebay once they get past 3 years old. Keep an eye out and it's possible to pick up a Renault Master with 30k on it, full racking, ladder/pipe carrier rack etc for £3k. I did and it's been a fantastic runaround - you get a full service history with them and 25k on no major problems yet. Doesn't cost that much more to run than a small van either.
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did u have to get the BG van resprayed though ?
G
gasleak
hitachi capital are leasing company for bg vans and sell off the vans at bca car auctions up and down the country, if you want to miss out the middle man???
M
mike_s
I think you'd be absolutely barmy to leave a stable job on that money. I'm self employed and have been for 2 years but I am carrying on my dads business which has been established 20 years and that I have been working with for 7 years.
He previously worked for british gas for 28 years and after I finnish my gas nvq level 3 around May I'm sure I'll apply for british gas.
Reasons being:
EXPENSES! Ok so for one I contribute 240 pounds a month into a personal pension fund, thats probably only to retire on 12k a year if I'm lucky. Working for british gas I wouldn't have to invest so much.
Advertising. Our website has a great google ranking but we spend around 250 a month on advertising in the local papers, which do bring in a lot of work, as does the website but the competition is very high.
I need a new van if I carry on my dads business after the summer, oh and obviously have to pay for insurance and expenses on top of that.
He's 65 so I will also have to hire an apprentice soon, there goes another 400 a month plus I'll need employers liability insurance on top of our public liability.
I have built up all my tools and qualifications now which cost around 3k altogether in the last year. I only got a cheap van for 800 quid and my next one would only be between 3-5k.
STRESS! Long working hours, being self employed is not a 9-5 job it feels more like an 8-8 job minimum, as after I've finnished my main work for the day I have to do break downs, estimates, invoices, research etc. So that means I don't have much time for sport and going to the gym which I love.
I'm saving up for a mortgage, I need 2-3 years of good accounts before I'll get one self employed and can only borrow 4-5 times my average net profit, first year was 8 grand, second year around 15 and I'm sure it will be more like 20-30 once my dad retires. But if I got a 30k job for BG I could borrow 150 grand once I had the deposit.
When work dries up and I have rent and bills to pay and a holiday booked, what do u do, put more into advertising, do leaflet drops, all you can do.
Ok yep being your own boss can be extremely rewarding and flexible, if an important personal issue come I can always attend to that rather than being told when I can and can't work, I can earn a good weeks wage in just a few days then make time for the weekend (except in winter)
More than anything I'm really proud of how we've built the business up, I built and written our website myself, oh thats another cost, plus I want a professional logo designed, then that needs to go on van, clothes, adverts etc. But anyway the business makes me feel great most of the time and is very rewarding, I can potentially earn more money self employed and the trade is an exciting one to be in with renewables and super efficiency systems etc but to me there are more important things in life if you are already earning 40-50k like you claim. Thanks for reading sorry it's long, I just can't make my mind up what to do and I've thought about it almost every day the last few months.
www.ainsdalegas.co.uk
He previously worked for british gas for 28 years and after I finnish my gas nvq level 3 around May I'm sure I'll apply for british gas.
Reasons being:
EXPENSES! Ok so for one I contribute 240 pounds a month into a personal pension fund, thats probably only to retire on 12k a year if I'm lucky. Working for british gas I wouldn't have to invest so much.
Advertising. Our website has a great google ranking but we spend around 250 a month on advertising in the local papers, which do bring in a lot of work, as does the website but the competition is very high.
I need a new van if I carry on my dads business after the summer, oh and obviously have to pay for insurance and expenses on top of that.
He's 65 so I will also have to hire an apprentice soon, there goes another 400 a month plus I'll need employers liability insurance on top of our public liability.
I have built up all my tools and qualifications now which cost around 3k altogether in the last year. I only got a cheap van for 800 quid and my next one would only be between 3-5k.
STRESS! Long working hours, being self employed is not a 9-5 job it feels more like an 8-8 job minimum, as after I've finnished my main work for the day I have to do break downs, estimates, invoices, research etc. So that means I don't have much time for sport and going to the gym which I love.
I'm saving up for a mortgage, I need 2-3 years of good accounts before I'll get one self employed and can only borrow 4-5 times my average net profit, first year was 8 grand, second year around 15 and I'm sure it will be more like 20-30 once my dad retires. But if I got a 30k job for BG I could borrow 150 grand once I had the deposit.
When work dries up and I have rent and bills to pay and a holiday booked, what do u do, put more into advertising, do leaflet drops, all you can do.
Ok yep being your own boss can be extremely rewarding and flexible, if an important personal issue come I can always attend to that rather than being told when I can and can't work, I can earn a good weeks wage in just a few days then make time for the weekend (except in winter)
More than anything I'm really proud of how we've built the business up, I built and written our website myself, oh thats another cost, plus I want a professional logo designed, then that needs to go on van, clothes, adverts etc. But anyway the business makes me feel great most of the time and is very rewarding, I can potentially earn more money self employed and the trade is an exciting one to be in with renewables and super efficiency systems etc but to me there are more important things in life if you are already earning 40-50k like you claim. Thanks for reading sorry it's long, I just can't make my mind up what to do and I've thought about it almost every day the last few months.
www.ainsdalegas.co.uk
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T
the_ace
I've had this same dilemma for a while but every one I know who works for BG hates it and I mean hates it, if you can put up with your TSM breathing down your neck all the time and constant pressure to work faster not to mention all the glove wearing nonsense then go for it but the grass isn't always greener.
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Got to agree with the ace . Couldnt wait to get away from BG for all the reasons he said. Most of the SMs really think they are one step away from being God.
D
dwb78
on that wage its not greener, tho you should have enough capital to get a strong start as forking out for parts can run into the hundreds
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