starting my own business up

[henryandlesley]

Hi all I am now starting up on my own with this credit crunch the job i was doing there is not much work on for my boss to run 60 artics so i was thinking about doing this:

H J Autos
OF DOWNHAM MARKET

Mobile vehicle Repairs
vat registered
All makes and models
MOT work done, brake pipes made, welding,
All service items checked,
All service books stamped

PLEASE PHONE FOR A QUOTE: 01366 377195 OR
07804 690927

DON’T KEEP PAYING GARAGE HIGH PRICES
 I WILL COME TO YOUR HOME


I will not be charging any call out fee if it is under 25 miles anything over that there will be a small charge.
Plus all rubish taken away like boxes oil filters and so on which will be taken free of charge all waste oil taken away free of charge

[generation-x]

hi m8
ur a bit to far away for me
but all the best in ur venture

simon

[carracarra13]

henery m8 nice one when we get to watton in 4weeks (got the house we were after) will be a bit nearer

[Gav_T]

Your not the only one doing this!

I have been laid off too with a maximum of 6 weeks notice and with jobs being scarce due to being a joiner and the construction/building trade going belly up i am thinking about working for myself.

The only thing that worries me is that 000's of people have been/are in the same position as me and are going to do exactly the same thing.

Hope it goes well.

Just as a idea maybe there should be a part on the forum for self employed people to advertise? For a small donation to mud club to advertise and feed back can be left?

Gavin.

[Bishops Finger]

Interesting.........

Said for a few years now the need and market for a trusted 4x4 mechanic must be huge....

Good luck mon...

[carbore]

A few things to consider,

Working at peoples houses sounds a bit fraught to me. OK if its on a drive, but working at the roadside is a nightmare. Jacking the car is a pain (kerbs etc), as soon as you put your kit down everyone wiht a pram, old person orkid on bike will crash into it, dont evn think about power cables accross the pavement and as soon as you turn you back or go under a car the pikeys will nick your kit. Also working in the traffic wont be fun.  Because of all of these issues your public liabillity insurance and health insurance will be terrifying (if you dont get them then be advised thats not a good idea) Also youll need to take cars for a test drive etc so think about insurance costs.

Parts supplywillbe a pain, traditional garrages find the fault on a few cars, order the bits and then get them delivered, youll end up driving off to get bits (after clearing away all you gear and making the vehicle safe) unless you canget bits delivered, but youll end up waiting.

Sorry if any of that is teaching you to suck eggs.

The exception to that and someting you sound well suited to is the Agricultural/Equestrian/Private lorry market.  (horse lorries and race car transport). These are normally kept on yards/farms so lots of theabove issues go away, you cant take these to kwik fit so MAYBE there is a market. ITs not the time of year to get the private stuff as its all parked up till next spring, but Farms are good to target becuase you can find them in the phone book, phone them up and ask them if they need any work. Re horse lorries and car transporters, go to a show and stick some flyers under wipers.  Mr Public car owneris harder to sell to as you end up putting adverts in papers and then waiting for the phone to ring (I know, I did that last year on a property business,3 calls from 3k on advers OUCH!)

Id hold ont you job till you get a good feel for demand. As they said on dragons den, all your mateswll be encouraging and go for it, but they wont necissarily be quing up to buy your product.

Good luck with it though.

[landymadjay]

well if uv got that much booked in already i think it should work .

[EbonynIvory]

The exception to that and someting you sound well suited to is the Agricultural/Equestrian/Private lorry market.  (horse lorries and race car transport).

Good idea but the main barrier will be the culture change. "Always have done and always will do" type. Put a good marketing package together and competitive prices will put you in a stronger position.

Good luck!  :dance:  :dance:

[boss]

you need a welder? :D
i am jobless at the moment and can weld :D

[carbore]

You really need to consider your insurances including liabillity. That could be quite expensive and needs to be factored into your prices. Unfortunatley in this day and age, being helpfull, honest and skilled simply isnt enough.

[solihull-mick]

Take it from sombody who knows, its cost a fortune to get yourself fully insured, and working from peoples homes can be an isssue, enviroment issuses, waste oil carrage, in your motor, the list goes on and on,  check and double check your legal,  on a good note its well worth the hard slog not to work for anybody, good luck you will need it ........

[solihull-mick]

Just as a matter of interest, whats your hourly rate recovery percentage? and hourly charge?

[muddydisco]

Just as a matter of interest, whats your hourly rate recovery percentage? and hourly charge?

 I think solihull-mick meant what is your hourly recovery rate after costs  :|

[solihull-mick]

Id do you sums before you go any further, sound like you have a few things the find out about running a business, if you havent worked our your recovery percentage rate how do know your going to make profit?

[discowoman]

also because you are going to peoples house etc for repairs - mke sure YOU have insurance, as if - god forbid- anything hapens at their house you may not be covered..also check your insurance as business use can be crippling - plus check how much to be registered as a waste disposer (oil etc) as i belive this can be extortiante) also silly things like disposing of oily cloths/rags/gloves needs a special bin, so puting it in your own wheely is a no-no - also get charged for removing 'industrial' waste..
lots of potential trip ups out there - i went into it all about 20 years ago as a mobile valeter - could have been making £2500+ a week but set up costs were prohibitive, with taxes - insurances etc.. then obviously if weather was against me - no income.

[Llanigraham]

the waste oil will be giving to someone for free of charge for his oil burner for heating his house which he had made for him my oil rags will go into my mates skip who owns his own garage

Be very careful about that. We run a pet food shop and have always given the empty food sacks/bags to friends for garden rubbish and things. Powys CC have now told us that we cannot do that as our friends can't provide us with the required Certificates of Disposal (or whatever it is called) so we now are "supposed" to pay for them to be taken away.

And yes the Inspector has even been checking up on shops around here, opening their bags to make sure that they aren't putting their business stuff in the household bags!!