Should I or Shouldn't I

[Thana]

I have a question for you all.. I've been in the trade now for some years, and always worked for a company as an employee. What I'm wondering is.. should I go it alone and risk it all or stay safe and carry on bieng a number on the pay roll. I've worked on most equipment from large tonneage screwchillers to small splits and even low R/H equipment, at present i'm commissioning for a well known brand..VRV's and chillers..If i can get started where do I start? opening a company and finding the work pricing competively...etc, any thoughts would be great..

[nike123]

First, make your business plan before quiting job.
Then, show that plan to someone who already have such business to see if it is of any value.
Then decide is it worth for you to quit your job.
Nobody here cannot tell you should you go it alone and risk it all or stay safe.

Here is torrent for software to help you with business plan:
http://tinyurl.com/5uyewm

[Tesla]

Hi Thana
You will never get rich working for the man or yourself for that matter. So try to steer away from subcontract work and aim for contract work. you need other soldiers on the graund working for you - to make money. Build up a network with other companies. I have been a worker, contractor and subcontractor, now a worker ( I got to be free and travel ). Speek to your peers then follow your heart. Good Luck

[Tesla]

Hi Thana
More to add. I used an accountant for tax purposes, and when I do busness in the future I will use him to invoice for me. Leaves me more time for the important stuff. For pricing jobs your overheads will be low so find out what the competition hourly rates are, allow a margin on parts ranges I've seen 100%>$100, to 10%>$10000, then a small margin to be safe. Start with a basic busness plan then go and see an accountant to help with more accurate costings etc. Most guys nick a few customers from their company. Installs make more profit (margin on parts). Advertising like busness cards and preperation is important. Set targets and dates.

[paul_h]

Decide who is going to be your customers, and how you are going to get them is the first step.
How big are you going to get, small splits and fridges, commercial resturants and coolrooms, or large supermarkets and air handlin units?
How are you going to do the big jobs when you're one man? Get to know a lot of refrig subbies, and other trades like electrical, cranes, manufacturing and engineering. How much investment into equipment do you have to make to do the big jobs? A workshop, trailer, hoists etc.
How much do you want to be on call 24/7 for all the accounts you manage to get for the rest of your working days? Or the opposite, not get any work that makes a decent profit?
Then find out what parts suppliers you are going to use and try get accounts with a good price. Some suppliers don't want to know you unless you have books to prove you're reliable, in for the long run and have accounts to prove you financially viable.

After all then, then think again about going it alone. While you're thinking about it, stay as an employee and save up 30k in cash.

edit: and if you're interested in splits, find a wholesaler that will in sell cheap, and a sparkie willing to wire them up for you, it's impossible in australia.
Three things I've found:
good help is hard to get
advertising is expensive
wholesale complete a/c or accounts with suppliers of those is hard to get

But the other thing thats a positive is that you're already a member of refrigeration-engineer.com, that is something that is very helpful.

[Greengrocer]

I have a question for you all.. I've been in the trade now for some years, and always worked for a company as an employee. What I'm wondering is.. should I go it alone and risk it all or stay safe and carry on bieng a number on the pay roll. I've worked on most equipment from large tonneage screwchillers to small splits and even low R/H equipment, at present i'm commissioning for a well known brand..VRV's and chillers..If i can get started where do I start? opening a company and finding the work pricing competively...etc, any thoughts would be great..

Hi Thana. A bit late but hopefully this will be of use.

Get your CV up to date.
Know who your customers are before you start.
How much do you want to earn? – this will determine how much you need to turn over.
Decide what type or work you want to do e.g. service / maintenance, installs, commissioning. Nice but not always possible (beggars can’t be choosers when you first start out). Reality is you will not want to turn anything down at first.
Select customers that pay on time – critical for a new start up company and to keep the cash flowing. Avoid the big boys, hairy arsed building contractors, fly by night shop fitters etc who’ll have you waiting 90days+ for your money if you let them.
Put together a schedule of rates for your services e.g. hourly rates, mileage rates, day rates, overtime rates etc.
Get some trade accounts set up at local / national wholesalers.
Get your skill cards, brazing and refrigerant handling certs up to date.
Organise your paperwork e.g. Risk assesment sheets, H&S, Coshh sheets, terms and conditions, quote forms / speadsheets, invoices etc.
Reseach your vehicle – plain van if you want to do subcontract work.
Do you need a mate to work with you for installs? How much are you going to pay him/her?
Put some money aside during the good times because you’ll need it when work dries up for a few months – as it did for many of us Sept thru Feb last / this year.
E-mail / write to propective employers.
Get a reliable e-mail connection and permenant address.
Return your job sheets and invoices to clients promptly (no signed job sheet – no payment of invoice).

To use a well known saying “ fail to prepare, prepare to fail”.

I could go on for a while but if you prepare well, are reliable, are good at what you do and communicate well with your customers word will soon get around and customers will find you (there are too many subbies out there that think they are good but fail to deliver in some or all areas that customers require).

How do I know all this? Simple, we employ subbies for pretty much all our install and maintenance work at present. We treat our subbies right, pay them on time monthly or sometmes earlier (even if we haven’t been paid ourselves) and we don’t drop them in at the deep end on impossible jobs because we survey and estimate them properly. As a small company we are looking for a good all round engineer based in Essex at some point, but finding one is proving difficult – heard that somewhere before. So for now subbies are our only option.

After 6 years of trading we use a select band of subbies that like working for us. Sure they do work for others and we hear all the horror stories of late payments & underpriced jobs that they have problems with ,which is why they like working for us. All you need is a buch of customers like us for a base load of work and your set. The tricky bit is finding them!!

There’s no sure way of being successful in this game (especially in the current climate) but if you can get 50% of the above right you should have a fighting chance.

Good luck.

[Thana]

Thank's Greengrocer, this sounds like a man that is pretty street wise...I think for now that I'm going to stay employed and set up a small company to run along side my current job, not ideal I know but this way at least I'll have the ball running when I finally decide to make the jump...been promised a small amount of work from a old work mate this should at least get me into the right frame of mind. Sound advice all round thanks chaps...

[Greengrocer]

Thank's Greengrocer, this sounds like a man that is pretty street wise...I think for now that I'm going to stay employed and set up a small company to run along side my current job, not ideal I know but this way at least I'll have the ball running when I finally decide to make the jump...been promised a small amount of work from a old work mate this should at least get me into the right frame of mind. Sound advice all round thanks chaps...

You've got the right idea. I have just started using a couple of guys who did exactly the same thing. They set up their company and paperwork whilst still employed & started seeking out prospective clients. They approached me via our website & we met for an informal chat last christmas. They resigned & went live in Feb this year. Since then we have kept them busy with installs, breakdowns & maintenance work. Question - why am I using them over any other subbie?


They are keen
They communicate
Their rates (£350/day for man & mate) are OK.
They are reliable
They know their stuff
They are pro-active & overcome site related problems & advise me after the fact.
They always have a solution for any site related problem.
In short they are a dream to work with. In return I pay them on time or earlier and favour them over any other subbie we currently work with. Why? Because they make my life easier and leave me more time to get more work in, instead of wasting time dealing with site related issues they cannot or will not deal with.
Initially they started as two qualified engineers working as man & mate. Now they have spilt into two, bought another van, and recruited two mates to make two pairs and double their earning potential.

Good luck with you self employment. PM me when your ready to start - you never know we may be able to put some work your way if you suit our work profile (VRV/F & Split installs, A/C service & maintenance).