New A/C Company

[daveliver-cool]

Hi all,
My name id Dave Humphreys, im 24, I live in Liverpool UK. I have today registered a new company and i am going to visit the bank manager in the next couple of weeks to get a small business loan.
What i need if someone could help me is a copy of all sheets i will need to start up. for example. comissioning sheets, service sheets and maintenance sheets, also time sheets.
I also need a few tools, Vac pump, scales, expanders, pipe benders etc. does anybody know where is the cheapest place in the uk to buy A/C tools. Any help will be much appreciated at all, Including which bank to use, where i can get government funding. any help will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers Dave,
Looking forward to your replies.

[sedgy]

hi dave ,
what you need to start a new buissnes is contracts and contacts, can you give us any ideas of who you have worked for? and what type of fridge work you would be looking for?
all the best in your new venture, sedgy

[glenn1340]

Hi Dave,

Try here www.srw.co.uk/cgi-bin/bb000003.pl?ACTINIC_REFERRER=http://www.srw.co.uk/cgi-bin/bb000003.pl&PRODUCTPAGE=Manuals.html (http://www.srw.co.uk/cgi-bin/bb000003.pl?ACTINIC_REFERRER=http://www.srw.co.uk/cgi-bin/bb000003.pl&PRODUCTPAGE=Manuals.html)

You could use these until you`re more established before shelling out hard borrowed money. Then use the basic info on there to get your own design printed. Don`t just copy it as you`ll get a nice letter from them about copyright infringement.
Oh, you may need to register before you can view thier store but it`s well worth it as the prices are very keen with prompt delivery.

Good luck with the new venture.

[daveliver-cool]

hi thanks for the reply guys,
to answer you question sedgy i have been offered 2 split/twin split installs a week from one firm i have done work for in the past as labour only, i have also got two vent companies on board who are going to let me price all their a/c works they get. for the first year or so im going to try and stick to splits/twin splits and maybe mini vrv/vrf systems. there is going to be only me and a lad in a van so i dont want to take on anything too big.
the companies i have worked for in the past are Aimbec Air Conditioning and also Micheal Ward's.
Glen also thanks for that website i will be sure to check it out.

[pbhovan]

For tools, also try tfsolutions.co.uk and alphawholesale.co.uk. Good luck

[Gideon Beddows]

all the best, old pal - Good luck!!

[paul_h]

Personally I think it's a bad move to start a small business that doesn't need leasing/premises etc on borrowed money. Some times it's hard enough to eke a living out without having a loan to pay. And really the money needed for van, equipment etc isn't that much if a mobile service working from home. If you can't save enough to afford that, the situation is going to be dire when times are lean (ie have no savings either).
I done it myself, lose money over winter, earn heaps in summer. I budget accordingly, the same way I saved the money to start up in the first place. Even now in our spring, I have 12K owed to me and minimal in the bank. If you can't save money to start the business, good luck keeping it running; at least I have no loans to worry about...
If you really knew enough to have a good crack at it, you'd know the answers to most of your questions.
I'm not being condescending, but really experience is key and a lot of learning is done the hard way. When you put you livelihood on the line, you should know the answers (or at least think you do) :)

[Bagpuss]

Hi Dave
I have to say I agree with everything Paul has said.

You can get the work sheets you were asking about from wholesalers, I got some from Climate center, although, I had to order 10 books as it was a special order for the commissioning sheets and strength test sheets, which pushed the price right up. I needed them quick so paid the price...
The sheets are produced by Advanced. Under the name AC Pro reportsheets. advancedengineering . co .uk

Hope this helps
All the very best of luck in your venture!!

[daveliver-cool]

im not asking question about how to run a business i was just wondering about banks and who you have had bad and good experiences with. i have no quarms about my actual work, and i have every faith in my ability that i will do well. its very rare nowadays that a business starts up with money already in the bank. im not needing megabucks to get going anyway. But i must be honest i didnt expect so much nagative feedback. as for the questions i asked it was only for sheets which i can make myself its just i was hoping to save a bit of time and money by getting pre made ones online somewhere. the question about tools was only to see if anybody knows where i can get cheaper tools. Absolutely nothing to do with the day to day running of a business, ive been in a small business for 7 years and learnt alot of how to deal with people there.

[eggs]

Hi all,
My name id Dave Humphreys, im 24, I live in Liverpool UK. I have today registered a new company and i am going to visit the bank manager in the next couple of weeks to get a small business loan.
What i need if someone could help me is a copy of all sheets i will need to start up. for example. comissioning sheets, service sheets and maintenance sheets, also time sheets.
I also need a few tools, Vac pump, scales, expanders, pipe benders etc. does anybody know where is the cheapest place in the uk to buy A/C tools. Any help will be much appreciated at all, Including which bank to use, where i can get government funding. any help will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers Dave,
Looking forward to your replies.

All your questions have been answererd:confused:

Except.


Hi all,
Including which bank to use, where i can get government funding. any help will be greatly appreciated.


Non of the high street banks will entertain you. Non Zilltch!!
Your only source of finance is the "Bank of Mum and Dad" unless you have a solid business plan to get the VC's involved to take on your local FM company


im not asking question about how to run a business i was just wondering about banks and who you have had bad and good experiences with. i have no quarms about my actual work, and i have every faith in my ability that i will do well. its very rare nowadays that a business starts up with money already in the bank. im not needing megabucks to get going anyway. But i must be honest i didnt expect so much nagative feedback. as for the questions i asked it was only for sheets which i can make myself its just i was hoping to save a bit of time and money by getting pre made ones online somewhere. the question about tools was only to see if anybody knows where i can get cheaper tools. Absolutely nothing to do with the day to day running of a business, ive been in a small business for 7 years and learnt alot of how to deal with people there.

Don't even approach Barclays.

\eggs

[monkey spanners]

I went and had a chat with Business Link before i set up, they can get you on the right track or advise if what you have planned is a good idea or not.

I had all my own tools due to my previous employer making us supply our own (haha)

Owned my own van as i bought it to carry stuff about for my hobby previously.

Opened the bank account with the first cheque from the first job we did.

Even with no payments due it was not easy for the first two to three years,and has not been good for the last two either. I would not be setting up in this trade at this time unless i had a lot of work lined up, or as i had at the start, a few other friends who had work for me in other trades (sparkies mate, re lamping supermarkets at night, even gardening and helping out a plumber with tiling!)
Any pride you have will have to be left behind in the need to keep a roof over yours and any dependants heads and food on the table.

As for cheap tools, they are the ones you buy that keep working year after year, not necessarily the cheap to buy ones.

Make sure you get your insurances sorted out too, NFU are pretty good imo.

Good luck, i hope you make a success of it,

Jon :)

[frank]

Don't even approach Barclays.

\eggs

.......or Natwest,.....or HSBC,.....or Lloyds... etc etc

None of them will lend you their money...only your own - you need to sign up your property to them and also give them first claim over your business assests :rolleyes:

.....and only then if you have a proven track record. As a new start up I doubt very much that they will even entertain your application.

When I started up in 1985, I had been banking with Barclays for years on a personal level. I asked them to lend me 2K as I may need to pay my suppliers before I got paid.......I can still see him sat in that chair today laughing his head off!!! :(

One of the biggest things you will need to consider is CASH FLOW as you will be moving away from sub contract labour only, to supply and fit, and will also be employing people.

Don't forget that your suppliers will need paying at the end of each month or they will cut off your credit and leave you high and dry, but your customers may not pay you for 2 - 3 or even more months. It's called 'working capital'

Not to put any damper on your plans, and I applaud you for wanting to become your own boss, but 90% of small businesses fail in the first 3 years due to poor cash flow.

[Kev The Tool]

Wih regards to banks i have had my company running for 14 months now and i opened a company bank account with the bank i do all my personal banking with i am still waiting to hear whether i have been accepted for a company credit card with a £1000 limit, the last year has been megatough, as an example i took a job on in scotland for a month, labour only, all food and fuel money had to come out of my pocket for a month for me and a lad, and a few other bits and pieces i was spending nearly £500 a week, then when i get home the wife wants her housekeeping, so now i'm into £4000 for the month, i had to wait nearly 90 days to be paid. I'm not trying to shatter your dreams but if you are going to make you have to be prepeared for every eventuality. on that cheerful note all the best.:confused:

[paul_h]

im not asking question about how to run a business i was just wondering about banks and who you have had bad and good experiences with. i have no quarms about my actual work, and i have every faith in my ability that i will do well. its very rare nowadays that a business starts up with money already in the bank. im not needing megabucks to get going anyway. But i must be honest i didnt expect so much nagative feedback. as for the questions i asked it was only for sheets which i can make myself its just i was hoping to save a bit of time and money by getting pre made ones online somewhere. the question about tools was only to see if anybody knows where i can get cheaper tools. Absolutely nothing to do with the day to day running of a business, ive been in a small business for 7 years and learnt alot of how to deal with people there.
Sorry, as I said I didn't mean to be condescending, but others have said, cash flow is important. In this game you have to often spend a lot upfront to earn a little profit. That's the nature of the beast. If you can't spend a lot up front of your own money to get of the ground, then you're missing out on the experience that you are in for and may not cut it before you even start.
Sure borrowing money, using credit can get you buy in the lean times, but having that and the loan in the first place may sink some people.
not criticising, and maybe you are a better businessman than me. I am just honestly saying I'd be under if I had loans to pay as well as day to day running costs, waiting on late payers for gear I've supplied and sunk $$$$ into. I paid my bills, customers didn't sometimes, which meant I ran out of money, plus had a horrible run of bad luck. My vehicle was written off in a hail storm, lost a few thousand on it's value from the insurers, bought a 4yr old replacement vehicle, that crapped it's transmission and I was ripped off to the tune of au$4k to fix it (which obviously I needed to do).
Plus had tax taken out of the insurers cheque and had a few late payers (due to insurance checks for a/c related hail damage). All up, au$10k down in a season that is my quietest and not much income anyway, plus lots of work that needed me again to spend money to buy parts to get the work, and the tax man at the door too...
Not to mention being forced to move house and all the expense that incurs. Stuff doing all that when I had a loan to pay on top of that!

It's been a very enlightening experience I'll say. Instead of investing $50K savings in shares or in the bank, I invested it in myself. Well I've managed to pay my bills (which includes $500 p/w mortgage so not insubstantial), but not much else to write home about. But at the end of the day I can walk away with what I have if I wanted to. And I think anyone starting a business in this day an age should at least want that, not get buried by loans or be bankrupt. This trade is expensive to work in with upfront materials costs, so don't spend or borrow all you can before you even get your first few jobs that may need more capital.
But that's just me, and you're probably a better businessman than me, especially when I started, I was rubbish!

[El Padre]

A couple of years ago, anyone that joined the federation of small business's, received free banking with the Co-op, I am not a member but I think that you can get competitive quotes for Public liability etc as well. It might be worth a look?

Cheers and Good Luck