Posted By Donk Dear members I am currently employed in a position which I believe is now untenable, (the usual reasons, lack of support, time, resources etc. along with being unethically viable) Therefore I wish to go it alone on a consultancy basis. Any comments on the plus or negative sides of being self employed will be greatly appreciated. Most of all I would like some guidance/ advice on what is going to actually be involved, e.g. long days , best ways of generating the business, contracts of employment, employing associates in specialised areas, basically everything, good and bad. This is something I feel I have to do for a number of reasons and now look forward to your replies, please feel free to utilise the thread or contact me direct. Thanks all.

Posted By Donk I have an onc, hnc mechanical engineering,NEBOSH national,NVQ level 4 OHSP,and have nearly completed C&G 7302 (training qualification). I currently hold corporate membership and should achieve chartered status in June upon completion of my current CPD cycle. I am currently employed within a manufacturing environment, and tutor part time at a local FE college, delivering CIEH foundation courses. Any advice at all, would be gratefully accepted.

Posted By Frank Hallett Donk These are few of the really essential things for being self-employed:- Support from family; support from [soon to be ex] colleagues; support from existing independants; reserves of capital unless you have a ready-made client base that will provide sufficient support to walk away with; good PI and other insurance as required; excellent accountant that you can trust; register with HMRC/E immediately you set up. Loads of other stuff that you probably already know at some level of consciousness. Frank Hallett

Posted By Merv Newman Frank, tell me about it ! Went through about six months of hell. Writing, phoning, meeting (very rare) Should I buy or rent a photocopier. A portable computer ? A Fax ? A scanner ? I think we had some kind of Amstrad home computer at the time (1992) Dreaming up publicity, dreaming about satisfied clients recommending me to their friends. Dreaming about 200 days per year paid at £500 pounds a day. Dreaming. Wishing. Hoping. Dreading. Complete opposite of marriage. For a consultant the first sixth months are the WORST. After that the consultant knows if it is going to work. Young marrieds still HOPE that it will work. But the relationship between a consultant and his business is as intense as that between just marrieds. Innit ? As on previous threads, you will not get 200 paid days each year. 100 is already good. For a consultant business expenses can be quite low. Phone, Fax, computer, printer, scanner, calling cards, car, insurance. Set your prices accordingly. And apart from commercial trips, include travelling expenses in your consulting/training offer. (hit 'em hard, but be able to justify. I quote 0.52 cts € per kilometer. You do the conversions. and 150 euros per hotel night. (usually "days on site plus one") At £500 pounds per day, 100 days will give you £50 000. Maybe, if you are careful, 25% of that will be straight net profit. £12 500. Can you live on that ? Compare it to your final salary. But also compare it to the hours you had to work and the days you are free, nowadays, to spend with your family. As a plant safety manager it was usually 8am to 8pm. As a salaried consultant it was 8am to 12pm. (dinners with the client. which is still work) And usually 6 days a week. Today, I can choose which days I work. (avoid the tuesday rock-and-roll class). Maybe I have to leave home sunday afternoon to get to a monday meeting. Maybe I dont get home until saturday afternoon. So the weekend is somewhat screwed. OK. Sunday lunch is midday instead of 8pm. Tough) But "independant" means really, really independant. You can do whatever you like. You do NOT have a boss. Everything is your decision and your responsibility. God it's gorgeouse. KISS Merv greying wolf

Posted By Merv Newman Donk, just one more reply. I worked for the same employer for 25 years. Started as a lab technician. Ended as European safety consultant. Paid as much as the plant manager. Then said employer sold the plant and left town. Follow 'em or leave 'em ? (monitors, may I use the word B**t**ds ?) Best career move I ever made. As above, the first 6 months were hell. "Stress at work" ? Nothing like the stress of hoping for work. Wife was extraordinarily but quietly supportive. Kisses. Then the contacts started to come good. Bad tax advice left me with an unplanned for £6 000 tax bill at the end of the first year. Sacked him. Now I pay none or minimal income tax on company or personal income. Probably zero this year on £100 000+ business. Well worth the £2 000 I pay current accountant. Some years it goes to £200 000+ but then you do have to pay a bit of tax. VAT is no sweat. Pay what you get from your bills. Let the accountant figure out what the vat man owes YOU. usually gets you a nice present at the end of the tax year (£500 this year) Get a good accountant ! Our Income Tax people ask for a quarterly account, based on previous year figures. We pay it without question. Saves hours of figuring. Then at the end of the year the accountant works out how much we really owed. If this year has been better we have a bit extra to pay. But if it has been a good year, thats ok. If this year you have earned less than the previous year, then you get another present. (£3 000 this year). Look on car and hotels as profit centres. Hotel cost is a bit tricky. Check internet for prices including breakfast (£10 ?) and dinner (£20 ?) and include it in your quote. (usually n+1 : one day on site = 2 hotel nights. 3 days on site = 4 hotel nights) Mileage ? Not sure what the UK practice is, but would expect the maximum to be about 50p per mile. (converting from euros and kilometres) Include it in your quote and charge it. What other costs are there ? Can't escape social security or pension. If you have a choice of level then pay the most you can afford. It's a stressed job and you may need good, efficient medical attention. And, at the end of the day, you will want to walk away from it all with financial security. (We paid off the mortgage after 5 years as a consultant. instead of 20 years as an employee. Yee Haw !) OK. Tomorrow is easter monday. Bit of gardening if it doesn't rain. Then drive 200 miles to tuesday 9am meeting to discuss/prepare even more training sessions. Back home tuesday afternoon. Nothing else planned for the week. So zero income for easter week but lots going on and possibles between now and july 14th. (then France goes SHUT untill september) So far I reckon that the last six months of this year will be pretty good. But you can never be sure. Oh hell. Go for it. Even if you never get a day of paid work you will be at home with the woman you love and your children. What's better than that ? (42 years since the wedding and I'm just going upstairs for a while) Bye. Bon courage Merv Greying Wolf

Posted By Tony Brunskill Donk, If you don't you may well spend the rest of your life asking "what if?". Good luck mate! Tony

Posted By Merv Newman Bill, As I am guilty of using a swear word on this public forum I will apologise publically. (as well as privately) Sorry. Won't do it again. Promise. Merv (I was going to make a joke here but decided it would not be appropriate)

Posted By Chris Packham One reason I have seen why many self-employed or very small businesses fail is because the key person does not appreciate all the other aspects of running a business. They may be excellent as an engineer, health and safety specialist, marketing consultant etc., but as an employee have never had to be involved in the administrative aspects. Thus the business fails as, e.g. there is no-one concerned with chasing up unpaid accounts, ensuring that the VAT is done, that there is sufficient letterhead to send out invoices, the car insurance and tax, telephone bill is paid etc., and the bank manager is kept happy!!! Fortunately, I have a wife and partner who does all this, keeps the bank account in order and tells me when I can and cannot spend money!