Good turnover for 1st year?

[lame plumber]

forget what others do, here in the SW you'll find some on £20 an hour or less and others charging £75 for the first hour and 45 thereafter. Its sometimes better to charge more and do less rather than working fm dawn till dusk for peanuts. If you are near Rock or any other London 2nd home spot, get your charges up, they expect to pay, the locals will moan but if you turn up on time and do a good job they will pay, its just the odd one or two that winge and pig, so forget them and move on.

 

[village idiot]

You say your dad is responsible for your accounts etc and you see no need to do what he already does. I think you should still keep records of your work.

 

[Millsy 82]

forget what others do, here in the SW you'll find some on £20 an hour or less and others charging £75 for the first hour and 45 thereafter. Its sometimes better to charge more and do less rather than working fm dawn till dusk for peanuts. If you are near Rock or any other London 2nd home spot, get your charges up, they expect to pay, the locals will moan but if you turn up on time and do a good job they will pay, its just the odd one or two that winge and pig, so forget them and move on.

Over a couple of years I hope to rise my prices as I'm totally in your way of thinking. I got my dad to phone around a few local lads and find out what they are charging and I'm around the same price as most of them.

I did a job down st Ives in August, if ever I get one down there again they will be charged 2 hours minimum as I spent an hour trying to find a parking space.

 

[lame plumber]

You need a moped and box for St Ives, like the lifeboatmen 🙂

 

[Millsy 82]

You say your dad is responsible for your accounts etc and you see no need to do what he already does. I think you should still keep records of your work.

From this thread I've decided I'm going to start doing it again. It didn't take long to do what I was doing I think about half hour a week. I'm also going to work out what I earn off the jobs as well it may put my mind at ease or make me double check my prices.

 

[Millsy 82]

You need a moped and box for St Ives, like the lifeboatmen 🙂

The day I wet down there I don't think that would of helped! Bloody emits everywhere! And the job was behind the sloop so no parking anywhere near, although walking through the streets with a plunger in my hand made everybody move.

 

[Chalked]

I double my materials

Thats ok on small parts, but you won't get much work doubling the price of a boiler !

 

[R.Oak]

Have you considered things like check a trade or rated builder? I dont use them, and to be honest have heard mixed reviews, but if you are looking for additional work then maybe they can help

 

[Millsy 82]

Have you considered things like check a trade or rated builder? I dont use them, and to be honest have heard mixed reviews, but if you are looking for additional work then maybe they can help

I do use rated people against my better judgement which has been ok really. I never go for the big jobs as I'm not paying £30+vat for someone to undercut me by £600 (that was a full system and fit a new shower chasing the pipes in the wall, I priced it up 4 days £200 a day and I got under cut by that so either he gets a brilliant price or working for nothing.

 

[Nostrum]

I wouldn't worry about things just yet Millsy.

Ive been trading for about 18 months. We are above the VAT threshold but profit is still below what I would like. Our problem is volume. We have days where there is nothing to do and other weeks where we are on 14-15k jobs.

There is no quick way in unless you pick up large contracts which normally go to larger companies, which have had to go through the same as you are now!

You have to look at the long term goal rather than the pay slip for this month, otherwise you'll drop back into employment and all those important decisions are out of your control. Before you know it your redundant and have to start at the bottom of the pile for a different company again.

I know jobs are few and far between down your way, I've got a guy who gives me a hand to build up his portfolio who comes up from Falmouth whenever he can. Shame as he seems like a good bloke who is switched on. If he was in Plymouth I'd have him full time.

As a thought, I know there are quite a few down your way on low incomes, do you come across them often?

 

[Nostrum]

I do use rated people against my better judgement which has been ok really. I never go for the big jobs as I'm not paying £30+vat for someone to undercut me by £600 (that was a full system and fit a new shower chasing the pipes in the wall, I priced it up 4 days £200 a day and I got under cut by that so either he gets a brilliant price or working for nothing.

My experience of those type of sites are the same. They attract the customers who want the cheapest price rather than quality. I try not to waste my time with them now. Rated people charge to much for leads, maybe ok to charge that in London but not down here.

 

[Millsy 82]

I wouldn't worry about things just yet Millsy.

Ive been trading for about 18 months. We are above the VAT threshold but profit is still below what I would like. Our problem is volume. We have days where there is nothing to do and other weeks where we are on 14-15k jobs.

There is no quick way in unless you pick up large contracts which normally go to larger companies, which have had to go through the same as you are now!

You have to look at the long term goal rather than the pay slip for this month, otherwise you'll drop back into employment and all those important decisions are out of your control. Before you know it your redundant and have to start at the bottom of the pile for a different company again.

I know jobs are few and far between down your way, I've got a guy who gives me a hand to build up his portfolio who comes up from Falmouth whenever he can. Shame as he seems like a good bloke who is switched on. If he was in Plymouth I'd have him full time.

As a thought, I know there are quite a few down your way on low incomes, do you come across them often?

I don't really come across a lot that are on low income but my thoughts are most of them will either be in housing association or rented accommodation. The only person that pleaded poverty is someone who owns a yard and about 8 horses so she is not really poor.

Jobs do tend to be few and far between but as everybody keeps telling me down here reliability is the biggest thing as so many people get let down (I worked for a person the other day who had been let down by 3 local plumbers, ok it was only a tap washer but I was in the house for 10 minutes including talking and I got £40 for it and I may have a bathroom suite off the back of it in the summer)

Most of my customers have been great 1 or 2 slow payers and 1 builder that I threatened to take to court as he wouldn't pay his £140 bill but generally they have been good and some nice little jobs.

I think half my problem is a slow couple of weeks has driven me nuts and then I started looking at the job sites which then gets me thinking but as you said you go on for a company and you lose all your say so and end up working stupid hours for rubbish money (especially down here apart from the odd job). Then there is the subcontract route but everybody seems to want all or nothing (nears wanted 5 days a week and to go on a call out rota! Surely they should just employ direct then!) so if I did go that route when they dump me I'm back in the same position maybe even worse.

 

[Millsy 82]

My experience of those type of sites are the same. They attract the customers who want the cheapest price rather than quality. I try not to waste my time with them now. Rated people charge to much for leads, maybe ok to charge that in London but not down here.

My way of doing it small jobs only and if your not 1st don't buy it. Then buy it and phone straight away and get in there and done quick before someone else buys it. I have noticed though that once 1 person buys it then no one else will as I watched a few of the others.

I have only not got 2 jobs out of all the ones I bought apart from 1 large job that I said about.

You may lose a bit of money on the job but if I earn £30 for am hours work then I'm happy.

 

[Nostrum]

Only reason I mentioned the low income was because ECO 2 is focusing more on off grid. When I worked on warm front we spent a lot of time down your way on oil boiler installs.

Not sure on details yet as it doesn't start until April but if it's any good I may look into the area and would be good to have an installer down there :wazzzup:

We've also done a bit in East pool park for a contractor on the Guinness estate. Mostly wrapped up now though.

 

[Nostrum]

We don't cover plumbing so most of the small jobs aren't for us.

 

[cr0ft]

Since moving up to Lincoln (Calendar years): -

Y1 - £32,217, £7,800 wage, £3,632 net profit before tax
Y2 - £59,948, £10,917 wage, £13,331 net profit before tax (1 employee taken on at the end of the year)
Y3 - £139,380, £17,847 wage, £52,426 net profit before tax (2 employees, 1 taken on at the end of the year)

Bear in mind that the year 3 figures and the last quarter of year 2 figures I was employing other people. I take next to no wage myself (up to the NI threshold) and pay myself share dividends from profits and buy vans etc to grow the business.

As others have said, if you want to remain a one man band you will reach a ceiling where you physically can't do any more in a week.

Also bear in mind that we built up a reputation in Hampshire for 3 years before moving up here. Not sure how much that has really helped us in Lincoln though as we really had to start all over again. Only difference is we had a good chunk of tools already in our possession.

Biggest difference between Y2 and Y3 - charging a proper markup on everything we supply. It goes straight into the profit line.

 

[tamz]

Dug out my 1st years accounts 1997. Me and an apprentice. I was in a partnership before that so had the van and the tools etc.
£142973 turnover, £68935 gross profit £57201 nett.

Went up to over 600k at one time now back to around the same level

 

[Millsy 82]

Since moving up to Lincoln (Calendar years): -

Y1 - £32,217, £7,800 wage, £3,632 net profit before tax
Y2 - £59,948, £10,917 wage, £13,331 net profit before tax (1 employee taken on at the end of the year)
Y3 - £139,380, £17,847 wage, £52,426 net profit before tax (2 employees, 1 taken on at the end of the year)

Bear in mind that the year 3 figures and the last quarter of year 2 figures I was employing other people. I take next to no wage myself (up to the NI threshold) and pay myself share dividends from profits and buy vans etc to grow the business.

As others have said, if you want to remain a one man band you will reach a ceiling where you physically can't do any more in a week.

Also bear in mind that we built up a reputation in Hampshire for 3 years before moving up here. Not sure how much that has really helped us in Lincoln though as we really had to start all over again. Only difference is we had a good chunk of tools already in our possession.

Biggest difference between Y2 and Y3 - charging a proper markup on everything we supply. It goes straight into the profit line.

I think that's something else that goes against me is that I moved down in May so I've started completely from scratch if I was to set up where I come from I would of been in a better position also because it was a wealthier area.

 

[Millsy 82]

Dug out my 1st years accounts 1997. Me and an apprentice. I was in a partnership before that so had the van and the tools etc.
£142973 turnover, £68935 gross profit £57201 nett.

Went up to over 600k at one time now back to around the same level

Nobody likes a show off! Haha

Seriously that's good going.

 

[tamz]

Some of the work followed me when i left the partnership so i wasn't scraping around from scratch.
Still don't advertise and nothing on the van. You either know me or you don't. Suits me that way.