Self Employment

[Rabbithunter 456]

Right lads as I said, im sick of working for a living. Since i have a good sized van, im thinking of becoming a self emplyed van driver.

 

Any body out there that can point me in the right direction ????????

 

[Squirrel_Basher 17,102]

So you think that going self employed will stop you working .Wrong. Just sign on mate .This working lark is vastly overrated I can tell you .

[Rabbithunter 456]

Driving all day doesnt sound as hard as crawling in attics and under floors pulling stupid bloody cable's. Hurting my back so i cant carry as many rabbits

 

I would much rather prefer sitting in my van all day, listenin to radio or CDs. Keeping warm and dry

 

oh, and working when i want and for how long i want

[lost scouse 46]

if you like driving go on the taxi cabs work when you want,foriegners when you want,hunting when you want

[logman 0]

Been self employed for the last 6 years, love it mostly hate some ofit with a passion

Itsmuch harder than working for someone else because you have to be a book keeper, timekeeper, toilet cleaner but saying that i never have to call ANYONE boss

Good luck mate

 

VOTE CONSERVATIVE!

[IanB 0]

Ask geordie hes a white van man...

[Guest chilli]

was..................

[Guest Geordie]

Make that an EX white van man, if you can get good contracts and are prepared to work long hours then go for it mate. Its brilliant being your own boss,and as long as you are prepared to give 100% everytime you jump in the van,its a good life.

BUT,it can be hard too.Some lads are working 6am til 8pm,then when they get home theyre doing invoicing,receipts and accounts.Believe me its not much fun having to do all that on top of a long days work,and its very easy to put it off til the weekend,then think 'oh i'll just catch up next week before you know it youre months behind and unable to find the paperwork

 

Ive just went back to working for other people,ive got a load more time for the dogs and ive got regular money coming in.

Insurance costs are astronomical,i was quoted £2600 for courier work.(im 42 and a clean licence) and £600 for removals within a 100 mile radius ofmy home.

If its courier or delivery work you want to do,you will have to be prepared for high running costs too.Your van will take a hammering doing courier work,tyres,brakes and fuel being the biggest culprits.

Getting paid can be a nightmare too,most companies work on '30 days of invoice' but a lot are working on '90 days of invoice' So basically when you submit youre invoice you have to wait between 30 and 90 days to get paid,and thats if they are a good company and pay on time

 

House removals is a more laid back type of job although it also has its pitfalls,and its not as hard as you might first think.Thats not to say its easy,but not many self employed jobs are easy. The only problem with house removals is that the housing market is fooked at the minute and has been for the last year almost,with very little signs of recovery. Dont listen to the bank and mortgage advisors/analysts on the telly sitting there saying that the market is booming,its not. Since september 2005 ive done 4 private removals and about 7 for council tenants,thats not a lot of work in 9 months. As ive already said ive stopped doing the self employed thing and went back to regular work.But in a few years time the housing market should start to recover and i will be back doing the removals.It can be a very good earner and ive learnt a lot in the 4-5 years ive been doing it.

 

Now,this is just my personal experience and i know this probably reads a bit negatively,but what i would say is this.

Try doing your normal job and doing the van work on weekends.That way you still have a regular income.Id hate to put you off trying something,but at the same time i would never try and tell you that it was the best thing id ever done.Its been great fun,and sometimes has earned me fantastic amounts of money.You meet loads of great people..........and some erm...........not so great But sometimes its been a night mare and cost me a fortune. And ive enjoyed it ,every last minute of the good and bad times has been worth it,simply because i feel if i hadnt tried it i would always of wondered what it would have been like.

So anyway im only £4000 in debt and im selling my van at the moment,£1500 if anyone is interested

[Guest JOEB]

Yep..........a wry smile from me G...........hit the nail on the head mate.

If you like stress......you will love working for yourself :wacko:

But............you have to try otherwise you will allways wonder.

 

The 1 thing I would say is.................its 24/7 job mate..........that big job is gonna come in on the day your laying in bed feeling like your gonna die and you HAVE to go and do it.

Work the job your doing for a few years, put in the hours, try not to have days off sick (I think I had 4 days off sick in 7 years before I purchased the firm off my old boss)............you can only do in war, what you can do in peace........the old saying of.....if it was for me, Id be different.........is frankly, a load of old bollocks.

If that aint put you off.....then good luck & go for it.

JOEB

[moley 115]

Right lads as I said, im sick of working for a living. Since i have a good sized van, im thinking of becoming a self emplyed van driver.

 

Any body out there that can point me in the right direction ????????

 

 

you ain,t gonna be much good , if you want pointing in the right direction , anyway i thought you were wanting to be a pro pester,

[Rabbithunter 456]

moley, i would rather leave the pest control to a hobby and a sport. and do the odd clearance job in gardens etc..... (after reading an article in the CMW)

 

Driving all day sounds good to me. and i have put in a letter to MENZIES DISTRIBUTION. its early hours (3am - 11am) depending on how fast you go. you get regular pay, (fortnightly) and i know a lad that works for them and he is minted, so i'll just do a bit more research and see what happens

[MR TEA POT 1,287]

moley, i would rather leave the pest control to a hobby and a sport. and do the odd clearance job in gardens etc..... (after reading an article in the CMW)

 

Driving all day sounds good to me. and i have put in a letter to MENZIES DISTRIBUTION. its early hours (3am - 11am) depending on how fast you go. you get regular pay, (fortnightly) and i know a lad that works for them and he is minted, so i'll just do a bit more research and see what happens

 

hi rabbithunter i drive a van all day(7.00am till 6.00pm).The job i do is easy enough its not the physical side of the job that gets me its the mental side of it,stuck in traffic when you have to be some where quick,other roadusers,speed cameras etc.Don't get me wrong its nice sat in a van all day especially in summer but sometimes i get home and i am just drained with a banging headache.Not trying to put you off just giving my opinion.But it does beat sitting in a stuff office .

[Guest moomin300uk]

moley, i would rather leave the pest control to a hobby and a sport. and do the odd clearance job in gardens etc..... (after reading an article in the CMW)

 

Driving all day sounds good to me. and i have put in a letter to MENZIES DISTRIBUTION. its early hours (3am - 11am) depending on how fast you go. you get regular pay, (fortnightly) and i know a lad that works for them and he is minted, so i'll just do a bit more research and see what happens

not being funny mate "MINTED" I have a pal who works for menzies he has two other jobs as well and he is "minted" but he works 16 hours + a day you have to pay your own fuel at menzie and wear and tear on the van you would be better working a ruddicks express delivery in carlisle my pals a wagon drivers mate there he get £6 for sitting on his arse and unloading the goods at the other end... they get plenty over time at time and a half holidays sick pay you wont get that self employed, what is your vans off the road??? its up to you think it through i would rather work for someone and get my pay every friday..... know a few taxi drivers in carlisle they make afew £££ plus they deliver parcels as well ther can be money in them jobs

[Guest Bigbob]

Van driving sounds alright till you get bad weather ,in the city center you stop for a minute and get ticketed , greenway are for buses and there empty the other lanes are nose to tail and youv'e got 30 odd drops to make .Van driving no thanks too much hassel

[Stevie E 66]

Good luck Rabbit hunter in your choice .Most of us think about jacking work in and going solo at some point its a sickener sometimes and you convince yourself the grass is greener on the other side so to speak.But ive seen rellies go from full time work to self employed then after a few years go back to full time work because mainly of the stress(paperwork ,reciepts and working all hours not even taking time off for holidays it all builds up).