matthew.brough

Me too, can I join?

Imagine starting that 8 year journey today Just to give you an idea we are 6 years into a venture that we have thrown over 1 million pounds at and it is going to take another 2/3 million of cash and probably 4 years to break even let alone make a profit. I'm not suggesting you would need anywhere near that amount but you could burn £50-100k very fast, assuming you could raise the capital now in what would be hard for a startup. We use quite a few subcontractors who have their own little alarm companies and the fact they are spending 3/4 weeks working for us tells me they either aint got the work of their own or working for me makes them more money.

James? Anyway. Being ones own boss can be very exciting but equally the most depressing thing. It is a lonely place to be, especially if you have staff and shareholders to keep happy. The buck stops with you. Council work, forget it. The time and things you will need such as CHAS or Safe contractor and the likes is just a ton of money that you haven't got to get the health and safety manuals written and all the associated fees. You also have no track record with selling to that customer type and chance of you getting any really successful tenders is a low one. A lot also look at your accounts, there is no way the council will trust a start up without cash reserves over an established player with a good net worth. This industry isn't plumbing, it's nothing like it and funny enough I thought of you earlier today. I asked our M&A firm how they had got along with an email broadcast to some insolvency practitioners and administrators for us taking over some alarm companies. In a week we have had interest from over 40 companies who have traded for a few years and are on the verge of being bust. Established players who are switched on will outwit you at practically every corner. I know gold’s that will bang an alarm in for £60/£100 and subsidise the installation to win the contract and wait for the £15-£25 a months to catch up 12/18 months down the line. Do you have the cash to compete with this? If not, why on earth would a customer choose you at £499 + VAT and an unknown when they could have a big brand name at bargain bucket price without the worry or capex. Unlikely ADT will go bust but you are a risk to a prospect. Like I said I aren't trying to be negative but I think you are potentially stepping into the lion’s den and heading for a beating and being eaten alive, heavily in debt and genuinely not something I'd like to happen. He's confusing me with another fat *******

Welcome to tsi. My first suggestion is don't set up on your own. What benefit will it give you? Are you prepared to possible go heavily into debt and to live a lower standard of living that you do today for a number of years before you *might* make some money out of it suplimented by the increase in work hours for no extra pay. If not, this is definatly not a venture for you. As a company we are busy aquiring failing approved companies and there seems to be an ever increasing amount of them around suggesting it isn't maybe the sector to start up in. If you want approval, public liability is just 1 of a few insurances you will need, and that on it's own is costly. You don't need accreditation, but without it, for the time being the work you have been used to doing for your employer might be off limits and that on it's own can cost £2-3k to get it you factor in all the things you will need to buy and time to spend getting it with not a single guarantee of any work. Without approval you could only compete with stan the sparky who will do full comp maintenance for £30 a year and you need a lot of £30 per years to pay your overheads. The other issue is how are you going to recruit customers from stan the sparky? It is a saturated market and unless you have a USP then why would someone move over to you than the guy that they have trusted for a few years as they do now? I don't mean to be negative but these are serious questions you need to have answers for before considering if self employment is for you. What is it that makes you want to leave the comfort of paid employment?

Nothing's off limits. As it's internet radio, ofcom guidelines need not apply

Man after my own thinking. *disclaimer* TSI does not condone the use of heavy conduit for use as an offence weapon in inappropriate conditions. A vote on TSI determined use on union representatives, salesmen and NACOSS inspectors did not class as inappropriate conditions.

I like aluminium tubing. Useful for persuading people to your way of thinking

I get to see it for the first time in the flesh on Wednesday

Just was thinking along the lines of a G2 with PSU would be £120 ish? and a GD £220 plus VAT but as you say. Ebay bargains to be had.

Unless you want to buy extra power supplies then both bells in scb module would be the preferred option but if you want the extra volume and the strobe then a aux 12v PSU would be needed. G2 is actually cheaper than both the flex and gd. With regards to bell tampers you don't need to use a zone. Connect 1 tamper to the bell tamper and I'd use a relay interfaced with the bell tamper input for the second bell therefore either bell that went into tamper would show bell tamper. If you go g2 you will need at least g2-20 to allow for a wireless portal to be added. If you've got some spare cash a gd is the big boy panel but can't think of any advantage you are going to get for the extra £100-£120 that it costs. If you let me know what you want to do ill happily post links on security warehouses site to what you need

Looking at your requirements a dimension would be nice but a g2 using bells in scb mode would be equally doable. It has 12 zones on board, and can have a rf portal added on for wireless. If you have already ordered a flex a bit unfair on the wholesaler to send it back? Any reason for 2 bells? No one takes any notice of one so 2 seems to add complexity for no benefit? Mk8 keypad is a mk7 pcb in a new housing

Expanders, lol That will be a rio then . . .

Goes without saying I think he has a pulse as he's typing . . .