Setting Up For Weekend Work

[camerabloke]

to be honest i am fed up with putting other people work right.

i was primarily employed as commissioning engineer and fix //.B.W.F.// ups. i havent earnt my company any money since i started 8 months ago due to sorting out other engineers customer complaints

time to get cracking on my own business me thinks

[norman]

your just trying to put him off.

[j.paul]

OK, so coming back to the OP's question:

Basically to put it bluntly what do i need to set this up

1 You need to purchase all the BS & EN regulations.

2 You also need public liability & efficacy insurance.

3 You then need to decide what equipment you will use and keep a stock of replacement items of almost everything you will be fitting.

4 You will need to thouroughly learn all the regulations, plus all the features of your equipment.

5 You will need a sound knowledge of security protection methods, plus insurance and Police requirements.

6 You will have to design a range of paperwork from risk analysis forms to maintenance contacts.

7 You will need to inform Inland Revenue of your business.

8 You will need all the necessary tools and equipment.

9 You will need to make sure your home can be used as a base for a business.

10 You will need to ensure your home and vehicle insurance permits business use.

11 You must check with your employer that you are not infringing your contract of employment.

12 You should make some arrangements for service cover for when you are unavailable.

13 You will need engineering, selling, administration, marketting, selling and business skills.

14 And a lot of luck!

Now can you see why I say that this is not a weekend job?

AG

If all of the above applies then that would clean out about 40% (Good guess) of self-employed trade members on the forum

[Guest]

So are you saying that I have given bad advise?

What would your advise be? A car, a set of tools and take it from there?...

1. Yes

2. No

[Guest]

1

So are you saying that I have given bad advise?

no

2

What would your advise be? A car, a set of tools and take it from there?...

no

Sorry bad hair day, not slept in 3 days getting rather muddled.

soz

[Guest]

what do you mean??

cjt

knowledge is something you can learn but you still have only 24hrs in a day.

if he yet doesn't know how to check the battery that is something he can learn just by reading this forum but starting a business which will take more time than he possibly can afford is another thing..

people want to start installing alarms because it sounds a bit electrosexy without really knowing in to what kind of trade they are entering to. this aint easy before you know everything (which in turn will take a decade or two) but even then you find out something new every day.. except arf who knows everything already by now..

[Guest]

...an apprentice has wired an alarm system on his own and has run all cables on tray next to mains, ie zipped tied to the mains. ...

an apprentice reruns all the cables until it is correct. otherwise he doesn't learn.

[arfur mo]

Voice of experience then

There won't be many installers here who will provide advice on setting up a "weekend-only" alarm business, the reason for that is that they all know too well that it isn't the way to go - see they do know about the specific requirements of running an alarm business and that's why they have made the comments that you view as "flaming".

Out of interest what sort of response do you think I would receive if I went onto an electrical forum and asked for advice about starting up with electrical installation work ... weekend only?

Roger, i ask why?

you don't need 24 hour call out to be a part time sparks firm the last i heard anyway?

manny companies were started as part time and subsequently moved into full time like me, so plenty of just 'part time' experience arround in here imo.

regs

alan

[arfur mo]

................ your experience in business isn't going to help his customer when the alarm is going bonkers and he can't come because he's at work on his day job and it doesn't qualify you to criticise alarm engineers who comment on the inappropriateness of what he is contemplating!

sorry, as i can't make sense of that assumption, running a successful business is also being made aware of the need for good record keeping, proper accounts, dealing with the tax man, insurances how to sell a product and how to give decent after sales service. many good engineers who start up a company fail at these hurdles.

i say 'we' do not have the right to piously criticise a person for prudently asking about ant drawbacks or conciderations, especially before starting up in the alarm trade as this O/P has done, and so yes i can and roundly criticise those who do so.

regs

alan

[arfur mo]

knowledge is something you can learn but you still have only 24hrs in a day.

if he yet doesn't know how to check the battery that is something he can learn just by reading this forum but starting a business which will take more time than he possibly can afford is another thing..

people want to start installing alarms because it sounds a bit electrosexy without really knowing in to what kind of trade they are entering to. this aint easy before you know everything (which in turn will take a decade or two) but even then you find out something new every day.. except arf who knows everything already by now..

good comment, i'm still learning george, if i was not i'd be bored teatless.

regs

alan