Starting As A Subby

[kennygray81]

as title really, thinking of starting doing subby work, what kind of insurances do i need, what are rough costs of these? anything other advice you guys can offer about that side of things would be great!

In the process of sorting a van etc, as i have a good few contracts offered to me by an old company that i used to work for

Thanks in advance

[DirectFS]

as title really, thinking of starting doing subby work, what kind of insurances do i need, what are rough costs of these? anything other advice you guys can offer about that side of things would be great!

In the process of sorting a van etc, as i have a good few contracts offered to me by an old company that i used to work for

Thanks in advance

Okay, advices number 1, 2, 3, and let's see how many more we get to:

1) Insurance costs may, or may not, depend on how much experience you have. Insurance cover depends on how many of you there are planned to be - is it you, solo, or you and a lad, another guy, or what? Format of your business?

2) You'll need, as a minimum, public liability - probably for

[Chorlton]

can't really add much to a quality reply like that!

Don't under value yourself or your services.

[steven sneddon]

Hi Kenny

Make sure your payment terms are made quite clear as a subby you do not want to go more than 30 days between payments(make sure your invoicing is spot on). Ideally if you know the company well they might be willing for you to invoice fortnightly to start you off.

As Bill and Chris have already stated do not sell yourself short, do what is right for your self as it is you that will have to live with your decision.

I could probably write a book on what not to do as in my time as a subby I have made every mistake possible.

Best of luck

[DirectFS]

can't really add much to a quality reply like that!

Oh. Blush!

Don't under value yourself or your services.

[kennygray81]

guys your help has been great, im at the very bottom of the ladder as to starting myself, but i suppose its the best place to strart!!

this forum is an excellent source of info for me and everyone is v helpful indeed!!

Thanks again!!

kenny

[steven sneddon]

guys your help has been great, im at the very bottom of the ladder as to starting myself, but i suppose its the best place to strart!!

this forum is an excellent source of info for me and everyone is v helpful indeed!!

Thanks again!!

kenny

Kenny when you get to 15 posts and you wish to apply for trade, I will vouch for you.

It's ok I won't tell who you work for lol .

[SUBS]

Oh. Blush!

This is absolutely correct. A major reason businesses fail is becasue they simply do not cover their costs. The reason most of them don't cover their costs is because they have no idea how much it is costing them to "do" business. This was discussed recently in another thread, and is worth looking at. Essentially, know how much it costs you to do what you do, add your profit margin to that, and arrive at an hourly rate that makes you money.

An average rule of thumb is that as Chris says, after lost days and admin time, etc., you can have as few as 220 working days, or 1760 normal working hours in any year.....it's a good point to base your costs on anyway.

Bill.

As could we all!

Another very valid point - every day your customer has your money, you don't. That might sound obvious, but in reality it means that you have to fund your business, because your customer isn't - or put another way, every day your customer holds on to your money, it becomes worth less to you.

Make sure you have a rigid cash collection programme in place, and stick to it. Try, as Steve says, to go for as short a credit period as possible, and try similarly, to ge tthe maximum terms you can from any supplier you use.

Bill.

You have to make sure you dont finance someone elses projects. If your not careful, there are people that will get the kit on acount, get the labour ie, you, on account, then pay up when they get paid, or at some time after that.

Of course if they dont get paid at all..........

[Chorlton]

Kenny when you get to 15 posts and you wish to apply for trade, I will vouch for you.

It's ok I won't tell who you work for lol .

As Steven says, see Link below & you can see another 1/2 of the forum that's trade only and even more helpful (some say anyway)!

C.

[DirectFS]

Kenny when you get to 15 posts and you wish to apply for trade, I will vouch for you.

It's ok I won't tell who you work for lol .

You make that sound like it's a three letter acronym company Steven.....lol

Bill.

You have to make sure you dont finance someone elses projects. If your not careful, there are people that will get the kit on acount, get the labour ie, you, on account, then pay up when they get paid, or at some time after that.

Of course if they dont get paid at all..........

Subs - another very good point.

Your credit accounts should be for your use - for things you supply as part of your price, or as agreed - often these days, a subby will be asked to provide their own fixings, and even some fittings in cases I have known - make sure you charge these back to your client at market rate plus - you're entitled to recover the cost of buying that kit too - i.e. travel, postage, admin. Again, make sure your hourly labour rate includes for all that, and any possible interest or late payment charges you might get hit by - it all adds up.

Bill.