I was a self employed tiler for 10 years, i quit about 2 years ago but not due to lack of work. Relocating due to family issues ment it was better for me to take temporary full time employment.
Ill be going back to being self employed early next year by the looks of it.
Alot of tradesmen went under 2 years ago but if you were good, clean working, polite and not too expensive the work was still out there.
In all those ten years i think i advertised about 6 times in local papers.
Average daily wage for me was around £120-£140.
To put that in context an average sized bathroom, full height walls and floor i would do in 4-5 days and would be around £600 plus adhesives.
Obviously there was NIC and tax to come out of that, as well as other costs (insurance etc)
My living costs were pretty low though, no kids, council flat, so i would generaly only work 2-3 weeks a month
I am also a sucker so if i knew people didnt have much money i'd charge a bit less.
I dont know how many jobs you have done before, but the biggest thing with doing this self employed is being able to spot all the possible problems, and already know how your going to overcome them, before you quote. This comes with experience which for all i know, you may already have.
I very rarely did site work, mostly private.
Private is nicer and less stress but sitework can often pay more as you have more consistant work and more to do so less wasted time.
Not sure if that helps at all.