self employed

[JohnD]

Don't forget the cost of Permanent Health Insurance (if you should become ill, disabled, or accident-injured the money will stop coming in) and of course at least 10% of your earnings into a Pension scheme.
Plus if you are a sole Trader (not in your own company) and the business fails you will lose your house and be bankrupted; if you take out a bank loan they will take your house even if you are a company.

Remember that your earnings per day are only for revenue earning days, nothing comes in when sick/injured/training/doing your accounts/visiting sites to give estimates/on hols (hahah)/callbacks to rectify problems.

If you calculate you can make double your employed wages as self employed, you will probably end up, net, about the same. You will have to pay employers National Insurance on the gross earnings (it was 12% last time I looked) and you will have to pay a book-keeper, accountant, debt collector and auditor unless you take time off your proper work to do an amateurish job of a profession that is not your own.

Job security is actually very similar, as a permie can be laid off anytime, except that, as you get older, it becomes more and more difficult to get a new job.

However, if things go well, you might have some very good years.

 

[Softus]

Plus if you are a sole Trader (not in your own company) and the business fails you will lose your house and be bankrupted

Absolute nonsense - the value of my property far exceeds any conceivable liability that I have, and I'm far from being unique.

if you take out a bank loan they will take your house even if you are a company.

Also incorrect. Only a party with a charge on a property can insist on it being sold.

You will have to pay employers National Insurance on the gross earnings (it was 12% last time I looked)

Not if you're a sole trader.

and you will have to pay a book-keeper, accountant, debt collector and auditor unless you take time off your proper work to do an amateurish job of a profession that is not your own.

'Proper' work? Amateurish? These are some very narrow-minded opinions.

Job security is actually very similar...

It couldn't be more different!

 

[JohnD]

improved version

If you are a sole Trader (not in your own limited company) and the business fails with large debts you may lose your house and be bankrupted, unless your wealth exceeds your liabilities. This is a much greater risk if you do not have professional liability insurance or the equivalent, which is one of the corners that often gets cut.

Even if you have your own company, if you take out a bank loan, then unless the business has large assets, they will probably insist on you putting up your house as security for the loan; so if you are unable to repay you may lose your house.

You will have to pay employers National Insurance on the gross earnings (it was 12% last time I looked) if you have a company. (but Not if you're a sole trader.

You know your own trade well, but recognise that you have lower levels of skill and experience in other people's jobs, so you will have to pay a book-keeper, accountant, debt collector and auditor unless you take time off your proper work to do the job of a profession that is not your own, and with lower levels of skill and experience, therefore you can expect to be slower and not as good as you are at your usual work.

Job security working on your own is not reliable, but neither is it working for an employer. You might say that there isn't much security either way, which from my perspective makes them very similar. I've never gone bankrupt, but I worked for a company that did. I've been redundant, as an employee. As an independent, I've been off work for nearly a year after a bad accident (hence my endorsement of PHI).

During good years on my own, I've made three times my previous "employee" salary; and during bad years I haven't.

 

[geoff@cetltd]

lets face it, if you can't at least make a half decent living as a CH fitter at the moment, there's something wrong somewhere

it's not an easy life, but it can be much more rewarding


Before you jump in though, do your sums carefully such as public liability insurance, income insurance, health insurance, running cost of a vehicle, factoring in unpaid time such as giving quotes, travel to and from jopbs, £2 / week self employed stamp, accountant, holidays, CORGI related costs,

 

[Nige F]

But a half decent living to us is .........................................................................A ****ing fortune to a Pole

 

[Soggy_weetabix]

With any choice you make, if your happy with what you do then you have it right.

Self employment suits many as if your good enough to run your own business then why 'line' the pockets of your employers.
You manage your own workload.
Your pricing structure is determined on what you think your worth.
You can pick and choose your customers....but that does come with reputation and demand for your services.

The satisfaction of building a reputable business I find is very self rewarding. Money ( to a certain extent) is not a factor.

If I want to take 2 weeks off when I want, I ask myself. Generally I tell myself 'yes'.

David