beemerboy

Hello peeps,
most of you will know, that i gave my notice in at work and am back contracting for them on 2 days onsite, 1 day home.

and after the amount of offline mail i received from fellow s/netters, who thought about a silimar path, i thought i'd share with you my experiences of how this has affected me.

basically, i started my own company (sole trading to start) on a shoe string budget of £50!!
i got some FREE business cards from vistaprint (USA), subject to carriage charges, printed my own letterheads, and trundled down to my nearest Barclays bank and saw their business adviser, who explained all i needed, and set my business bank account up for me, then and there. (free banking for 18 months)
about 5 days later, i received my paying in book, cheque book, debit card (for optimax) online banking stuff, telephone banking stuff - basically everything i needed and more...

i've just filled in a voluntary VAT registration form, so i can charge VAT and sell nice new shiny PC's etc.

whacked all the bank details into Sage

and here i am, ready to go.

My first day contracting was a real buzz.
I had focus and drive and a definate plan of what i needed to achieve for the day. (I actually believe that my company will get much more productivity for 3 days contracting, then 5 days full time)
Also word is getting about, and i am starting to get calls from ex-colleagues etc, who have taken up positions in other companies, offering more work. - dont think i'll actually need to advertise.

well, its early days, i know, but i feel so good about this and in control, i would highly recommend it to anyone.
i have created a basic system for myself, involving timesheets/tasklist, remote access, a spy in the office, contracts, etc... so if anyone needs and advice or wants to follow this path, pls feel free to ask.

I've even had to resort to scoobynetting in my own time!!!!

keep up the good arguments (i mean discussions)

BB

Badger Stuffer

Daren,

Get on with something you workshy ******.

rogp

Well done for having the guts to 'go it alone'.

I hope everything works out for you.

Roger

Mossman

Great stuff! I am sure it will work out, and very interesting to read about your experiences.

Mossman

what would scooby do

Yeah BB go for it, only thing I'll add is that you need to keep the "old boys network" alive, as it could be your biggest chance of getting continued work.. ring people you have not spoken to for a while and chat with them.. keep it rolling..

blip

Good luck with it!! I'm a self-employed web designer and have been for about four years now. I can't even imagine having to work full-time for someone else now.

My tips (for what they're worth):

- Be v. organised
- Practice good time management
- Try to stay stress-free
- Give yourself the day off when the sun is out!
- Earn stacks & then enjoy spending it.

Leslie

Congrats and good luck

Les

wakeboardar

keep you going til you find a proper job

Little Miss WRX

Excellent stuff, good luck.

Freak

welcome to the workd of f*ck all tax....if you do it properly....coff



I could never go PAYE ever again i dont think

Billbill

Best of luck Beemerboy, a few years of self employment and you will NEVER go back to the slave lines.

Luke

Its a great step forward.