Starting out on my own

gsxr1

I have been in construction a long time now .

I have been a PAYE tradesmen . Then a redundant one, followed by a lad who only did nixers. Not the way I would like the future to proceed.

I have a idea I wish to explore and need to start my own company. I am confident it will be successful.
I would like a chance to give my own business a go. But have been turned down on pricing jobs for the lack of insurance and having a proper company.

This is what I want to improve on.

I was thinking there may be grants and training available in the running of small construction companies .

I know a lot of the guys in this forum are professionals and may have experience in this.

Could you advise me in the steps I need to follow to be come a legitimate company.

Prenderb

I have no experience, but suggest maybe approaching your local City or County Enterprise Board?

CarrickMcJoe

Firstly, The very best of luck with your venture.

Get advice from an accountant, dont go for the big ones as they will charge you a fortune. If your taxes are up to date he may secure a C2 for you which opens a lot of doors with Gov work etc.

Public liability will cost you approx €600 to cover €6.7million.

I think the only way grants are available these days to people like you who want to get on is to be 12 months on the dole, then you grants to set up and also can still claim a percentage of benefits for yout 1st 3 years to allow you to build up clients and capital.

Unfortunately you may be told (as I was) , Go to the bank and get a loan!

Again Good luck.

CarrickMcJoe

it was the Citizens Advice Bureau I went to.

muffler

gsxr1 wrote: »

Could you advise me in the steps I need to follow to be come a legitimate company.

I can see why you choose this forum but at the end of the day its a business you wish to set up so I think your thread will get more appropriate replies in the Entrepreneurial & Business Management forum.

I'll move it there but if you feel that you aren't getting the replies you wish perhaps you could contact one of the mods of that forum and ask them to move it back to the Construction & Planning forum.

The best of luck with it anyhow.

Brian82

Went through very similar circumstances to your own last year. Took redundancy and set up my own company in October.

I did look into grants for startups but I could not find anything suitable.

I found this guide useful : http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Publications/ToilandTrouble/Pages/ToilandTroubleBooklet.aspx


Good luck!

RO 06

I was forced to go on the dole when the company i worked with for 10 years closed. i found out about a back to work allowance which will pay your dole for a year when you are getting your business up and running.I was on the dole for 6 weeks only till i was able to start trading.I also done a Start Your Own Business with Fingal Enterprise Board with I found very helpful. http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/btw_stea.aspx

gsxr1

thanks lads.
I am going to visit the enterprice Ireland folk to have a face to face word with them.

I have just been cut of the dole as my missis got a mild promotion . (now we are worse off:rolleyes:)
Anyways . It could be a blessing in disguise as it has forced my hand and got me up of my arse.

Diairist

So herself is rewarded and Soc Welfare (why are they suddenly 'Social protection'?) penalises you. This brings us to how gateful the government is to you for taking this risk.

Make sure you get advice about PRSI contributions. Self - employed people pay at class S1, last I heard, and get zilch. Ask if you should register the new company as an employer and ask if you should become an employee contributing at class A1.

If it's a private company, decide if herself will be the 2nd director, Ask Social Welfare if this damages her PRSI situation?

gsxr1

Diairist wrote: »

So herself is rewarded and Soc Welfare (why are they suddenly 'Social protection'?) penalises you. This brings us to how gateful the government is to you for taking this risk.

Make sure you get advice about PRSI contributions. Self - employed people pay at class S1, last I heard, and get zilch. Ask if you should register the new company as an employer and ask if you should become an employee contributing at class A1.

If it's a private company, decide if herself will be the 2nd director, Ask Social Welfare if this damages her PRSI situation?

wow. Thanks. There is quite alot I have to study in regards tax .

My partner has studied book keeping . All I want to do is work

Tangled

Although you just want to do the work you'll actually be managing a business and promoting yourself. Firstly talk to an accountant about setting up (whether to go sole trader, partnership etc), then go talk to your enterprise board. You'll have to do a business plan, forecasting figures etc. The Enterprise Board will be able to help and advise on this, maybe suggest some courses for you. You will also need to learn about marketing and put a marketing plan together, again your EB may be able to put you on courses or provide a mentor for you. Depending on the type of business you're thinking of (I know you said construction but that can be quite broad!) they may re-direct you to a different body.

Whether or not you may be eligible for a grant do approach your Enterprise Board, use their resources and talk all the courses you can with them. From my own experience I would say to maintain a good relationship with them as even if they are not able to offer you financial assistance right now you may want to go back to them further down the line as your business develops.

bustersdad

dont dont dont
as an ex selfemployed person in the building game i wouldnt recomend it .
i was s/employed for last ten years ,employed upto 10 people at one time ,but ended up working to pay wages .
i payed -tax-prsi-holiday pay -rain money and payed myself 500 a week when i could .after 10 years had to lay all staff off and pay themm out of my savings ,went to sign on and guess what ,even though i paid stamp and tax for myself and 10 employees ,im not ;entitled;to any assistance .
im now scratching about and lucky if i get 70 euros for a days work when i get it.maybe i should learn a foreign language.
think long and hard before you commit to this as your government only
want your tax and dont give a **** about you after youve paid.as far as there concerned i dont exist ,which suits me as i will never pay tax again ,whats my motive to pay

gsxr1

bustersdad wrote: »

dont dont dont
as an ex selfemployed person in the building game i wouldnt recomend it .
i was s/employed for last ten years ,employed upto 10 people at one time ,but ended up working to pay wages .
i payed -tax-prsi-holiday pay -rain money and payed myself 500 a week when i could .after 10 years had to lay all staff off and pay themm out of my savings ,went to sign on and guess what ,even though i paid stamp and tax for myself and 10 employees ,im not ;entitled;to any assistance .
im now scratching about and lucky if i get 70 euros for a days work when i get it.maybe i should learn a foreign language.
think long and hard before you commit to this as your government only
want your tax and dont give a **** about you after youve paid.as far as there concerned i dont exist ,which suits me as i will never pay tax again ,whats my motive to pay

I understand what you are saying.
The thing is.

Im no longer getting any payment after a means test. As long as my partner is working, i cant get a penny. She got an extra 2k per year. And I lost it.

So I dont have anything to lose .. We are unlikely to qualify for a medical card again because of it.

Im not getting those construction jobs as I am doing black market work. There is no future in this for me. I hate it, its looked down on and leaves me in a very bad position to progress into the future. If some person is looking for a price on the likes of an attic conversion , They will pay extra for a legimate tradesman with insurance . Some lad doing the double will not have a look in at the job.

I talked to someone in enterprise Ireland today. I have to consider to go in as a sole trader or a limited company.
I have to work out a way of get vat back on fuel and things like that.

Its all a bit scarry looking at the forms.

Kinetic^

gsxr1 wrote: »

Its all a bit scarry looking at the forms.

Take 1 form, put the rest away. Fill it out, then take another. Keep things as simple as possible.

mikefm

Agree with Tangled, definitely start with the Enterprise Boards. They're low on cash these days but the training/mentoring will set you on the right-track e.g. the SYOB course (@ http://www.sceb.ie/our-services/training-supports) gives a good grounding on the accounting/tax/legal/marketing basics

mikefm

Just remembered nubie too which might help: http://www.nubie.com

Tangled

mikefm wrote: »

Agree with Tangled, definitely start with the Enterprise Boards. They're low on cash these days but the training/mentoring will set you on the right-track e.g. the SYOB course (@ http://www.sceb.ie/our-services/training-supports) gives a good grounding on the accounting/tax/legal/marketing basics

They've all just been given their 2011 budgets so it's actually a good time to hit them (a lot of people were holding off approaching in the last few months as budgets had run out). But I do think that the mentoring and training they can provide can have as much value as some of the grants. Definitely build a good relationship even if they can't help you out at the moment, don't burn your bridges there!

SYOB course is a great way to get the basics of everything for setting up, might even be worth your wife doing it if she'll be doing the accounts for you?

gsxr1

mikefm wrote: »

Agree with Tangled, definitely start with the Enterprise Boards. They're low on cash these days but the training/mentoring will set you on the right-track e.g. the SYOB course (@ http://www.sceb.ie/our-services/training-supports) gives a good grounding on the accounting/tax/legal/marketing basics

I was keeping an eye on the training course with EI . They are very helpful.

what I really need is money to advertise correctly. Which I cant get yet.

Tangled

Just from the list on the link above you have Marketing on a Shoestring, Increase Sales - Drive Your Business, Online Marketing and Blogging for Business. You don't necessarily need big money for advertising, and I would definitely recommend doing some type of marketing course that will lead to a marketing plan so that you're clear about where to spend what limited money you have, no point in wasting it on advertising that may not be as effective as you hope. There are a lot of cheap/ free options using social media that you could possibly explore, and also learn how to generate lots of free publicity for yourself to promote the business.

kyosushi

gsxr1 wrote: »

what I really need is money to advertise correctly. Which I cant get yet.

I see your location is google maps

Put your business name & address on Google maps that's a freebie to start with

bustersdad

if you go as ltd company you will be an employee of your company so if you become unemployed you will be entitled to some benefits,but you will have to be audited on a regular basis which could be expensive.when i started 12 years ago doing same thing i found it impossible to find out info, accountants will only answer the questions you ask i found .
ive also found that PRICE is the only factor in my area ,i have a good reputation in my local area but price wins above quality/insurance .two of my ex employees are flat out working on the side for cash ,i cant pay tax prsi insurance and match them on price .good luck to you if you go ahead but walk with caution