Looking to hear of the experiences from self employed people

I am a PAYE worker with 11 years experience working in the IT field (Computer,Printer,Software Troubleshooting).I am happy where I work & what I do but like everybody, want a bigger salary & cannot see it growing any faster with this or any other company.
I'm at the stage now where I would like to go out on my own,but its a big decision for me.If it does'nt work out,there is a mortgage & car loan to worry about & the fact that I would have left a decent job where I was happy & might find it hard do get a similar package with another company.My wife has a decent job so may have to become the breadwinner if things do'nt go well on the other hand,things may go very well & I may end up saying "why the hell did'nt I do this a long time ago ! " as a friend of mine recently told me, 7 months after he took the same plunge (he was unhappy in his job though & wanted "out").
I would love to hear from people who have been where I am now,but taken the plunge & set up their own business.How are things going ? good or bad.It does'nt matter what business you're in - I just want to see if it was worth it for you, your experiences,are you now better off than when you were a PAYE worker.I would like to hear the negative stories as well as the positive ones.
Maybe it's not you but you know someone who has set up their own business & how they are doing ever since.

I'm sure the replies to this will be of great interest to anyone considering setting up their own business so hears looking forward to your stories.

Well, I had been a PAYE worker for about 4 years before I decided to call it a day at the end of December just gone, and after 1 month self-employed I have to say it was a good decision. Like you I was very happy with my job but just couldn't see the money increasing beyond inflation for the forseeable future. And with bills increasing all the time I decided there was a better possibility to earn more working for myself. If not, well at least I would be working from home which would cut out all that traffic and public transport nightmare which was really getting me down.

I'm not in the same line of business as you but I do have a mortgage and car loan to consider as well but am single at the moment so it did make the decision a lot easier. January has been a slow month but I knew it would be, and made sure I had a few thousand saved up to cover the mortgage and bills for the first 3 months.

If you think you can cover yourself for a few months I'd say go for it. A lot of people I discussed my situation with had the same thing to say. You may as well try because at least then you can say you tried it and if it doesn't work out, at least you'll know, and not be wondering "What if...?".

Hope this helps!

Hiya,

Ive been a PAYE worker since leaving college 7 years ago. Have recently set up my own Company and have been running it during my evenings and weekends for the last 8 months trying to build up the money in the Companys account to be able to jump from my main job.

I also have a mortgage, only took it out 13 months ago, so that is also my main worry! Im hoping to be able to go out on my own soon as the stress is killingme trying to keep all the balls i currently have up in the air..

Best of luck with everything
lexus

We had nothing to lose when we started our business 10 years ago. I did not have the security of a job. I was a stay at home mum. Partner driving for a living. Saw a niche in the market, went for it, but very gradually. Have built it up over the years. Allowed us good standard of living. I think the area you are
getting into is quite competitive, unless you specialize in something in particular. I would try get a few regular nixers before you give up the job,
and maybe follow up on contacts you have already. Be very careful and dont burn any bridges. Sometimes working for yourself is not all its cracked up to be. Long hours, doing your own tax returns, accountant / bookeeper fees, the list goes on and on.... Sorry to be a pessimist.

Benefit of my experience:
Took redundancy package from Bank 1999 after 25 years. Qualified accountant and planned to set up on my own as business/tax advisor and financial trainer.
Main issue was support of OH. We knew there would be problems and a risk of failure. Were some long periods with little income and this was a major strain on relationship.
Hard to get work and hard to get paid. Things will not go as planned so be very careful to assess the market for your skills before leaving secure job. Self employed is not a bed of roses and can be extremely stressful.
Things are now workng out well but no guarantee that this will continue. I suggest that you sit down with your partner and assess all of the issues in depth (including family situation, pension, potential to go back into employment etc.) and then make your decision in full posession of all of the positives and negatives.

I'm almost 5 years self employed after 10 years as an employee. It has worked out quite well so far but there are two pitfalls to be aware of

1 - Banks - they much prefer to deal with somebody with permanent pensionable employment then the self employed.

2 - Are you employable? If after a couple of years self employment it doesn't work, it will be quite difficult to go back into employment. The experience of running your own business is quite addictive (in my opinion) and the idea of working for somebody else in the future is entirely unappealing. That being said, like yourself, I have a mortgage to pay and kids to feed, so if the business failed I'd just have to accept it and get a job somewhere.

Past30

You will also become an 'S' (second class?) citizen for PRSI. This means you'll lose most of your entitlements but will have to keep paying PRSI.

You will also lose your PAYE Tax credit.

GO FOR IT! I went out on my own 3 years ago. I'm lucky in that I had no start up costs and my running costs are virtually non existent (working from home has big advantages). I think if you're taking the plunge, this is a big factor. If you're in the IT game, you'll be working on site so I'm taking it that you won't need a premises to start up with. You can get off the ground quite easily. If you've got contacts from the work you've done in the past, which might lead to a few jobs, great. You can read all about the upsides to running your own business on any site. The downsides can bite you - from experience they are as follows - Getting Paid, Staying Motivated, Spending too much time thinking about Work. At the end of it you'll learn more that you ever would working for someone else. Fingers crossed, I'll never have to work for someone else. By the way - I saw in the last post that you lose a lot of entitlements when you're in the S Class. Just wondering - apart from Dental Care, what else do I lose. One other question - does it affect the pension down the line?

Just wondering - apart from Dental Care, what else do I lose. One other question - does it affect the pension down the line?

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If you have the time, you can wade through the welfare site www.welfare.ie to find out.

To start, you'll lose Treatment benefit, which covers;

Dental Benefit
Optical Benefit
Contact lenses
Hearing Aids
http://www.welfare.ie/publications/sw24.html#1.1

Here's all I could find about the pension;

You will qualify for State Pension (Contributory) if you:

• are aged 66 or over, and
• satisfy certain social insurance contribution conditions.

Thanks all, for your responses so far,good advice there for indeed anyone to follow.Please keep them coming.

My startup costs should be quite low - I'll be working from home (as I am now) so do not need premises.I will only sell equipment if I see an item that needs updating/replacing at a customer's site so do not need to keep stock.My biggest expense will be a van as the job will entail travelling around to customer sites & working on site.

The technical manager where I work has told me some time ago that if I decided to go contracting,they would hire me to do their calls in my region (but its one thing to say it & another then doing it).The owner of the previous company where I worked for 4 years has told my sister (they are good friends) to give him a call if I take the self employed route so thats encouraging also.

I'm going to start advertising in local press for evening & weekend work to see if there is much take-up & of course I'm going to "do the maths" first to see if it will be worth it...............I hope it is !

thats one thing i have found not to rely on is people promising you business if you go out on your own, it rarely seems to come good, because of existing business relationships, price competition, levels of service (you might be a one man band where as your competition have several consultants in various parts of the country...)

Hi I do the same kind of IT work as yourself. Was PAYE for about 7 yrs and set up a LTD company in 2004 and havnt looked back.
I have being doing contract work and touch wood have never been out of work. Im single and have a mortgage to pay on my own with keeps me on my toes to make sure i always have a rainy day fund.
Financially i am at least twice if not 3 times better off. AT the end of the day you can always pack it up and go back to a permanent job.
I do think that you have to give it a try if its on your mind. Yes i have to pay my own pension etc but I can afford to do it now and still come out better off. I have also found that you tend to move jobs more often because a contract/project has completed and then can charge a higher rate as you have gained more skills etc.
Hope this helps
Best of luck with your decision.

envelope said:

Financially i am at least twice if not 3 times better off. AT the end of the day you can always pack it up and go back to a permanent job.

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If I was even twice as better off I would be extremely happy, thanks envelope - thats the kind of tale that encourages me to go ahead & do it !