mark williams
Member
- Messages
- 236
- Location
- Wrexham
as title says really, im interested to hear the good an bad storys off you guys that have started off your welding business either full time or on the side??
glad to hear its working out for you. Im in similar position to you was 3 years ago, grew up on family farm always welding and fixing/making things, served an apprentiship in the aircraft industry as a sheet metal worker/welder and been doing it for 15 years now, have done a lot of mig welding work on the side but lot of farfmmers try to have a go them selfs not a great deal of money init, now im setting up in my garage to aim at more specialised welding ally/stainless/TI just bought an R-tech tigStarted about 3 years ago. Was making car transporters for a living before and it was hell. Got myself a mobile welder and other bits and bobs to start with. Always had a van so no problem there and my brother-in-law has a farm so put up a small workshop to work in. With relations being farmers managed to get plenty of work just in the evenings and week ends. Hard going for a long time trying to burn the candle at both ends and to see if it was viable enough to go self employed. Some farmers would pay me in equipment, mig welder, etc and they claimed the VAT so started to build up enough stuff to go it alone.
So far its been great, had some busy times and some quiet times but at the minute I have enough work to keep me going for a long time and i have managed to pick up work in other areas as well and to be honest not really trying more word of mouth than anything (and maybe too cheap a rate?) I have the benefit of knowing how and when to bodge stuff (for farmers) and when to make the quality stuff. hoping to pick up more machinery such as a folder shortly.
Thinking of starting for yourself?
look forward to the day when I can make enough money to stop working for someone else and go it alone.
Bit of a dream I think many of us have?
I must ask ukracer why the name? But keeping on topic first.
Dad was a capstan operator at a company called Edbro, mainly at the time hydraulic tipping gear for wagons bodies before the manufacturers started to make there own.
cumbriasteve, you seemed to have done well then found too much success, I guess many would consider that a good thing and expand the business, means money but then it could also mean more staff, more paperwork, tax, insurance etc. more stress etc.
Adrian
I know the bloke who owns Edbro. Small world.
My lad raced radio controlled cars electric and Nitro for 14 years till he found girls and real cars. lolI must ask ukracer why the name?
On another note I have a Redsail vinyl cutter, black, white and orange vinyl’s and basic software. Bought it do do numbers for the side of the car!
Adrian
Ebay is a problem. I can list on ebay for a month and get no sales and then my Top rate seller boosts my visibility and I cant keep up. Unless you offer next day they dont want you......if you dont offer it visibility is poor.Yes that's the stage it got to, it went from what I wanted which was a nice little paying hobby of a couple of gates a week to a take over my life business.
I think it's hard for everyone when it gets to that stage, do you go for it big time and risk just as big a fall if the work slows down or do you stay small time and always wonder 'what if'.
I wanted to maintain most of my freedom and enjoy the metalwork in a relaxed way, going bigger would have eliminated both of those.
I've been self employed virtually all my life, well from 21 anyway, I like it but its not for everyone, you can either do it or you can't, unfortunately there is no middle ground
The last person I worked for gave me some very good advice, He said "don't be greedy, its easier to make a little bit on lots of things rather than a lot on one thing" Its seved me well over the years
That's the Asian way of doing business. That's how a independent Asian supermarket it way cheaper like for like compared to the big crooks. I find the same when buying car spares from breakers, white guys to to be greedy, that's the way I operate too and it serves me well.