No going back

[rtbcomp]

the old bill are redhot on carrying goods without buisness insurance if u want points on your licence

That's only if you haven't got business use on your car insurance, not business insurance per-se.

Waste carrier's licence only applies if you carry other people's waste or building /demolition waste for yourself or others in the course of business.

 

[Wedg1e]

anything involving your buisness .not private stuff. and if your carrying waste without a licence theres another ofence in other words 3 bags of crap of a job even

Define waste? If I fill my van with scrap metal and take it to Prossers will I get bummed by the rozzers? Or do you mean asbestos, radioactives, that sort of thing?

Edit: ah, I see rtb has more or less answered that above...^^^

Edit again: or has he? Hmmm...

 

[rtbcomp]

There's waste and waste. It's an EU definition, so throw any logic out of the window. What any sensible person would define as re-recyclable resources such as scrap is defined legally as waste.

Radioactive, toxic &c is defined as hazardous waste and there are special rules.

Form what I can work out, if the scrap is your own personal stuff or owned by your business you're OK. If you're doing it for a mate and getting paid you could be in the clag. Again this raises issues of using your van for hire or reward vs having your petrol paid for. And of course being insured for business use.

At one time, as part of my business, I was scrounging washing machines off Freecycle, stripping them for useful bits and weighing the residue in for scrap. I asked the authorities if I needed a waste carrier's licence and they didn't know!

 

[jim painter]

Thanks for all the replies and good wishes . As I have said I have tried to get the insurance but I will give the co-op a go as suggested. You can never save too much money . My car has business cover.

It has been said that the business i,m going into is likly to die off. If so, so be it. This is what I can do, its what I am/will be making my living off. The wiife is supporting me and being very understanding but I honestly cant see this sort of thing not being done in the next few years. Its kind of a waiting game and seeing what happens.

Will just have to wait and see, and again thanks for the replies.

 

[KemppiFrog]

Good luck, Jim.
I have been self imployed virtually all my life, apart from working in the family business until I was around 22. Has its ups and downs. Remember looking at a job in progress and realising I did not have enough money to finish it and no chance of finding more. Half an hour later, a guy walks in, says he was told I could help on designing something and bangs down a nice wodge on the table as a starter. Think that was the lowest point. Also been lucky about getting paid. Worst was an arquitect who figgered I would not take him to court for the amount. Another guy was having financial probs, so I didn't hassle him. This worked in my favour, as three months later the cheque arrived, unprompted. I guessed that he was a good 'un. And he was. Most paid on time. In the current situation that may get worse.

One needs to be realistic about how long things take, and cost ALL the time involved. Very easy to spend time thinking and sketching, then only charge the actual workshop time. People don't respect one for undervalueing the work. I have also watched BS types talk big,charge lots, then the client walks off with an inferier job, happy, just because the price was high enough.
Also need to refuse some jobs. Some (clients) just have a smell.

As for retirement, HAH. Just hope you fall off the perch without any care needed. And have a few clients who come to you in your 'later' life to keep things going. ( or, charge enough to buy the estate in the west indies...)

On the waste comments. Around here, we pay about £100 /yr for our household waste. This includes access to the local dumps, three choices within 10k. One accepts asbestos without comment, big sacks in an area off the other skips. We also get a weekly trash collection at the house. Just need to separate paper and plastics. I get really depressed about the (UK)council mentality on fining for minor 'infringements' so as to keep their executives pensions funds up to level.
Bit ranty in the last bit........

 

[KemppiFrog]

Oh, as for EU waste definitions. Not terribly adhered here.. no surprise..
The UK seems to rush to impliment the latest EU diktact, helps the employment stats. But the rest of the EU, sort of ignores it.
KF

 

[brightspark]

its called do as i say not as i do

 

[Pete.]

Good Luck Jim. Remember to look after yourself.

 

[snowcat]

Own wot you got, stuff the banks and their loans: borrow from family, it's usually cheaper
.

Thats only really practical however if you remain very small or become very Big, To expand most have to borrow in one form or another. without expansion any business slowly becomes less wealthy.

Getting large debts that you cannot pay back is of course bad news, but Risk aversion can also become cancerous to a business, and lead to bad bottom line figures inventively it will die.

At the moment I can still borrow at between 0% and3.4% Flatt, which historically have never been so low.. If you can create more than the gross amount of the borrowed figure with the purchase then it is worth doing, especially as it still (just) also has Tax implications, If your borrowing to gain an asset, buildings property land etc then thats even better AS LONG AS YOUR BUSINESS CAN AFFORD IT!..

Managing Cash flow is key, bad cashflow isnt like cancer its like Ebola and will have a business dead within 24hrs.

 

[rtbcomp]

Trouble is banks will want security, so that means your house unless you own your business unit.

 

[ford34/2]

Every best wish for success.
perhaps i`m lucky i`m not long retired - done my 50 year just waiting for this £26.000 I heard mentioned. -- Ha.
before retirement I regulary saw Mobile mechanics parked at verious Garages- presumably doing work they werent geared up to do or were too busy to fit in, as we had a Garage within a few yards, top end luxury market you get talking and they subcontracted all body work , and all mechanicle, all they did was servicing and valeting.
Get round every one concerned who works with metal, tell em your up for contract work covering holidays busy periods sickness etc, doesnt take many to fill your week in,

and every best wish

Stan

 

[snowcat]

Trouble is banks will want security, so that means your house unless you own your business unit.

I use 3 brokers, and the rates I get are all unsecured (I have a rule that only assets should be bought with secured loans) 50K was the last amount borrowed at 3.4% Flat that means over 4 years I incur less than 4K intrest...

Lenders do want to see audited accounts, cash flow predictions and proof of income, they normally also want you to put at least 30% payment down..... Its only correct they should.

 

[rtbcomp]

In practice "unsecured" is a false sense of security, a lender could always make you bankrupt if they needed to, but at least you have the opportunity to protect your personal assets.

Plant & machinery aren't much of security, especially if you buy brand new, due to depreciation

A limited company will give you some level of protection, but I know for a fact that the banks will take a charge on directors' houses as security. Jointly and severally as well!

 

[rhubarb7]

I take it you are doing mobile vehicle welding? In that case get a motor trade policy..

I have got mine with MMA.

http://www.mma-insurance.com/

You have to get a quote through a broker..Have a browse on there site and it gives a list of the brokers that are near to you..In my case it was Swinton..

All the best with everything

 

[snowcat]

In the end the lender will get the money back if you default, but having finance unsecured means you have the deeds to your assets, So if the opportunity arises to acquire land or property you have the option to Mortgage. Lenders actualy quite like Machinery at the moment as S/H prices have risen with the new, Its quite possible to sell something 5 years old for the money you paid for it, only problem is your making profits on your books on the sale.

Why you would ever sigh A loan Finance or Mortgage agreement without the ability to pay is beyond me anyhow..

If your uncomfortable with borrowing Its silly to do so, however most business need to for growth, and Cashflow....

 

[jim painter]

I dont own my own house as I simply can't afford to buy one. So renting it is.

Thanks for the MMA link I will have a look, although I tried Swinton and they told me they couldnt cover me

 

[rocketron]

I stand by my comments re stuffin the banks. In 1983, I bought 1.18 acres of station yard/land from BR. Paid £7k for it!
Plannig permission was changed to industrial use 12 weeks before my purchase.
NO bank would lend money to buy, collateral or not. I didn't have any, so borrowed money from the family.
After 18 years, had over 300 regular customers, including Forestry Commission and National Grid, for service/repairs, remanufactured Landrover petrol/diesel engines and gearboxes for sale through comics, rebuilt Land and Range Rovers for forecourt sales, made over 100 trailers, overbored mini, ford and vauxhall engines for competition, fire escapes spiral staircases and loads of fabrication, kitted out machine shop, all in our erected steel framed building which was a bus garage some 90miles away. We stripped, transported and rebuilt it ourselves, me, my partner and his brother, All the major equipment we bought s/h.
Several times we had to employ (very good!)subbies to help out: this was crucial.
Our everyday financial transactions were with the local Midland Bank.
When in 1987 we started buying ex-Motability cars from car auctions in Manchester for resale on fourcourt, I set up an account with Barclays for this. The monies for this did not come from our Midland account, it came from our wages: a completely separate business.
So how the xxxx did the Midland manager know we had a Barclays account with over £11k in it???? We found out when "instructed" to a meeting of "some considerable urgency" and we were given a bollocking!!!! Me, a customer and not in debt????
Smacking the sod was an option. We closed both bank accounts and moved to a different bank, some thirty miles away instead.
After 18 years, partner and I decided to part, sold up/split everything. Was averaging over 60 hrs a week, made a few mistakes, being self employed there were unchargeable hours in making tea and holidays, the hassle in getting rates reduced every soddin year took its toll.
The land itself made 20 times its original cost, the equipment made huge profit
in auction, surprisingly.

So for me, stuff the banks and if you need to use them, don't go local.

If it gets more difficult with MOT weld ups, and if your good, there's always classic car restos.

There's a Status Quo line "if you ever get annoyed, you can be self-employed, and be happy work for nuthing all day" The nuthin bit is the risky bummer!

Very best wishes to you

 

[rtbcomp]

.......

Why you would ever sigh A loan Finance or Mortgage agreement without the ability to pay is beyond me anyhow..

If your uncomfortable with borrowing Its silly to do so, however most business need to for growth, and Cashflow....

Agree 100%, but if you're in good position now, you may not be a few years down the line. The banks will come after your assets, secured or not, if they need to.

 

[rtbcomp]

I stand by my comments re stuffin the banks. In 1983, I bought 1.18 acres of station yard/land from BR. Paid £7k for it!
Plannig permission was changed to industrial use 12 weeks before my purchase.
............

I had a similar experience. Tired to borrow £5k in 1985 to buy a run-down workshop in a popular residential area. Banks weren't interested, they would have lent me the money to buy a car, but not property. I was offered £80k for the building a few years ago, so where was the risk?

 

[rocketron]

Sounds about right

Worked for a small Robotic machine tool company, mainly making computer controlled presses, and a bloody good product it was.

In 1999, the company was approached by Welsh Development Agency (a quango set up, totally effin useless and an embarrasment to Wales) along with Midland and Natwest commercial banks and Venture capitalists (mercenary bxxxxxxds). A loan of £650k to develop the business was offered, guaranteed for 12 months (That is, nothing to be repaid for a minimum of 12 months). This is not a lot of money, about 5 decent houses in Llandudno. A fully qualified(?) commercial banker was brought in to efficiently run the business. This guy was a total ********, wanted to increase output by 100%, through greater efficiencies! All of us were averaging about 60hrs a week, without overtime rate. All of us were committed to make the company grow. All of us were jobless before this employment.

After 5 months a big project came to fruition, and all bills were paid. Meanwhile the design team were well on the way with the next project, drawings completed and parts could be made. I myself had over £200k of work lined up, modifying, repairing other make machine tools.

The future to look promising.

I well remember the boss's wife saying to all the engineers "take your tools home with you tonight, cos you won't get them tomorrow"!!!!

The venture capitalists had withdrawn all their money immediately after previous project payment, thus killing the company: no money to trade.
Some time later, the reason given was the interest payment was not forthcoming, with 7 months still to go of a 12 month agreement!

Dear wife is FD of a major employer. THe business has run since 1927, operates in UK, France, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia, S Africa, Canada, USA, Saudi and Dubai.
It has not used UK banks for any loans for decades, only day to day money transactions. Will probably not in the future neither.

This business has probably tripled in the last 35 years, without UK bank assistance. Has used private overseas banks, but I understand via controlled agreements on them. ( You wanna deal with me, you do it my way. Or else sod off! Knowing the big Boss, this I believe).

Imo, banks are for their shareholders, not us