A Dilemma

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This may be a bit confusing but here goes.

Ok, basically im a self employed PC engineer, i get work through a company, im on call 5 days a week, and i get anything from £15 to £45 a week, pretty crappy i know, but its very flexible and i think that is the reason im still working with this company, i get about 3 hours work a week on average

As i work under 16 hours a week i claim job seekers allowance so i can afford to run my car

The jobcentre have said i can join a course to help me set up my own business and get funding from the Princes trust, however, i must quit my current job to be accepted on the course because they wont accept someone who is already self employed, the course sounds very promising, they help with initial business plans, advertising, marketing etc

The job centre have given me a choice, either quit and do the course to set up my own business in PC repairs etc or carry on the way i am and eventually be put on a work placement of their choice (standard jobcentre procedure after so many months of claiming job seekers allowance) or sign off from the job centre all together and live on the money from my current job

i dont know what to do, in the long run i could obviously be earning a substantial amount more if i did work through my own business but id have to quit and go without money from work for 6 weeks (thats stage 1 of the course i think, stage 2 is a 6 month test trading period, altho i can only spend money made in this period on the business) but i would still be recieving £45 a week from the jobcentre

at the moment im leaning towards quitting and joining the course in june, any wise words of wisdom or opinions on what you would do in my situation?

sorry if its confusing

 

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Hello shaggy, Last year me and my colleague were in the process of setting up our own IT business based in Liverpool. We were both working full time and the princes trust could not offer us any help due to this fact. We never really got it going because of other commitments but next year we may try again. We were members of the chamber of commerce based in Knowsley in Liverpool and through them we had business and IT advisers on hand , including attending excellent IT seminars and other IT clubs.

We found them to be vert useful and I would recommend that you go down that route, as the princes trust are more money men than business people.. I think anyway

I dont know if the chamber of commerce operate in your area but I would give them a try, the are v.good

Hope that helps

C

 

I don't seem to come across as rude so please forgive me if I do but:

Why don't you just get a full time job doing what you're doing - you obviously have zero commitments if you are happy to take JSA and £15 week so a Support Engineer job with a car could be what you need! Salaries can be anything between 11k to 22k depending on experience! By getting a full time job in your field you'll be better equipped after a few years to start your own business as you'll know the market better!

I suspect the Job Centre are pushing you towards the Princes Trust and this "course" in order to make their own stats look good! The job centre are not there to help YOU as they're driven by targets, the Princes trust will not give you any money either as they are inundated with grant requests from every Tom, Dick and Harry PC repair man!

So my advice to you is:

* Get a full time job i.e. contracting (field engineer)
* Stay with that for 2 or more years
* After that time re-evaluate your ambitions with regards to starting your own business.

They're too many PC Repair men out there making the market completly saturated! They're starting to appear on TV House of Horrors now! And no govt course can teach you business - only business can do that!

Again this is just my opinion and is meant as helpful advice.

Thanks and good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

What he said...

I likewise don't mean to be rude, but to make a success of your own business takes an enormous amount of drive, motivation and commitment.

If you've been dawdling along working a couple of hours here and there happily, then you need to ask yourself if you can find those sort of resources within you.

I wouldn't want the hassle of my own business, and some people work better under an umbrella.

 

I agree with drum_dude...the fact you have a car and have knowledge of PCs...a field engineer job would be just the thing for you...save up money and in a few years you will be able to start your own business...

As he also says if you go down the contracting route you can earn quite a bit and with a car there are other benefits on top I am sure...

but good luck with whatever you decide to do

 

I can see what your all saying, and i would love a full time PC field engineer job, but there simply isnt any, well, that i can find, in my county that dont require either a cert i dont have or an amount of experience way off of mine

ive also applied for a lot of helpdesk and 1st line jobs, but no one seems to be interested, i know its hard to get your foot in the door though, i would even take a trainee IT job as i like to learn new things.

when i signed up with who im with now the advert said "from 1 hour to 40 hours a week full time" but obviously it all depends if the work is there, if no one phones in, i have nothing to do

as for contracting work, im not sure how to go about it, i read through a site posted on here about everything id need, a LTD or umbrella, accountant etc, which all seemed out of my budget, the thing that made me consider this course they offered me was the fact that they help me with the financial side. (apparently)

i will look around for some contract work later on today when i get back, any suggestions of best places to look?

As for motivation, i have plenty, i could commit to my own business as its what ive always wanted to do, i can cope with stress. but we shall see.

im open to any more advice you can give

Thanks

 

Jobs are out there, but you have to dig for them... not simply apply for jobs that appear in the paper or on online job search sites. EVERYONE applies for those jobs, and thus, the competition is quite steep. There are 'hidden' jobs out there... jobs that aren't listed on any site or in any paper, but that companies are looking to fill. You usually find out about them through techs already in the industry: "Hey, an entry-level spot opened up at my company. Why don't you shoot me your resume and I'll give it to my boss!"

I'm with the others - you have to have some intense drive and motivation to start and maintain a business. Plus, you've got to WANT to start a business, not just have the attitude of "Yeah, I can start a business, but owning my own business doesn't totally drive my soul". Doing the tech stuff is the fun part. But there's all the other "misery", for lack of a better term, that isn't fun for most techs:

- finding customers
- keeping customers
- billing customers
- pursuing non-paying customers
- creating proposals for potential customers
- finding staff
- managing staff
- dealing with HR issues with staff
- dealing with legal issues
- understanding and paying taxes
- understanding and dealing with setting up your business legally
- inventory
- marketing
- business plans
- financial plans and budgets

So you see, actually doing the tech work is just a part of what you'll need to start your own business. Are you that motivated and interested? If so, I'd recommend you go for it... but if you're the least bit hesitant, you probably shouldn't take that leap.