An introduction to becoming self-employed for tradesman

Moving into the world of self-employment is a big step for anyone. As daunting as it may seem, it can be a fantastic opportunity that comes with a lot of benefits, like the ability to choose your own hours, make your own decisions, and earn a great living!

Over a quarter of self-employed men in the UK work as tradesmen, and if you’re thinking of going down this route, the chances are that you’re going to be spending a lot of time travelling to jobs with various pieces of equipment, materials, and tools. In order to do this efficiently, you’ll need a reliable work van.

Here at Intack Self Drive, we’re here to help get you and your new business up and running with a great selection of van hire options, including daily, weekly, and short term rental services. We also offer great rates on long term hire through our Flexi hire service.

So, if you’re considering starting up your own tradesman’s business, here are some of the things you need to keep in mind.

Starting up

Make sure you’re fully qualified

In order to confidently go out on your own and give yourself the best chance of achieving success, you should get yourself as qualified as possible in your chosen field. An apprenticeship of some kind, or other qualification is essential in achieving professional status in your work. NVQ qualifications are also a great way to gain the skills you need, and these courses are available right the way from level 1, all the way up to level 5, giving you more expertise the higher the level you study at.

It’s also definitely worth getting yourself familiar with some general business skills as well. We’d recommend getting clued up on things like accounting so you can handle your finances and taxes, and market research so you can successfully promote and advertise your business (that’s assuming you’re not up to speed on those already!).

Get yourself some quality equipment

Without great equipment, your work may not be as good as it could be, and your business could struggle as a result. Once you’ve bagged yourself some top tools, you need to keep them safe - your tools are your livelihood, so you ideally don’t want them to get lost, stolen or damaged.

There are a few basic protective measures we’d recommend, including stashing your equipment away from your vehicle if possible, marking it so it’s harder to sell on, and investing in some tool insurance so you can replace them whenever you need!

Of course, you’ll need a great work van to get you to your jobs, and we’ve already pointed out how we can help you with that.

What are the main benefits of going self-employed?

Be your own boss - there’s nothing better than being the boss. When you’re self-employed, you won’t have to take orders from anyone apart from yourself, meaning you can control what work you do and how it needs to be done. People who are self-employed often cite this as the best part of their job.

Flexible working hours - when you’re self-employed, it doesn’t matter if you get up at 1pm and only work until 3pm, nobody can tell you what to do! But keep in mind though that when you’re self employed, you very much get out what you put in. This is especially true when you’re starting out, as it’s likely that you’ll be working harder than those in the 9-5 grind. Eventually things will take off and you'll be able to relax a bit more, but for now, strap yourself in and be ready for a lot of hard graft.

Increased income - on average, most self employed people have the potential to earn more money than those who work for a salary. Why is this? Well, usually when you work for someone else, you often have to ask for a salary increase when you feel you deserve one. However, as a business owner, your take home profit is directly linked to your level of productivity.

So, that’s the basics of being self-employed covered! We’ve been keen supporters of self-employed tradesman throughout our history here at Intack Self Drive - we’ve got over 45 years of van, car and minibus hire experience under our belt, and you can rely on us to provide you with fantastic deals on daily, weekly, and short term van hire services.

If you’ve got any more questions or you need a bit of clarification, you can find more answers over on our Frequently Asked Questions. Or if you’re ready to get started, you can browse the best van hire deals right here on our site at Intack Self Drive, or give us a call on 01254 57811!