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Thomas Nagy and Paul Meenan on when to start up a business · The Electrical Show

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  The Electrical Show with Thomas Najie sponsored by Bosch Professional Powerful power tools to measuring
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  tools and experts accessories. Welcome to the Electrical Show and Fix Radio with Bosch
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  Professional. I'm your host Thomas Najie and in the hot seat is Paul Mean.
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  And once again, now question that keeps coming up constantly. You message
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  it in all the time. How do you know when it's time to go
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  out on your own and start your own business so you could be your employed
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  and you want to go out on your own. That is a multimillion pound
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  question and it's something that, like I said, you ask us all the
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  time. So today we're going to ask some fellow electricians. We're going to
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  have some phone ins and we're going to find out when they made the leap
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  and how essentially it unfolded in their lives when they made the choice, and
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  how they went about doing it. Fix Radio time to crack on aim Thomas
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  Nagi with Paul Mean and here on the Electrical Show, and we are about
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  to start our discussion. And let's say, if you've just tuned and don't
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  worry, We're about to start talking about taking the plunge and working for yourself.
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  So you could be employed somewhere, you could be unemployed, doesn't matter.
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  It's just that moment where you decide you want to go out and work
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  for yourself. You're an employed man pulled so this doesn't really apply to you.
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  I am an employed man. You doesn't apply to me? Well it
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  did years ago I was self employed and a couple of times when I was
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  on the tools and various other times consulting. So I've done it, but
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  not recently. No one, no, But can I flip this on yougos?
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  You may well okay, well, just okay, So just for context
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  and all the listeners in radio land, can you just tell everybody? Are
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  you how are you set up? Are you a soul trader? Are you
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  limited company? You're limited? It was soul It was a soul trader up
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  till twenty sixteen, I think, and then I turned it into a limited
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  company. But it's well worth. That's that protection you get with the limited
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  companies. It's protection, but also it just it for me. It just
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  gives a bit more of a people want it. When you start growing,
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  people just expect to see it. If you haven't gott it, people like
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  it just doesn't it gives a bit more credibility. That's the word, a
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  bit more credibility, I think if you're a limited company. Okay, so
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  why did you start working for yourself? Why? It was really it was
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  a bozaster. I actually it was never It sounds stupid, It was never
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  ever supposed to happen. Do you even know this background? No, I've
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  watched your videos and stuff, but no, tell us tell the world I
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  had. I was working for a company called MJ and Colston. They were
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  based down in Devon, and I got my qualifications and I left them.
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  And the reason I left them was because I was actually joining the police.
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  That was the plan. What Yeah, you were going to be old Bill.
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  Yeah, I couldn't. I wouldn't do it now for sure, But
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  back then I wanted shut up bringing the producers laughing offer sonagi yeah, yeah,
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  fairy handcuffs. Yeah, I don't care. Yeah I was. I
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  actually I had applied for and stuff and I needed a stop gap while when
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  I'd left Colston's to then join the police. I needed a stop gap and
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  I was like, well, I'll just go and work for myself for a
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  couple of weeks, just earn a couple of quid, and for various reasons,
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  the police thing didn't work out and managed ended up staying working for myself.
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  Here I am now so I was never supposed to do this. This
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  was not the plan, so very arresting thought. Yes it's a pun there.
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  So I'm stunned. I've learned something new about mistin Argie today. Okay,
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  so I've watched your journey. Most people who followed you on YouTube of
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  watched your journey. What methods have you found worked for you? And what
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  sort of things have you learned along the way? Now I know you.
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  So we've been on a journey. We've been on a journey. It's been
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  an emotional journey. Has Yeah, what method have you found that worked?
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  I know what I should have done, and definitely is a piece of advice
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  if you're in a full time job, like if you're an apprentice and you're
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  qualifying, don't do what I did and just leave. That was a big
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  mistake because I just I knew Jack. I literally didn't know anything. And
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  it's amazing when you start working yourself, you've got no one else to ask,
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  so you just kind of I just walked into every situation, just had
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  to figure it out as I went along, So definitely stay and just learn
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  a bit more before you do decide to go and work for yourself. That
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  that tempting feeling of working for yourself, it's very tempting, but definitely don't
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  don't do it unless you're confident that you know enough. So that was definitely
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  saying that I found that didn't work for me, if that makes any sense.
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  So yeah, don't rush into it. Yeah, that's yeah, in
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  a nutshell, don't rush into it. Yeah. The Electrical Show on fixed
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  Radio. This is the Electrical showan Thomas Najie with Paul Meaning in the hot
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  seat and joining us now. Is is a voice that you guys will all
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  remember. It's Bradley Jones from Imperium Group. Bradley, it's weird to have
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  you on the other side of on the other side of the microphone this way.
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  How are you doing all right? Yeah? Not bad? How are
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  you live in the dream now? Workwise? I know when you were last
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  in here your work was really picking up. How has twenty twenty three been
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  for you since you were last on the show. Yeah, it's it's manic
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  at a moment, Tom, We've we've got between sort of seven hundred and
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  fifty two thousand work orders. We're currently dealing with um and doing sort of
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  anything betweens or two hundred and twenty to two hundred and forty jobs a week
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  now, so keep keeping you busy. It's tough. I've done six am
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  till ten pm last night just to just to make sure I was on top
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  of everything. So um, yeah, it really isn't. And I'm trying
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  to find group electrical subcontractors. So if you're out there, please call me
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  one man bands I need. Yeah, well Bradley Jones Imperium Groups, so
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  yeah, you can google it and have a look if you're interested in working
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  with them, because the man has definitely got the work. Now. Today,
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  Bradley, we're talking about when you should take the plunge and go into
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  business yourself. And now I know we spoke about this a couple of times
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  on the show, so just remind us what point in your career did you
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  set up your company seven years ago? Tom Um literally just you know,
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  couldn't find any real good opportunities and sort of went out on my own.
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  So for me it was it was never sort of being employed. And then
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  for I'll take the lip and go and be self employed. It was it
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  was sort of always from the start, and it's sort of all I've ever
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  known. Um So that's sort of about how I started. Really, what
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  was that you struggled with in the early days, like when you first started.
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  What was probably your biggest struggle you'd say, I think the biggest struggles
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  when you first started out of you know, number one, trying to you
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  know, find customers. Where do I get customers from? Um? I
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  think that's really really tough. Um. I think anyone out there and they
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  think the phone's just going to ring and they think, you know, they're
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  going to get clients, but it's it's not that easy. UM. I
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  think the second thing is is sort of running the business. It's the back
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  end stuff, it's the it's the accountancy side, it's the it's the administration
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  side, and it's it's stuff that you know, for a normal electrician they
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  can find really really difficult. Yeah. So I think there's a lot of
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  problems when you when you first start out, and for me, it's it's
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  a massive learning cur I mean, you know, when I first started,
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  it's you know, you make facebook you learn from those mistakes and I'd never
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  have it any other way because I would never be where I am today unless
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  I sort of, you know, went out on the owner, learned and
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  I made those mistakes in myself. What advice would you give to somebody who
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  wants to set up today, they want to do go in the world and
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  set themselves up. What advice would you give? I think I think my
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  advice Tom would be too. Don't listen to all the scare mongers out there.
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  I see on the Electrician's community group on Facebook and and other you know,
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  electrical Facebook groups where people are saying, oh, there's a recession,
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  there's this, says that there's this problem. Don't ever go out in your
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  own blah blah. I don't think there's ever a right time. Yeah,
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  you can always find a negative, but let's try and be you know,
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  let's try and be positive and goes. You know what, I'm going to
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  go out on my own, and I'm going to make it work because there's
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  enough work out there, bundles and bundles of work out there. And I
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  think you're still thinking about going on your own, you're going to keep leaving
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  it month after month after month. Just go and do it. Bradley,
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  Look, it's been no. I fully agree, and you've just got to
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  take the plunge and do these things and not and not think too much about
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  it, because if you're not careful, you just wrap yourself up in your
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  own thoughts and worries and you never end up getting anywhere. You just end
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  up sitting on the perch waiting for that just right moment which never ever turns
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  up. So yeah, I'm totally scenario Tom if it doesn't work. If
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  it doesn't work, you can always go back into an employed role. At
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  least you can say you're tried. I do agree with you, Bradley.
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  Look, we've got to cut it there, but thank you very much for
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  coming on the show, and I'll give you a buzz afterwards and we'll catch
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  up. Mate. Have a good day, brad. You're listening to Fixed
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  Radio The Builds a Station Fixed Radio. You're listening to the Electrical Show.
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  I'm Thomas Naji with Paul Meaning here, and we have been asking some fellow
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  electrical contractors for their advice for anybody who wants to start up as a sole
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  trader or indeed a limited company, but they're not sure where to begin now
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  joining us now is the man that one Scruflix's top tradesperson in twenty twenty two.
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  It's Toby Peacock. Now, Toby, we're going to touch on the
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  award that you won later, But first of all, you went straight in
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  as a business owner of a limited company. Why was it going limited something
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  that you decided to do early on? What was the sort of reasoning behind
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  that. Yeah, it's a good question. Mainly for me. It was
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  something that I've been advised to do. Certainly as you find any electrical companies,
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  obviously you're going to have quite a large turnover of materials and you're going
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  to have a lot of tools as well, and it was one of those
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  that when I first opened it up, it was sort of thinking, well,
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  for protection wise, obviously it's quite good because it's almost separate assets,
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  but also as a business it's quite good for the limited company name. It
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  It gives these sort of small commercial businesses that you might try and approach a
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  bit more of a rectical feel about you to get them interested almost. I
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  was literally just having a conversation with Paul here just talking about that, and
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  is I think credibility goes a lot for something I don't know why. It
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  just looks more credible, but I know exactly what you mean. At what
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  points in your career was it that you decided to work for yourself and do
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  this. When was that? Yeah, so that was in late twenty nineteen.
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  Really, I had a sort of impression that I felt that I wanted
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  something to do for myself, and naturally, you know, you get it
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  a lot in the trade where people always say there's enough work out there for
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  you and give it a go, and that that was when I've done it.
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  I definitely know I can understand what you're talking about. I totally get
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  it. What the what are the challenges that you found was setting up a
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  limited company because obviously you need an accountant and you've got it. You can't
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  just do there's some stuff you've got to have external people to do. How
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  did you find it? What were the challenges that you've you've faced? Yeah,
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  so there are quite a few, certainly, like to say, getting
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  a good accountant is worth it, you know, don't get me wrong.
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  There their bills will be considerable, but what they save you in way of
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  advice and someone to pick up the phone about tax or you know, purchases
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  are definitely worth it, and you do have to be a bit clued up
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  yourself, so certainly you know, taking that time to look at what certain
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  things are doing, and you know tax codes and things for your business.
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  Just how to approach it is something that you almost have to do, so
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  that is a challenge. You have to try and adapt yourself for business,
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  which if you're a tradesman, you're not a businessman, and you have to
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  become a businessman. And certainly other challenges that can can come from that is
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  with a limited company is simply to pay yourself. You know, you have
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  to have a big chunk of money, go out to start your company,
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  get all your materials, your tools, your van, all of that paid
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  upfront, and it may be a good few months before you pay yourself your
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  first sort of salary payment, just because you need to get yourself figured out,
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  because as soon as you go on a salary payment, you can't not
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  pay yourself. So you have to make sure there's enough money to then start
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  your payroll. Because compared to a soul trader, you can obviously take funds
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  whenever you wish if the money's there, and then by the end of the
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  year you work it all out. With being a limited company, the money
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  has to be there because if you can't pay yourself as a company, yes,
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  it might be yourself, but it doesn't go it doesn't reflex very Yeah,
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  well on yourself. Well, other than accountants, are there any other
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  services or people that you found have really helped you along that journey? Yeah,
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  I mean it's one of this. You know, it's a common question
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  because like yourself, you know another fellow sparky, and it's like there's many
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  other people out there that will give you advice. Certainly other trades people that
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  have been in it for years. The way that business goes as always changing,
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  so it's always handy to have people that you can speak to. I
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  know that trades people. Sometimes it might be a bit awkward to talk to
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  other fellow competitors, but actually they're there, you know, if they're anyone
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  that's repartable wants to be repetabole. It's good to get a good network and
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  speak to your your fellow local contractors and get a bit of a you know,
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  friendly link going because if you can talk to them about any advice,
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  it just might save you ringing your accountant or ringing a business advisor because it
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  will be more trade related. It won't be what do I do about,
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  you know, vac for this project product. It might be what do I
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  do about this particular job that is it zero percent? Vat? Is it
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  that? And certain accountants might not have loads of trades people they do their
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  accounts for for sure. Yeah, yeah, you must have nice contractors in
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  Cambridge because all the ones around here will just stick a knife in your back.
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  So you must have nice ones up there, mate, I give it
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  to you. Well. Before the end of the show, we're going to
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  touch on how you won the Screwfi's Top trades Person twenty twenty two. The
• 14:01
  Electrical Show with Thomas Nagie on fixed Radio the Builders Station. That's the end
• 14:07
  of today's Electrical Show where we have asked electrical contractors when they decided to set
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  up on their own what they learned along the way. Now, still on
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  the line here is Toby Peacock, as I want to touch on his experience
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  winning the Screwfis Top trades Person twenty twenty two. So I just want to
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  touch on this very quickly Toby before we go. Applications are open for twenty
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  twenty three. Now, how easy was it, Toby to put together your
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  application? What did you provide? What happened next? What was that?
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  How did all that go? Yeah, so it's really easy. I mean,
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  I can't stress that enough. When I did, it was in branch
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  and I believe they're doing the same this year. There was a big poster
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  up with a QR code and a fellow serving me on the till just sort
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  of I asked him about the competition when it was and oh, well,
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  just scan it and give it a go, And it's just a few simple
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  questions first to get your details. There. From that there's a bit of
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  a questionnaire process about obviously whether it might be your company or who you work
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  for, about what you do your day to day life, why you think
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  you should put yourself forward for this, And from there, obviously there's other
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  processes that come through. There's they obviously shortlist the list down Eventually, then
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  there was a semi final where you might have to have like a zoom or
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  a digital interview, which, yeah, it could be a bit nerve racking,
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  but if you just be yourself, there shouldn't be anything difficult about it.
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  Then finally it was the final day and that was an exhibition at Barmborough
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  and yeah, it's very exciting, excellent. How many people actually answered this
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  in twenty twenty two? What was the how many? So I believe from
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  what scritics told me at the time, it was just over a thousand applicants,
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  which some of them they're the genuine applicants because obviously they do get a
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  pool of applicants that some might be spam or box to things like that.
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  Once it was condensed down, it was just over a thousand trades trades people.
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  Excellent, good on you. How did you find that you'd won Screwfix
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  Top trades Person? How is it you found out? Yeah? So I
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  was asked to attend the final day, which was the three day Screwfix Live
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  event down in Farnborough, and the day one was the Top trace Person awards.
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  So I was invited down there with nine other finalists and we obviously had
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  a bit of a process there to be interviewed and chatted to with the panel
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  there. So that was a bit nerve wracking. It felt a bit like
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  a job interview. But again, you be yourself and you be honest,
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  and yeah, that's that's when I found out later in the day once everyone
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  had been interviewed and we went down to the sort of it was like a
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  discussion panel area where they had various trade products on show, and we went
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  up on the stage and yeah, in front of everyone, and yes,
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  it was quite interesting. You know, it's I can't still when I think
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  back to it was still like a bit of a surreal moment. Yeah,
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  you know, I had a pulmuth and present me with the award, So
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  that was pretty cool. Well, look for anyone that wants a shot at
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  this year's award, goes screwfix dot com and you can fill in your application.
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  Toby, thank you very much for your time today. We really appreciate
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  it. No worries, that's all. Thanks for having me. Well,
• 17:26
  there you go. You can hear the show again from ten pm with more
• 17:30
  great music, and you can download it as a podcast. By the way,
• 17:33
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