I need a crash course in how to run a business

[AintNobodyHereButUsChickens]

My husband is a builder, he's fed up of making money for other people and he's desperate to go self employed, which is fair enough. However, he wants me to do this with him and do all the admin things, pricing up jobs, ordering materials, invoices etc, all that stuff. I would be more than happy to do this BUT I'm 33 and have been a SAHM since I was 19, I haven't got the first idea on how to run a business and I'm really concerned I'd fuck something up, and badly. I need a book, or a course, or SOMETHING to help me figure this out. Help 😫

See whether there is a local Chamber of Commerce near you. They give advice to businesses and could point you in the right direction. Some local colleges offer courses in accounts software packages so that might be worth a look. There could be some local business self-help forums too.

There are books out there, so and so for Dummies etc (not saying your're a dummy! It's just the line of books). He's asking a HELL of a lot of you - how the hell are YOU supposed to know how to price up a job? He should be doing that one, for starters. The admin side of things and ordering materials won't be so difficult, but HE needs to help out that side too, HE needs to be able to source where to get the materials etc.

There are also sites like freecoursesinengland.co.uk that may be of use? They have business admin etc.

He needs to price the jobs, talk to the customers and do the invoicing. There’s no way you can accurately do this, given that you’re not a builder.

Be careful that he is not asking too much of you. How much research has HE done into business courses?

Pricing up building work is more than admin! If it's wrong it could mean him working for free - or even going bankrupt.

You need to make a record of the following

Quotes for jobs
Invoices for work done
Materials purchased (receipts)
Wages for any staff

Get yourself onto a basis book keeping course that teaches you how to use Xero or quick books - they're really easy to use, you can even scan your purchase receipts.

I presume your partner will know how to cost jobs - if not this is something he needs to learn quickly.

If you haven't worked for a while you'd probably get good support from your local council or job centre re courses. Try not to worry too much about anything other than making sure there's more money coming in than going out initially because once you're making money you can pay an accountant to do anything that you can't

If you're not a builder yourself, how do you know how much materials are required and how long the job will take? Get pricing wrong and he could lose a lot of his own money rather than make it.

If he's going to employ others to do the building with him, there's a whole load of other stuff you/he needs to know. Also things like whether he needs to set up a limited company and what sort of insurances he needs.

How about googling 'how to start a building company uk' together as there's a few websites that look like they'll give useful information, eg checkatrade, simplybusiness, startups.co.uk

There is lots of beginners advice online.

Write a business plan. Do not skip the business plan. It is far, far cheaper and better to "fail on paper" than start an untenable business.

Don't be surprised by tax arrangements - HMRC will often want the first year outright and a portion of the second year "on account" so the first tax bill can be a killer. But an accountant can advise.

Try this https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business

I’ve run a business. It’s infinitely more faff than you can imagine
yes you could do some admin but how on earth would be expect you to price up jobs when HE is a builder not you. Thats hugely unreasonable of him. Lots of books available, recommend the dummies brand (make sure it’s a UK version not US), but lots of free info on Google for starters

Will you be getting paid for working in this business, or does he expect you to do all that for free?

Oh no we’ll both be taking a wage! Probably not a lot at first but we’ll be equal nonetheless.

I do have SOME experience with building. We completely renovated our house from top to bottom, did it all ourselves. The only tradesmen we had were for gas/electric. But I’m by no means as experienced as he is. I’ll have a proper talk with him later.

I did my husbands admin when there was no computers had to use a typewriter and carbon paper it isn't hard. He tells you what to put on the quote and invoice. He can do the ordering. All you have to do is get a book or use one online. Then all you need to do is keep note of the payments coming in and expenses with receipts. When you come to do the tax just put in the income and expenses and they work out the tax and national insurance owed.

As PPs have said, he needs to be pricing up the jobs and buying equipment and supplies- you need building knowledge and expertise for that.

My friend's husband has a building company and he does all that 👆along with hiring staff to do the work.

My friend does the admin and paperwork eg sending off the quotes her husband has given in writing if a client wants that, sending invoices, chasing late payments, paying the staff and all that goes with that (tax, NI etc), liaising with the accountant to ensure tax compliance etc.

First thing, you need a list of tasks

So:

Get business (marketing)

Do quotes (accounting)

Confirm job, including date and time to perform (marketing/admin)

Do the actual work
(DH/contractors)

Bill and confirm money is received (accounts)

You say your DH is fed up of making money for other people. You also need to take into account that the other people are also taking on the risks.

If there's no work, he won't get paid. If he underquotes a job, he'll make a loss. If he makes a mistake, he will have to rectify it or risk having a claim made against him. If he's self employed (not a limited company), his assets are at risk (e.g. your house). If he sets up as a limited company, there are costs and complexities and you'll need to pay an accountant.

How is he at marketing? The "other people" will have built up a reputation and can provide references, your DH will be starting from scratch.

Your DH needs to consider the downsides as well as the upsides, especially as you as a family will be solely reliant on his income.

To add to @coxesorangepippin list.

Register as self employed/limited company

If necessary, find other employees/subcontractors required

Source, order and arrange delivery of materials

Check necessary tools and machines bought/hired

Make sure appropriate business insurance is in place

There's a difference between a builder and a building company owner - he's expecting you to fill the gap, which isn't feasible.

If he himself isn't capable of looking at a job, knowing what the cost will be, what he needs, and how much profit he needs to make, then I'd question whether he's capable. This will be WHY he is working for someone else who's making all the money.

If he employs subcontractors eg for M&E you'll need to look into CIS and reverse charge VAT too!

There’s a huge difference between being good at your job and being able to run a business. I experienced it first hand during my childhood. My father is an engineer, as it happens one of the best ones in his niche specialty. At some point he decided to work for himself and we were often bordering on poverty. It took him 12 years (fucking twelve, not a typo) to realise he was never able
to price anything correctly, would always underestimate costs and time spent on a job. It was a nightmare for all of us. He would work round the clock and money seemed to just evaporate.

Your husband needs to be confident with quotes
or have someone able to support him at least at the start. This cannot be on you if you don’t know the ins and outs of the trade.

Other than that, you’ve had plenty of practical
advice already - the admin side of things can be learnt and your understanding of the industry will grow too.

To go SE he needs commercial acumen to be able to reliably and realistically be able to price a job. You won't be able to do it without experience and training.

Sounds like pie in the sky tbh on his behalf if he thinks you can just walk in and do it.

HMRC also do free courses on how to set up and run your own business. My mum took one and found it very useful.

I agree with the pp who said you should write a detailed business plan first. I've known a number of people thought they had a great business idea and would be making loads of money but realised when they went through the process of thinking through all the details that actually it just wasn't viable.

On my list of key things to understand would be:

1. Industry rules, regulations and reporting obligations
2. What sort of business should you be ie. limited company, sole trader, partnership, something else? What are the costs and benefits of each?
3. Tax and accounting filing requirements and payments- including whether you understand them well enough to comply or need to pay someone else to help
4. Financial risks- including what happens if someone claims your work is not up to standard, or there is an accident etc. What happens if your DH is ill? To what extent can this be insured and how expensive is it? What insurance is legally required/expected by clients? Do clients expect warranties etc on work?
5. Best, worst and most likely case income forecasts. Be realistic- as a new trader is it likely that you will have enough work to fill all your available time? Is your ability to work subject to weather? How much time will you spend working on things that don't directly earn anything eg. quotes, admin, travel etc. Don't forget to factor in time off for holidays/Xmas etc.
6. Consider all likely and possible costs, including the set up costs/equipment purchase etc. As well as calculating forecast profit/loss calculate monthly cash flow for the first year. Even if you expect to be making a profit after year 1, can you afford high cash outflows at the start? Cash flow is the thing that kills off small businesses.
7. On the basis of the above, work out best, worst and most likely case monthly available income for you as a couple. How does this compare to what you could have earned working for someone else? Don't forget to include your value in this if you will be doing the admin etc. If it's no higher than your DH current wage plus minimum wage for your hours ask yourself why you would take the risks for that. Is there a reasonable expectation that the income will increase in the next few years and if so by how much and how likely is that?