To give up my job and set up as a painter decorator?

[sundayopening]

I have a crappy job, and although the annual pay is ok, I have to work anti-social hours away from home (but also have a lot of downtime in-between shifts). The job has no prospects at all, and is low paid - but I get a shift allowance. I currently earn aprox £21,000 pa with this job (I do work in a different field in my 'downtime' so have additional income to live on).

Although I am pretty well educated, I have no real 'proper' work experience (I have always worked, but odd self-employed things - I have been lucky with some great jobs that I have loved) but none look good on my CV for a professional/office job..

I would like to adopt in the near future (I am single & no other children) so will 100% need to change my current job if I am to do this plus earn enough for us to live on.

I have been musing about becoming a self-employed painter/decorator/tiler. I haven't much experience (although I have done most of my home/every home I've ever lived in myself) but I am sure I can learn, I'm pretty handy/skilled in other areas of art/craft.
I can also do flooring/shelves/flat-packed furniture/wallpapering no problem.

I have a degree & masters which is in the visual arts, and lots of knowledge of design/colour etc which might help with client relations etc.
I work neat and tidy, reliable and like to crack on with a job and am personable, so hopefully those traits will earn me repeat custom/recommendations.

I live in the SE, but a comfortable bit rather than a posh bit, although there's plenty of older money around. I'm hoping the type that need their houses decorated!

I could start the business alongside my current job for a couple of years if needed to build up my experience & client base etc. I have been self-employed most of my adult life so keeping books, HMRC etc isn't an issue.

I will need an income of £25k min or £30K to be comfortable, and preferably be able to do some/most school pick-ups and some/most holidays.

I am thinking £150 - £200 pd could be achievable, with very little initial outlay or running costs.
Anyone got any thoughts on how realistic this is, and how difficult it might be to get started?

Hahahah £200 per day for someone who has not done an apprenticeship and has only painted their own house? Good luck with that! DH is a timed served P& D with 20 odd years experience and charges £130 a day.

Have you taken into account pension / sick pay / holiday pay?

Puchase of a van / ladders /good quality kit / van insurance / insurance in case of disputes with clients?

Well if you are female then in my home town (Bristol) you would be booked up for a year in advance. It's an excellent sales angle; lots of women would rather deal with women - safety issues/anxiety about men you don't know alone with you in your house, but also wanting to give a woman a job just so they get a fair crack of the whip. Have a Google and check them out. I think you should go for it.

Tbh I think £130 a day sounds quite cheap.

Agree that I certainly wouldn't be happy to find I was paying £200 a day to someone whose experience of house decorating was painting their own house a may be watching a few YouTube videos. For a start. You'd be really slow, and the results would be a bit shit. If I want my house decorated slowly and looking a bit crap I can do that myself.

I think it sounds good. Flexible work that would fit around a family. I’m not sure about the salary. You might feel very pressured to work more hours to get that kind of cash.

Just be careful - I do think most people book a decorator when the job is more tricky. So, for example if the walls are smooth, just needs woodwork and emulsion then it's not hard; however many will be looking for wallpaper to come off, ceiling tiles, etc. that can be horribly hard. So do be careful how you quote.

We are in Central Scotland so rates will be cheaper than SE

I get your point about being a woman being a huge selling point and it is, DH knows a female decorator and she is fully booked but she did do her apprenticeship with him so has the experience and the knowledge

I would hope to spend a couple of years PT working up to £150-£200 pd.

stoorie I appreciate I don't have the experience yet, but I don't believe I need 2 decades worth to earn £130 pd, I'm guessing you're not in the the SE?

Yes I would have insurance, and I'm thinking an estate/SUV type car would be fine rather than a specific work van.

I know of 2 female decorators in my area who charge £150-£200pd working for private households and they are fully-booked. So I know its possible, but I don't know how they started out and how easy it was to get there.

No you don’t need 20 years experience but you do need experience and knowledge and I’m sure as PP also posted that people will want someone who is capable to prep and paint quickly and correctly as most people get in a decorator when it’s too difficult to do it themselves

Good luck to you if you go for it. It’s a hard slog and while it’s nice to occasionally decorate your own house it’s a hard slog doing it day in day out and you won’t want to be doing it in your 50s

I wouldn’t hire a painter who was clocking off for the day at school pick-up time. When I have tradespeople working in the house, I want them for a full day so the work can be completed as quickly as possible.

Sounds like a terrible idea and quite arrogant and unrealistic to think you can just set up with no training and command a fee far in excess of what a skilled tradesperson could earn. I can see the argument that many people would prefer a female professional to do their decorating, but the key is a professional. People pay a professional to decorate because they can do thr job quicker and better than they can or can cope with complex jobs beyond the scope of the average DiYer.

Sorry to say it but you've got your head in the clouds here.

My dad has had a painting contracting business for nearly 40 years and would be quite offended to think you could just decide to be a painter and decorator with absolutely no experience. He’s horrified by the poor level of the students who complete college apprenticeships. It’s a very skilled trade that I think a lot of people are underestimating, do you think you could just decide to be an electrician or plumber with no experience?

Everyone has to start somewhere and it sounds to me like you have enough relevant experience to get yourself off the ground and start alongside your current job. As long as you don’t advertise yourself as a Professional Painter and Decorator to start with, perhaps ‘handy woman’ at a rate of £15-20ph you’ll easily get work and gain experience. It is so hard to find trades people in the south east, I’ve often employed a ‘handy man’ over a skilled tradesperson for various jobs because I couldn’t afford the pro, there will be plenty of people that feel the same.

Surely you would need to complete a P&D course like and NVQ or apprenticeship type thing at FE college?

I’m more shocked that you get £21k, have lots of downtime in between work and call it low paid. I work full time in the NHS, mix of shifts, plus on calls, very little downtime and get £22.5k. I clearly made the wrong choice.

Sorry if people think I'm arrogant, maybe I am, but there are plenty of people who start from nothing to build a business.
I do think I have some of the skills required, otherwise I wouldn't be thinking of this as a potential career. I also think being female is a USP which can be capitalised on, and could get you a good shot at higher-paid jobs.
I'm happy to put the graft in, and yes, I might have my head in the clouds, but I am also practical and resourceful and personally I don't think it's that unrealistic.
I am happy to take on board the comments and I do respect what pp are saying, but I also think that the length of time you've been in a job or trade, does not automatically mean you are the best.
I think its possible to break into this market, I know lots of people do start themselves up as decorators and aren't any good, but there must be some who do well starting as career change?

Sorry catching I wasn't meaning to be cocky or rude, but for me £21,000 is low pay to support myself and a child and I couldn't adopt with that salary (I wouldn't 'pass' the financials).

I know there are worse jobs and lower paid, I'm not ungrateful for my current situation, but I couldn't have your job/salary/hours catching as a solo parent with no family living near-by.

To me this is one of those situations where if you were a man you'd just go for it, and do any extra learning on the job. You can up your rates as you get more experience.
The only thing I would say though is that it will of course be very knackering, as will adopting on your own, and bear in mind if you're adopting a little one they do tend to get sick a lot, be up in the night etc. So there is the actual physical tiredness aspect and then the obvious pitfalls of self employment but aside from all that, which I'm sure you've thought of, you would have the flexibility aspect too. I reckon you can do it for sure and get those kind of rates. Your art background and ability to advise on colour has to be a big bonus.

You will be a handy person not a painter and decorator. And you will have to set your rates to reflect that.

As someone asked above would you set yourself up as an electrician cos you have changed a plug and wires a socket?

I can honestly say that I would be saying the same if the op was a man. Painting and decorating is a trade and just because people can do it on their own house doesn’t mean to say that they can do it all day every day and go out a a quote for the next job

I would like a decorateor who clocked off at school pick up time. because I have school pick up to do. not expect to pay a full days rate though.

Agree with others. Set yourself up as a handywoman who offers decorating. You may not get as much but people won't expect such a high finish

So it's okay to be a cowboy tradesperson if you're a woman? Great.

If you think you'll get £200 when time served painter and decorators struggle for that you're deluded.

Well P&D in common with thousands of other job types, is not a protected role and so anyone can call themselves a P&D,builder,plumber,doctor,,whatever..

As long as your quality of work is acceptable, thats all that matters.

I have seen the work of a professional painter and decorator and it was of very very good quality. I think even a good diyer couldnt do better.

I guess it depends who your customers might be and their expectations.