To be worried about becoming self employed?

[FreshDoughDaily]

There's a chance that I could purchase my own business. It's something I have never done before.
I've worked in the health and social care sector for very nearly 25yrs. I'm just done now though. We have staff sickness which of course is fine and very much allowed but we're not given any extra staff to manage the workload so currently, I'm wearing three hats. One of these hats is to advocate for a very marginalised subsect of people - this week alone I have nearly had full on arguments with social services for utterly ridiculous reasons. One phone call actually included a man phoning me to "put his hand on his hip and wag his finger" at me for missing a box off the referral form. He actually told me that he couldn't possibly accept two of my referrals. One of which thankfully was for a person already known to social services so they are actually being supported. Well, I hope they are. I've been filling in referral forms for nearly two years yet all of a sudden this guy informs me that I'm not able to do it correctly. This means that an elderly vulnerable woman is without the care needs assessment she so desperately needs unless I give much more detail (which I don't have). I tried to challenge it and sought advice from a manager in social services who advised I should attend one of their staff trainings so I could learn how to fill in their forms properly. I'm not even employed by the council, I work for a charity. I advised her to speak with my manager.
The business I could purchase is a small campsite. Not remotely care related. It's a bit niche though and has aspects that other campsites don't. I would then concentrate on trying to ensure people have nice holidays and switch off from work instead of getting bogged down in people's problems. However, I've never been self employed and it would require us taking on a large mortgage. Something I don't have right now. I'm nervous as I'd be maintaining a large plot of land which does appeal, being outside in the fresh air instead of in the car doing home visits, in the office etc.
Should I just go ahead and take the opportunity? I'm lucky to even have the choice I know.
I'd be grateful for advice from those that have totally changed jobs in their 40s and those who are self employed. I'm wondering if being fed up and frustrated in work is something that is just supposed to happen and if the grass is always greener?

Thanks.

Just bumping this for you. I can't give any advice but I guess making a pros and cons list will be a good place to start?

Write a business plan, figure out how many customers you would need to cover overheads and then how many more to make enough profit to pay yourself.
You might not want to make loads of money but I am assuming you need to get by

I moved careers and went self employed at 46 years old. It was perhaps an easier decision for me as I’d already started building up my business for the last year of paid employment. It’s been a rollercoaster journey but I haven’t regretted a second. I think one question you should ask yourself is if you don’t take this opportunity now are you likely to regret it.
Will it be scary? Yes. Will it be tough going at times? Almost definitely. By all means consider what’s the worst that could happen but remember to ask yourself what’s the best that could happen too.

Good luck!

sounds brilliant! I would get in touch with your local council business hub, get some free professional setup advice and attend some free business sessions - that will help you feel much more confident. There are usually lots of helpful 1 to 1 support sessions, online sessions, events and so on designed by your local chamber of commerce or county council that will help you launch and give you support and ideas of what you need to think about. Best of luck!

Have you seen the accounts for the business? What's the turnover and profit? Has it been valued as a going concern or just for the land and buildings? Why are they selling the business?

Has it any revenue in winter? If it's year round, when will you get any time off? Who will care for the site for you?

Is it up to date with all council, H&S and whatnot requirements (such as the Caravan Club if its signed up with them)? Do you need any training to help you manage it safely?

I would ask the current owners to share their financial information with you (you can also look up quite a bit on companies house too). You will need to see the turnover and run that against your costs (mortgage, etc). Speak to a mortgage advisor. It’s very difficult to mortgage non-traditional properties, especially when there isn’t a ‘house’ in the usual sense on the land (there may well be). How much of the year would you open? How would you earn money in the off-season, which is usually October to March?

Another thing I’d consider is cost of land management. How much land are we talking? 2-3 acres you could probably get away managing with a ride on mower and some hedge trimmers. 5-10 acres or more, you will need to think about bigger machinery (tractor and mower, getting someone in to maintain the hedges, do you want to cut any fields for hay or rent out for winter grazing?). Do they have any of this equipment already that might come with the property?

I would definitely give some consideration to all this. It can be a wonderful change of pace. We have a small farm, though don’t do camping. But for us, it doesn’t pay the bills. Our primary source of income is still elsewhere, but it’s really the maintenance costs that would consider. They will be similar to a smallholding. You might also consider how you could diversify - could you host events off-season, open to school groups, run a forest school group during the school year, run a little farm shop for the site and the local community, little things that would keep money coming in when it’s not July and August.