FreeLance Climber.

[Johnboe522]

I am about to start work as a freelance climber, after leaving the RAF and was wondering what is the best way to get up and running?

 

I have my CS 30,31,38,39 my own climbing rig, Saws and truck and a little experience (part time work climbing for seven months)

 

Any advice would be really helpful, Money wise i was thinking of charging £80 per day, Is that a reasonable starting point?

 

I throw it open to the floor!

 

Thanks JB

[Andy Collins]

Good luck johnboe, personally, given you have all your own kit, saws etc, I think you may be able to sell yourself a little higher than the £80. Only you know your abilities tho', but do take into consideration the costs of your equipment truck etc, bear in mind that you also need to earn a living from this money, and build up more equipment, as and when its affordable.

[Steve Bullman]

problem going self employed after only 7 months is your climbing speed is likely to be a liability. now if you were on the books for a company it wouldnt be an issue as you would be an investment.

course, only you know what you're capable of!

 

my advice for now is choose a figure that you can live on till you get to the stage where you can start commanding a more reasonable sum

[skyhuck]

If I were you I would go on the books with one of the big Co's for a short while,you would gain more valuable experience and get an idea of how you compare to other climbers,only a thought,all the best and good luck.

[Johnboe522]

Thanks for the advice, its been a great help.

[Lee Winger]

no disrespect mate but you won't get any work as a freelancer without at least 18months experience under your belt..

 

I'm with Skyhuck, go work for a firm for 2-3 years then go out on your own, best of luck..

[munkymadman]

slightly off the topic, but i was thinking of going freelancing in london. might sound like a silly question. but where do you store all your gear. do you store it at home or at the company you free lance for. if you store it at home i guess you can't be living in an apartment

[Lee Winger]

home!

[Mesterh]

As Skyhuck and Roller say get a job with a company to get some experience first mate. Having tickets and climbing equipment doesnt make you a tree surgeon, many years of hard work and dedication to the job do that. As for £80 a day, you would have to be fairly decent with at least a couple of years experience to get that money up hear. Good climbers can get around the 120-140 a day mark but usally only on specificate jobs, you aint gonna get that for droping a few 10 foot conifers .

 

I aint trying to be negative but ALOT of people dont realise the skill involved in doing proper tree work.And I've seen too many Plastic tree surgeons.

 

Good luck anyway mate.

[Paul Barton]

Maybe it depends on the area but I went 'freelance' straight out of college and never had a problem - the thing is to charge a sensible rate in line with your abilities and don't make out you're some kick-ass climber when you are not.

 

I found that being self-employed from the beginning was a good thing for me in that the more companies you do days for, the sooner you learn that there are different ways of doing things and you can see for yourself which ways work and which don't. That breadth of experience is pretty valuable I reckon.