Going Freelance

[martwizz]

Woah there is some pretty good stuff in there, thanks guys! I certainly hadn't considered the repercussions of not declaring income, i guess i'll do it by the book. Its easier to keep track of how its working out that way anyway

 

I think my only real question is, what do i sell myself as? I'm a confident climber as far as climbing and pruning goes, but i'm not very experienced with large dismantles, i would be capable but fairly slow. Should i go ahead and advertise myself as a freelance climber? Or just a capable groundsman? I guess people don't tend to hire an extra climber unless there are multiple trees? I know some of the big-shot superdudes get hired especially for the biggest dismantles (is mentioning reg coates taboo? )

 

I totally agree that i shouldn't overstate my abilities, i'm just not sure what i SHOULD advertise about myself I feel like i'm at a bit of a halfway point!

 

Thanks for all the feedback so far though, its been super great

[Littletree]

Woah there is some pretty good stuff in there, thanks guys! I certainly hadn't considered the repercussions of not declaring income, i guess i'll do it by the book. Its easier to keep track of how its working out that way anyway

 

I think my only real question is, what do i sell myself as? I'm a confident climber as far as climbing and pruning goes, but i'm not very experienced with large dismantles, i would be capable but fairly slow. Should i go ahead and advertise myself as a freelance climber? Or just a capable groundsman? I guess people don't tend to hire an extra climber unless there are multiple trees? I know some of the big-shot superdudes get hired especially for the biggest dismantles (is mentioning reg coates taboo? )

 

I totally agree that i shouldn't overstate my abilities, i'm just not sure what i SHOULD advertise about myself I feel like i'm at a bit of a halfway point!

 

Thanks for all the feedback so far though, its been super great

 

Hi there advertise yourself as a groundy second climber that way you play it safe and you have got your margin . Go for a good groundy rate of pay but not a top climber rate .

 

For me I usually get 80 per day as a groundy second climber subby I am never under any presure to climb or cut anything that is to difficult and no one ever laughs if I say no or get up there and say no sorry I dont like it . I allways set the bench Mark with the owner of the comoany before I start my first working day and tell him what I can and cannot do for him .

 

Going that way will see you right

Littletree:biggrin:

[Minotaur]

Looks like you've got most of it right:

 

Don't overstate your abilities - you'd soon get caught out

Keep records

Pay tax & NI

Make sure you claim all your expenses

 

But also charge yourself out at a decent rate, do NOT sell yourelf too cheap

 

Groundie - £75-120

Climber - £100-150

 

If climbing maybe go with £100 ish, as you are not that experienced or particularly fast on bigger jobs/

 

Whatever you do enjoy and the best of luck

[mcs tree services]

Hi there advertise yourself as a groundy second climber that way you play it safe and you have got your margin . Go for a good groundy rate of pay but not a top climber rate .

 

For me I usually get 80 per day as a groundy second climber subby I am never under any presure to climb or cut anything that is to difficult and no one ever laughs if I say no or get up there and say no sorry I dont like it . I allways set the bench Mark with the owner of the comoany before I start my first working day and tell him what I can and cannot do for him .

 

Going that way will see you right

Littletree:biggrin:

 

This seems like a really good idea, I am in a similar position considering freelance climbing but had not considered groundie work and second climber. That should take expectations to do large dismantles down a little. I am a confident climber but have little knowledge of rigging techniques commonly used in the industry, we usually just make em up, up to now 100% success, no casualties, no damage. ( well 1 washing line, but the customer said he was getting rid so i didnt try and avoid it). Looks like this approach could be a winner though thanks for the tip. Now to find out if theres much work for freelance groundie/secound climber in my area (north west, between liverpool and manchester) cos either im not looking in the right places, or the area is an employment blackspot??? sorry to butt in here but i got excited

[atree]

Anyone freelancers got buisness cards/Invoices(numbers blacked out of course) i could see Just to get an idea for myself if that isn't to cheeky?

[arbogrunt]

Minotaur hit the nail on the head rates wise..remember, work out how many hours you work a year, work out ALL your over heads, divide it by the number of hours you work a day, then add what you want to earn each day. At £80/day after tax, insurance, diesel, PPE, tools etc, you be better off being on the cards at KFC mate!

[Rich Rule]

Adam, Pm me your email and I'll invoice you for the information...

[martwizz]

Thought i'd throw in an update

 

Its been 4 months now, and its been going great.

 

The responce to my letters / flyers was good, a couple of reminder calls a couple of weeks on helped things along a bit. The first month was mixed tree work/landscaping, but the second month was pure tree work. By the third i was on 5 days a week, between 4 employers.

 

One of the employers i recently decided to stop working for, and i am focusing on the employer i get long with most, which has lead to alot more work with him. We are getting on so well, we have joint invested in a GRCS and some new rigging kit. Im super excited about this because it was one of my original aims, plus it already shows me how much trust/confidence he has in my ideas and abilities.

 

In addition to this, every time we use the GRCS I am going to be paid extra on top of my day rate (this doesn't subtract from my ownership of it), so it seems like a pretty sound investment. Bigger jobs done faster and easier, get paid extra, and have the equipment to make me more attractive to other employers!

 

I'm going to drop my working week down from 5 days to 4 soon, so i can spend a day a week focusing on my online degree. I didn't give it my full dedication last year, and therefore struggled. This way i figure i can study, work, AND have a weekend

 

So far the self-employed experience has been great. There are a few bits of advice i have to pass on to anybody else looking to do this!

 

- Take the time to write a clear well structured letter, and don't forget to sell yourself. This gives them the heads up that you are around, and they get to read all about you. If you phone straight away, they get to say no before you are given the chance to sell yourself.

- Anybody who doesn't respond to said letter, then give them a ring. At least find out if they don't want you or not, so you can cross them off the list.

- Stand up for yourself. Your price is your price, don't let them beat you down. If you are not happy with how things are going, tell them. Do what makes you happy. Don't put up with poor practice or unsafe workplaces for the sake of getting work. It isn't worth it!

- Think very carefully about what you want to reinvest your money into. There is an awful lot of gear, training and shiny toys to think about!

- Be positive, have faith. If things get quiet, work on making those phone calls, doing research, or at least go and look for some fungi to ident

- Be polite, reliable, on time and work hard

 

I searched the forum and asked questions when I was looking to start doing this, i hope this thread helps somebody else out sometime!

[Ian88]

Very interesting thread. I am just going through this process my self. Thank you.

[Sean.S]

Props for making the move man, I've just given up an excellent job to go freelance and I'm going through exactly the same process (it's actually quite scary how similar! Even to the point of trying to make a day per week free for study to complete my degree).

 

All the best!