Jobs for the Girls

[daftpixie]

I realise that this isnt the most appropriate section, but I have found the abers in Body and Soul are happy to be helpful, candid and give plenty of opinions so here goes...

My housemate and I are considering working for ourselves, we are both highly competent multi skilled women, who would offer an 'odd job' service including cleaning, dog walking, painting and decorating, power washing yards, gardening.

What do you think of this idea? We would be marketing it on the basis that we are both CRB cleared and reliable, but not that we are trained professionals. We have experience in all these fields, but not qualified (ie in the painting and decorating)

Just wondered if anyone had any opinions, or advice. And also, would you yourselves ever consider giving a company like us work? (Im not touting for business, just a bit of market research!) Any answers would be greatly appreciated, thankyou.

[daftpixie]

Oh, and we have actually done all that sort of stuff before, and own a power washer and can use it etc, we just dont have qualifications/certificates to say so!

[helliebobs]

sounds like a great idea pixie and don't forget to get on the phone to the dojo!! ;)

[ELVIS68]

I can`t really see it making enough money for two of you to earn a living....I mean........what`s the going rate for walking a dog?....good luck anyway

[sam82]

in my local paper a dog walkers rate was �12 for an hour
�5 for half an hour. something like that.

Nothing ventured nothing gained, i would say good advertising, make a brochure and if you have had previous clients get them to do a reference.

goodluck

[caz21]

I think that sounds great, go for it! the only thing i would say you might have problems with would be painting and decorating, i think you would probably need some kind of qualification behind you,

How good would you say your decorating skills are? are they on a par with a qualified one because people would expect a professional finish that without the correct training, tools etc you may not know how to do? (if you do just ignore me!) but i decorate my house and to a pretty good standard but nowhere near that of a professional!

maybe you could do a college course?

Good luck

[whiffey]

That sounds good ! What would you charge (approx) for redecorating a 3-bed terraced house throughout.

That is something I would consider having done.

[daftpixie]

Caz21, yeah we thought the painting and decorating might create probs re qualifications, so we think perhaps to just offer the preparation work, painting and cutting in rather than say wallpaper and professional decoration.

Whiffey, it would depend on the sort of decoration needed, as obviously we dont want to misrepresent ourselves as trained decorators, but if it was basic prep and painting we could do that very competatively priced and quickly.

[muppeteer]

you can go on decorating courses at you local college which are not expensive so would solve problem of no qualifications. our local grocers does cross promotions with a mobile dry cleaners which seems to do well, so i would get a few small local businesses on side.
whatever you do- best of luck

(& by the way daftpixie, your interview advice seemed to go down well- i'm waiting for the phonecall right now, so thanks again!)

[PatriciaH]

This is the time of year for most of the jobs you would do, im weeding the garden today! what a job! after all the rain and sun weve had recently , where will you be working?(areas) good luck. (no harm in trying)

[PinkFizz]

Im not sure what you could earn but I think its a great idea! Your best bet would be to get a few jobs thru friends first and then yo will hopefully get a lot of work from word of mouth and recommendation.

[raysparx]

Hi daft,

If you want to do it,do it, I have been Self employed 26 years,it is great, BUT look on the downsides first, I will list a few,if you are happy with them then give it a go,

1 No Sick Pay
2 No Holiday Pay
3 Lots of Bookwork & Tax returns to do
4 Partnerships rarely work
5 Sort your own Pension fund
6 Are you self motivated
7 No guarenteed income

This is just off the top of my head, what I did was to tell people I was going self employed before I packed my job in, if you get a big job to do like say decorate a whole house,take payments in stages,if a job is �1000, and you are supplying materials get a �250 payment to cover materials then another payment half way through job, don't work too cheap,you will have vehicle insurance, road tax,public liability,tools to buy plus the maintenance of them, it is a great way to work but be strict,put money away for income tax, a �2000 bill at the end of the year is a bit of a git,

If I can think of anything else I will add later, good luck and think of a name people will remember, I know a girl who did cleaning as a job,she had a great name "Clean me up Scotty" have a long think before jumping in,good luck, Ray

[Scarlett]

Regardless of your sex, I would employ someone who does a good job. I would be more reluctant to employ someone with no qualifications, so maybe you could make a portfolio of work you have done to show- decorating etc. I do know women who would be more happy at leaving a woman in their house doing work so you can definitely capitalise on the fact that you are female.

[daftpixie]

Muppeteer, glad I could have helped, fingers crossed for that phone call!

PatriciaH, we would be working in Preston, Lancashire, and your comments re weeding was exactly what triggured the idea, that many people dont have time, or struggle, to do such jobs themselves, or that many people, like yourself, can do it, but its a pig of a job! (like preparing for decorating, sanding, glossing, everybody hates glossing!)

[raysparx]

Hi daft, Re decorating,you won't need qualifications,if you can decorate,you can decorate,my mate has done it 10 years no qualifications, just a good decorator

[daftpixie]

Raysparx, thanks for your advice, we are definatly aware its not a guarenteed way to make a living, but at this moment I am unemployed due to redundancies, so anything is better than sitting on my lorrels!

Scarlett, that is what we were hoping to capitalise on, that we are women and Police checked, so more women or elderly (for example) would be happier to leave us in their homes etc

[raysparx]

hi daft, The weeding bit is a good way to start,also cutting the lawns,you could also do a bit of window cleaning,as you are not working there maybe a start up package available from jobcentre, in our area,they used to give you I think it was �40 per week for the first year to help you get going, good luck, Ray

[Primular]

I think its a great idea. You might want to look into having liability insurance in case something beyond your control does go wrong. When you start ask your first customers to write you a reference on your work that you can show new customers.
You live in my area and I am looking for someone to hang some wallpaper �29 per roll as I am competant enough, so let us know if you start up the business. I will trial you with the lining paper!!!!!
Good Luck

[Gevs1966]

If you don't have qualifications in certain areas you may find it hard to get an sort of liability insurance so if anything went wrong with the power washing etc you could be left exposed to a substantial lawsuit.

[Primular]

I meant to say im not competant?????