[Closed] Think I'll knock it on the head

I binned my own business back in the summer. In many ways it's harder to do that than it is to keep struggling on hoping it'll get better. Sounds like you've been through the mill a [s]bit[/s] lot worse than me as well, but on the upside at least you've got something to go to. It's still a big thing to walk away from something that once held all your dreams though. Hope it all works out for you.

A man can only take so much

Right decision IMO - good luck

Your family would probably agree with you.

just think of the deposit you can lay down on a new bike with your first employed wage packet

I don't blame you Oldgit....fair play and best of luck.
Ironically I'm due for redundancy today and I was thinking of going it alone in the nasty word of electrical contracting after many years in the comfort of a "secure" job.....any more jobs going there??

As a wage slave, I can say that with the right employer, being an employee can still be pretty rewarding in all sorts of ways. It won't work for some people, but it works for me.

And it beats being broke or unemployed any day of the week.

Funnily enough 😕 I've got a little bit of payment protection insurance money coming back to me this month. Which is very nice of the bank. Only if they'd paid it out in 2009 when I claimed it I might not have had such a hard time. It seems that what confused the bank was me being self employed. I really should have made it clearer when I stated my occupation as 'self employed' on all their documentation, it seems you are not entitled to PPI if you are self employed. You can however pay the bank for this PPI if you want or you could donate to Oxfam. 😈

just think of the deposit you can lay down on a new bike with your first employed wage packet

I don't think that'll happen. I'll have to prematurely terminate contracts for BT, Anglian Water, N-Power, Streamline probably a few others, so they'll want compensation.
Then I have to get rid of all my stock and tools and racking. And I'm sure plenty of other **** will turn up and bite me on the bum.

@donks, I supply contractors.....or did, there doesn't seem much point if you never get paid. Good luck though.

Sounds like a couple of stress free years just working for someone else is probably the ticket. No reason why you can't set up again in the future. Reckon you need a bit of time to heal up, square away the loose ends fromyour business and have a bit of time out to be honest. Good luck whatever you decide.

Good luck with the job offer.
When it comes through have a nice quiet celebratory drink then move forward to the next stage of your life.

I recently sold out from my companies and now work for the man. While not the same situation as you it became clear to me that my priorities had changed and being an employee again was not necessarily a bad thing.

I recently sold out from my companies and now work for the man.....

Indeed. Now get back to work!

I'm not paying you to surf the intertubes!

And never have to race a solo 24 and have to think about contracts the whole time your riding.

You think that's bad, I actually take business calls when I'm soloing!

Good luck, it's been a rocky time for business.

Ha ha theman but I knocked off at 5:30 and went for a run so now abusing my own interbongo 😀

Good luck Oldgit, don't feel bad about what's happened, you've just been a victim of circumstance. The main thing is to keep looking forward!

Can you not take the new job and keep your own company ticking over in the evenings? Even if it means employing somebody to do some of the stuff, surely that will be cheaper than paying compensation to get out of contracts? and it might even give you a little extra spending money.

Knickers, the final decision maker has been taken ill....my luck continues.
However I've recieved an email linked to two tests, GIA and PPA? never done stuff like this, and was seriously wondering what effect slight concussion might have on any results?

Someone I know is going through dam near the exact same thing, fraud by employees, injuries, etc. etc. Also a few broken frames, and he doesn't have a job offer. It's also a tough time for it to all happen. It does suck, but it won't suck forever. Good luck.

I've been thinking of jacking in being self employed as well for the last 2 years & getting out of the industry.

Its just too much hassle when i could earn the same/more working for someone else & letting them take the stress etc.

Trouble is that I've spent 12 years building up a client bank & really don't want to just walk away from it all. If i do & then decide in a few years time to come back to it then I'll be starting again from zero. Things have to get better its just a case of how long it's going to take & can i take the stress of not knowing from 1 month to the next if I'll have enough money coming in to pay the bills let alone have some fun.

Good luck with it oldgit.

bigsi, can't you sell the business as a going concern or just sell the customer list?

The client list is owned by the company i work with on a self employed basis (I'm a sole trader working with a Ltd company). It was sold by the old company i was a minor shareholding director of to cover a loan that the 85% shareholding director took out to cover his big fat salary before the business went titsup.

I worked for the old company as an employee for 10 years before it failed & was taken on by the new company on a self employed basis to provide continouity to my client bank.

Main problem is that all the time rates stay low there is very little reason to recommend a client to remortgage & so very little new business coming in.

Most of the clients would follow me if i left & set up on my own or moved to a different company but there's a clause in the contract i currently have which stops me contacting any of my clients within a 2 year period.

Stuck between a rock & a hard place springs to mind 🙄

Sorry to hear that oldgit.

Just wondering about all those unpaid invoices, seem to hear more and more examples of this. What happens if client refuses to pay and you go under? Do the clients get away without paying or can you sell the invoice/debt/whatever to a reclaimation company or something like that?

Most of the clients would follow me if i left & set up on my own or moved to a different company but there's a clause in the contract i currently have which stops me contacting any of my clients within a 2 year period.

is that legal?

I think I'd agree bigsi, rock and a hard place indeed. 🙁 Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

under certain conditions, I believe it is legal.
Is there a clause preventing your clients from contacting you? How specific is the wording of the contract?

The usual rules of reasonable will apply as the employee has the right to earn a living too
[url= http://www.xperthr.co.uk/faqs/topics/1,4/common-contract-terms.aspx?articleid=97926 ]http://www.xperthr.co.uk/faqs/topics/1,4/common-contract-terms.aspx?articleid=97926[/url] From a quick Google...
My point was more specifically about the wording, if the clause states that the (ex)employee can't approach the customers, what is preventing the customers approaching the competition. A badly written clause.
The example you've given is a bit closer to industrial espionage and a totally different kettle of fish.

Just wondering about all those unpaid invoices, seem to hear more and more examples of this. What happens if client refuses to pay and you go under? Do the clients get away without paying or can you sell the invoice/debt/whatever to a reclaimation company or something like that?

In my case they all went into administration or liquidation, I'll never see a red cent. To make it worse all of them were up and running within weeks under slightly diferent names. It's legal theft and very common.

I feel your pain, its a hard world out there at the moment.

Sometimes you just have to say, enough is enough.

The example you've given is a bit closer to industrial espionage and a totally different kettle of fish.

😆

Good luck on the new way forward, see it as a step forward, not back.

I feel your pain brother. I know from your posts on here that we've been through the same. I had to fold my business for the same reasons as yourself. ie: Legalised theft by 3 big clients! I know how much it hurts. Its a really personal and can feel like a real failure.

IT ISN'T THOUGH! Its just life. It happens. You can't dwell on it or you'll go mad. I know, believe me. Don't get bitter. See it as a clean break and move on. If you've got a job offer - Brilliant!

Take it and enjoy a weight being lifted! No more chasing invoices, phoning solicitors, arranging lynch mobs. etc 😉 Someone else's job.let them worry about it. I've found it such a relief not to be burdened with all the superfluous crap of running a business. I can just concentrate on what it is I do. Which is rather enjoyable

Good luck fella!!!

If you haven't already try reading "who moved my cheese". It only takes an hour, worth it to get you thinking about change

I favoured working for somebody else in your last thread and do even more having read this one. Good luck and don't look back.

Thanks I hope the crash signaled a turning point.

I'm in total limbo right now though. Can't get on with my current work/job and not totally 100% certain I have the new one.
Lost my bike and I can't be certain I'll get the money for that either.
Still waiting on the outcome of industrial accident as well.

On the other hand, I could soon be in a new job. I could have a new bike, I could get a payout from the accident, I have recieved some money from a PPI claim I made three years ago. And my son has just got a modeling job - 15 years old and getting £96.50 an hour 😯

Whatever, there's going to be some fallout soon.

Cheer up fella, you're still fitter than me!

I've spoken to Chris, and we've arranged for me to drop the secret stuff off at the secret place... 😉

under certain conditions, I believe it is legal.
Is there a clause preventing your clients from contacting you? How specific is the wording of the contract?

Nope nothing stopping my clients from contacting me but as they are all over the world its very difficult to get the message out there for them all to see that i have moved.

It is a badly written clause but its whether its worth the hassle of solicitors letter too & from the current company.

I'm giving it till early next year but if it doesn't get better I'm out. Mind you i said that last year & a few ok months later i had forgotten about it for a while 😕

Cheers crikey, I do owe you one when I'm in a position to owe you something??? 😕

Don't let Chris bore you to death 😉

Use the resources on offer to get the life you want. If that means taking someone else's money then do it.

It would be nice to have an income that's mine, and to have sick pay and holidays. And go home at five, and to sleep at night.

I also packed in company / self employment, and although we lost a lot, we never lost the house. Nice to have a stable job, with familiar faces and less stress all round. And for the first time in 7 years I can actually save some money and get on with life beyond juggling the overdraft and not bouncing the mortgage payment...