Hi all Just found this great site. I have a question I've been with the same company for over six years now they keep me very busy and pay me very well but I got into excavating to one day have my own machine and company and would like to slowly head in that direction, but not all at once or in the next year even as I'm very happy where I'm at. What I would like to do is go from an employee to billing myself through my company to them and taking care of my own taxes but I'm not sure how to do it without losing income. Just thought I would see how some of you do it. This is how I'm paid now(not actual amount) I'm from BC Canada $30 hr no over time $500 monthly truck expense (haul there tank) $60 month ? extended health and dental hopes this makes sense and comes across right
if you are getting insurance for 60 a month and 30 per hour and are busy you need to just quit and let me have that job.....you come here and sit on my couch....j/k sounds like a good deal unless you want to go real big i would say stay
I've been self employed at one thing or another for more than thirty years so speak with a little experience. I quit a good job with a solid pension plan to go on my own. If I hadn't done that, I'd be retired by now. Also, there's nothing like a regular paycheck to ease worries and make one feel secure. On the other hand, many of us have dreams to follow, and working at the same old job stops us from doing that. If you can afford it, are not the worrying type, and are a self-starter, you might want to take the plunge. But don't be surprised if you don't make as much or more than working for someone else. Not everyone is cut out for having to find work, doing paperwork, keeping books, and all the other things that go along with running a business. When you're on your own, you need to kick your own butt into gear; no one else will do it. Most people who go out on their own don't make a lot of money unless they expand enough to hire a number of employees. One of the wonders of the capitalist system involves making money off of the labor of employees. Your employer, for example, pays you $30 an hour but probably charges two or three times that to his customers. Of course he has lots of expenses, but if one has enough employees, one can do very well. That is if a recession doesn't hit, expensive equipment doesn't break down, no one sues you for that ruptured gas line, etc. etc. Losing the extended health care might not be a big deal since you still will have full Medicare, like all Canadians do. You might be able to purchase an extra package from Blue Cross for not much more than you pay now.
Ditto on that. Being self employed is great if times are good and if you have nice bank account. Alot has to do with your responsbilites such as family, your montly debts and waht kind of cushion you have. I am not sure how it works in Canada but down here if your an employee and your employeer lays you off you can collect unemployment when I had my company I would lay off a few of my guys in winter as things slowed down and keep 1 or 2 for maintence or small jobs these were guys with families who needed a steady check and were dependable. Meanwhile I still had the same monthly fixed expenses to cover. Bugdeting is key and so is the planning in start up .If your employeer uses subs did you ever notice them not working but you were.
These are all good things to think about thanks for the replies. The company is a small one that I work for and there is no pension plan I've been taking care of that myself. I always seem to think it would be better to be self employed and everyone tells me I'm nuts, grass is always greener I guess. I think I just don't want to look back and say shoulda coulda woulda. I'm only 29 so I still have some time to think this one out a bit. Good to hear other peoples storys though.
Before you decide to start your own business, take a small business class at the local community college. Running a real business requires much work back in the office. For example, you need to figure all of your expences before deciding what to charge customer. Don't forget things like machine wear, maint parts, fuel, taxes and such. Just because you can park the equipment at your house dosen't mean the spot is cost free.
Don't part of your tax deductions go over into your CPP? I'm pretty sure that's a standard deduction. Granted the CPP doesn't pay much, but it's better than nothing! I'm a foreman with a fairly large earth moving company and I'll tell you this. Working for the man has it's down sides but the big benifit is the steady (well somewhat anyways) paycheque. I do all the paper work which includes revenue (cost/profit) for the sites I run and there are days we make money but there are alot of days we lose money too. Sure if I owned all the stuff myself I'd take home a bit more money but in the end if everything goes to hell and the place goes bankrupt I don't lose my shirt. We always shut down for a month or two when the weathers really bad in the winter too, the payments on the machines don't stop just because we aren't using them! Just a few things to think about. Oh and one more thing. Sure the company may bill an operator who gets paid $20/h out at $30/h but they also have to pay out your benifits (if you have them), pay someone to do the payroll to pay YOU, pay bank fees on your cheque or direct deposit, pay for insurance etc etc. In the end sure a site may gross $20-30,000 a day, but don't forget all the costs that have to come out of there for the machines, materials, labour, operators, foremen, mechanics, parts, fuel, grease, office staff etc etc. In the end there isn't as much profit as it seems...oh and don't forget fun things like float fees (moving equipment), licences, permits, taxes, insurance (whoooo is that expensive when you start explaining that you take a 90ton machine downtown during rush hour and lift 40ton block of metal 100ft in the air over 30-40 people and a lot of expensive ****, of course this is under power lines and over a gas main just for added fun. In the dark.) Now break a couple things and throw some bad weather in there!