Hello from Tina!

Hi.

 

Hi Julie

 

Hello _Tina_

This website may help, formerly known as Business Link . But, do grab yourself a cuppa and a sandwich because it is *full* of advice and you may be some time

Looking forward to seeing you around the GC Forums and wishing you every good fortune with your business

 

Wishing you good luck Tina. Might not be the best time of the year to be trying to find gardening work

No personal experience, but some ideas, including some posts that I have read on forums like this.

Keep travel (cost) to a minimum; if you get a regular job at a particular location then "leaflet" houses nearby. Lawn mowing and hedge cutting seems to be good for that. If you can do half a dozen houses in a street its cheaper than driving round the county to each customer other work, such as maintaining borders, and then designing and planting borders, will come.

Any clients you get ask them to make recommendations to their friends.

What about holiday maintenance? People post on here "I'm going away for two weeks, my neighbour killed all my plants last time" :D at least you would know what you are doing.

"Lady gardener" might well appeal to women, perhaps elderly women, on their own?

Find a job that you can do in the winter - unless/until you get regular customers who will provide you with winter work in order to be assured of having your help during the summer. Dunno what the options are there, painting and decorating perhaps, or delivery-driver - plenty of that in the run up to Christmas.

Can you freelance back to the golf club? They may well find it cheaper than it was to employ you. Or even if just "holiday and sickness" cover. Make sure you have multiple clients though, otherwise you will fall foul of not being a PAYE employee when you clearly only have one customer.

 

Thanks for the info Mum and Kristen. Was lucky enough to give out some business cards before leaving my previous job and am visiting one of those people tomorrow to take a look at her garden to see what needs doing.

Feel a bit unsure of myself, but at least I know the person so it might make it a little easier for my first ever job.

She is recently widdowed and her husband did all the gardening, she doesn't know a plant from a weed unfortunately. I think she is possibly glad to have someone she knows to come and do her garden. Not sure what she is wanting or expecting but I guess I'll find that out tomorrow. Hope I recognize most of the plants. Thinking I'll take a few photos and hope she doesn't think that's weird lol

My biggest problem is lack of knowing what to do re the money side of things. Got myself one of those duplicate cashbooks as I am charging by the hour (rightly or wrongly) and go from there. Getting more nervous the more I think about it lol

Got an ad going in next month's village news publication in my village (no other gardeners in my area do this). I have included fence painting, holiday cover and tidying up their garden ready for Christmas or a house sale as ideas for winter. That and shovelling snow lol

I'm hoping I'll learn as I go, although I have a book to finish which has been helpful. How to start your own gardening business by Paul Powers.

 

Good luck tomorrow, it will all come together as you walk round I'm sure.
Let us know how you get on,
Jenny

 

Thanks Jenny.

 

All sounds good, I like inclusion of "Smart garden when you sell your house"

Perfect starting point!

If that's not your thing might be better to find a part time booker keeper - perhaps someone, like yourself, working for self "small scale". You might be better off spending the time getting / doing work, rather than doing your books.

If you reckon you have aptitude for doing your own books then you need to work out how you will learn to do them, and decide if you need an accountant to do your tax return etc - that bumps the cost up and may well be something that a part-time book-keeper can do for you.

Keep a note of all purchases, including keeping receipts. I suggest you keep all fuel and car servicing/repair receipts (i.e. regardless of whether they relate to Business travel or Personal), and then keep a note of "business" mileage to each client, so that whoever does your tax return can figure out the best way of getting back travel-expenses (I expect you will be able to just claim XX pence per business mile, based on the engine size of your car, but it might be a proportion of all car costs relating to how many business:private miles you do). You can probably claim back a proportion of the cost of all your tools (possibly including tools you already own) as a startup cost, and you may be able to get a grant (the government may help you change from Employed to Self Employed - it varies all the time depending on how much money the exchequer has lying around, and how much they want to induce people to start up in business); might even be some PAYE tax that they will give you back by way of a tax-code change. Not sure who you ask that one - some sort of local government office I expect, or an accountant - but that costs, sadly.

 

I'd like to have ago myself if I can just to keep the figures down, but I like the idea of a part-time bookkeeper. I'll have to keep an eye out for someone perhaps. Still got some reading to do so if I still feel bewildered I'll have to get some help.

Thanks for the good advice

 

Tina, in these hard times, you maybe able to trade your skills for those of a self "small scale" book keeper.

 

I never use the term "nerves" Tina, instead I use the word "adrenaline" and that is what is happening to you right now; your adrenaline is doing the rounds

 

Was going to write a blog for you all on how I got on, but unfortunately I can't seem to find out how to do that.

Can I just put a link to my wordpress one?

 

Yup (so long as you aren't trying to sell stuff I'm sure the Admins won't mind).

You can put the link in your profile too, if you like.