Time to move on?

Apologies for this being v. similar to Ralf's poll

I've got a conundrum at the moment. I'm a self-employed financial advisor but have been approached by a company who are wanting to take me on on an employed basis. At the moment I love all the freedom that being self-employed brings - come and go whenever I please, take holidays whenever I want, I have an office 5 minutes from home and I don't have a boss watching my every move. The downsides are that it can be very difficult as a one-man-band as I have to not only do my job but also run a business which I find very hard sometimes. I also end up working in the evening regularly and find it a constant struggle to find new clients and new business.

The employed position is very well paid (at least 25% more than I currently earn) and it's PAYE so no taxman to worry about and no business to run. Just get on with my job, get paid, and work hard to hit targets so I get a nice bonus every month. They also provide all new clients and new business. They will obviously want their pound of flesh as the basic salary is pretty high but that doesn't bother me, I can work as hard as anyone if a) I have to and b) the rewards are there

My biggest worry is that it's pretty much Mon-Fri 8:30-5:30 and it's been a LONG time since I've worked in an office all day every day so I'm worried it'll be too much of a culture shock compared to my current situation which means I get out & about a lot. Will I go stir-crazy? Also the office is right in the middle of Manchester so it's back to a rush-hour commute and paying for parking

On the other hand maybe I do need a little more structure to my life and no more evening work will be a god-send. As will paid holidays and a company pension!!! Also like Ralf I struggle financially sometimes with a young family to feed, house & clothe. Struggles which would be eliminated immediately by a big pay-hike from day 1. I'm asking my trusted fellow AO-ers to give me your thoughts & guidance on this, your input as ever will be much appreciated

Have you met many of the people that you would be working with? IMHO, that is the most important thing when deciding if you like being somewhere or not, as even when (as with all jobs) the s**t hits the fan, it's the people that make it possible to not think you made the wrong decision... and, when things are going well, they make your day a joy rather than something you are wishing to end.

Al

I commute to Altricham from Liverpool every day before that I was based over Three site Lisburn NI, Crewe and Trafford wharf some times it can be a problem but if you hit the roads at the right time it's not so bad.

I was in a similar situation a few years ago working for myself, and all the hassle that entails you know books, tax, late night working, chasing cleints for payment etc.

Personally I would go for the security permanent empolyment gives especially with you having kids.

Good luck hope your choice turns out to be right for you and the family.

I've considered going it alone,
but have always been given a
pay rise to stay put.

In the end, being fully paid up for tax, NI etc
does seem to be less of a pain in the arse.


One thing is too make sure that they
aren't just looking to hire you for a year,
nick your contact list and then let you go.
(Cynical, moi?)


And there's always the tram in Manc. , no?



Change is good!

Good luck.

100% in favour so far! I'd agree with the other comments, with a family to support it's not a tough choice.

I'd take the job offer. It makes financial sense - and you are a financial advisor. Its also good to have structure - and if you can avoid having to slog you guts out in the evening all the better

The 2.4 comes with Twin exhaust pipes and the 1.9 doesn't......

Enough said

You know, the office life is not that big a deal. You seem a fairly sociable guy Al, and am sure you are good at what you do. I have worked at 4 different places in the last 9 years and don't rate myself as being particularly good with people, but it's been pretty ok for me. Made some friends as well

The working hours may give you some difficulties perhaps re-adjusting, but I am sure you can make it work out well for you. After all, they won't be monitoring your every little break every now and then

The rush hour commute may be a right pain, sorry there is no getting away from that except for the fact you'll be sitting in your lovely car, what better place to be??

And guess what? Were it not to work, for whatever unlikely reason, you can always go back to self employment!

Al, you say in your post that they approached you?
If this is the case could you not 'negociate' ie start and finish times?
Or in fact any of the little niggles.
If i was acompany and approached a self employed person(such as yourself), i would expect it!!

Al, coming from the same type of background as you I can honestly say that my cahnge to a more structured form of employment has paid great dividends. Not so much from a remuneration point of view (in our profession that is almost always at the direct control of the individual) but from a work/life balance point of view. My move to an office based environment meant that I was no longer spending a lot of my time on un-productive travel time and out of hours calls. the consequences of that are that all my evenings and week-ends are free to socialise and re-energise (or whatever the current phrase is for being rested). I also find that the client/adviser relationship is far more open and productive when conducted from the formal surroundings of an office.

Now the only disadvantage I can see is that you personally will no longer be in full control of your destiny but if the organisation you intend joining is client rather than sales focussed then that disadvantage diminishes to the point of irrelevence.

Even if this particular position turns out not to be all you hope, it will take you one step closer to where you want to be.

i don't think you've anything to lose by giving it a try.

My fee note is in the post

It sounds like you are leaning towards a move anyway. Being your own boss is many people's dream but, in some respects, it can be a bit of a 'mare at times as you suggest with unending hassle and relative feeling of insecurity. A 25% pay increase is mighty tempting.

Not that being a wage slave is particularly secure or easy going these days.

Slimbloke makes a good point and it would help reassure you what the office environment is like if you can have a look around before you commit. Working alone (I'm guessing you do) can be hard at times when there's no office company to have a chat or lift spirits a bit so you may consider the reparti a slight pay-back for the commute. Get the tram in Bury straight into the centre, so no parking issues.

You could always go back to being self-employed if it didn't work out and maybe you could take clients off their books (the exact opposite of Nev's cynical view! ).

Give it a go.


BTW - if you are finding it a " struggle financially sometimes" would you like us to recommend a good financial adviser?

cheers for the advice gents, really appreciate it i've got another meeting with the MD & another director of this company on thursday. i'm also going to stick around for a couple of hours and speak to some of the other people working there. i'm not going to make a decision on thursday (unless of course he offers me a GT 3.2 company car ) but i'll keep you posted

Sorry to put forward an alternative pov but to hit the targets etc.... you are likely to need to put in the hours.

Also - going back to being at someone's command would be a big jump again (certainly for me anyway)

As for the tax etc - get your accountant to do it. A good accountant should pay for themselves in the money they save you.

Sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear.....

Originally Posted by markies

Sorry to put forward an alternative pov but to hit the targets etc.... you are likely to need to put in the hours.

Also - going back to being at someone's command would be a big jump again (certainly for me anyway)

As for the tax etc - get your accountant to do it. A good accountant should pay for themselves in the money they save you.

Sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear.....

on the contrary mate, i want to hear both sides cos that's what's going on in my mind at the moment my accountant is cool and does lots for me so sorting out my tax affairs is easy, it's paying it that p*sses me off my biggest concern is the culture shock of having a boss again and working 9-5, this will mean a MASSIVE sacrifice of freedom compared to the comparative doss that is self employment, along with the horrors of commuting to and from town and paying a fortune in parking costs. the plus sides are the extra money, more sociable hours, paid holidays & the biggest of the lot is the fact that all leads are provided so i wouldn't have the constant worry of where my next piece of business is coming from. oh, and i won't have to do any of my own admin either, they have plenty of admin staff to do that. the list of pluses is a lot longer than the list of minuses but that just shows how highly i rate my freedom so it's a very difficult decision to say the least

i know longer term he wants me to develop my role a bit which will involve being out of the office a bit and going down to london every couple of weeks which is right up my street but i need to be pretty damned convinced before i take the leap

Sorry, just realised I hadn't voted

The freedom is nice but you'll have more time and money to spend with your family. It's a no brainer really.

The upside of the office is that for all the extra regimentation, you'll also meet heaps more people (your workmates) that will make the day interesting, fun and varied.

Commute isn't such a big deal when you get used to it. Start early, leave early...

If it doesn't work out, you can always go back to self-employed, though probably to a depleted client base, so you do have some risks. Put some of the extra cash by for a rainy day, for the first six months, just in case. If all's well, blow the lot on a holiday.

Ralf S.