Amy & Aron's

If you’ve always fancied yourself as a bit of a DIY expert then the thought of working from home and providing contractor services to your local area may have crossed your mind. On paper it sounds great; you get a call from someone because they need help with something like installing shelves or fixing their toilet, you drive out, fix it, get paid and then you’re done. Simple enough, but there may be more challenges than you’d expect.





Setting up your company takes a lot of research


If you’re relatively new to the world of self-employment, then do keep in mind that setting up your own company will take a lot of time and research. This is because there are a lot of considerations that you should keep in mind such as obtaining your residential contractors license, setting up your company name and even the possibility of establishing a limited company where you become the director and a shareholder. There are many tax-efficient ways to set up your business and you may even need to speak to a financial advisor or legal professional to help you out.


You need to specialize in something


People aren’t going to hire your services if you can’t prove your expertise. No one’s going to hire someone that doesn’t have professional qualifications or experience and you have to specialize in something in order to obtain the right certification. If someone asks for proof of your expertise and you can’t show them anything like a certificate or license, then they’re not going to trust you and might even consider you a waste of time. In times like this, you might end up getting a negative review which then results in a poorly-received business.


Finding work can be quite difficult if you’re not well-connected


If you have a lot of connections to local businesses and neighbours then you might be able to find work easily. However, if it’s your first time working from home then you’ll quickly realize that finding work is pretty difficult. You need to build up a list of contacts, you need to go around and pitch your services to people and you also need to consider expanding outside of your area of comfort so that you get more job opportunities. It’s a lot of hard work and it can put people off when they’re not getting enough work, so make sure to keep this in mind before you decide to start up your business as a self-employed contractor.


Be prepared to work a lot of extra hours


Setting up your own business involves a lot of work regardless of what you do. Be prepared to put in extra hours to set up things like your website or answering emails at random times throughout the day. If you’re not ready to put in a lot of extra work to start up your own contracting company, then it might not be a good idea. However, if you’re confident in your abilities and have the motivation, it can be a lucrative business option.