Jump to content

Winding Up and Moving On


Nessy

Recommended Posts

I've been running my own AV business for around 15 years. I can get it to stay afloat but only by working long hours, 6 days a week and taking minimal pay (£14K gross pa). I have a handful of employees and use some freelancers.

 

I figure it's time to wind up the business. I have a family and the bottom line is that I need to earn more and work less. Letting go is going to be tough undoubtedly.

 

Has anyone else done this? Any useful advice? I also need to think about what to do next. I have an ordinary arts degree and experience in AV but no qualifications. Any suggestions on that front would be welcome too.

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It would help if your profile gave some clues as to where in the world you are and your age and other interests but .....

 

Changing careers is a scary thing, especially when you have dependents, yet in the current culture millions do it all the time. The day of the job for life has long gone. I found teaching a good bridging mechanism and got myself a Further Education qualification relatively easily. I taught for a short while but that led on to delivering vocational training direct to industry.

 

The main thing I found useful was to keep an open mind and a positive attitude. I did lots of different things that just seemed to come along, only some of which paid phenomenally well for short periods. What I found surprising was the huge difference between what I needed as an employee salary and what was manageable as a self-employed income. I wouldn't be shocked if your £14K needed to be nearer £24K as FTE salary thanks to auto-enrolment, loss of deductible expenses etc.

 

There is also the possibility of selling the business or even of stepping back while maintaining an interest and handing a share to one if the employees.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You would certainly be earning more by selling up and becoming an employee or freelancer for another, larger AV company; but I'm afraid it will be almost impossible to work less if you want to remain in the AV/ entertainment industry.

 

The best chance you would have of a 5 day working week, would be a local authority theatre or school technician; but with a salary range of around 18-23k depending on your geography.

The bonus that comes with these posts is, of course, the ability to stick pretty rigidly to a 35-40 hour working week (if you wish!), paid OT and a local government pension scheme.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Totally agree on Kerry's point about earnings. My accountant tells me I earn a very modest amount, pay not a great deal of tax, and on paper - am poor. On the other hand, I always seem to have disposable income, can choose to not work on jobs I hate, and have nice holidays. I can still help the kids even though they've families of their own.

 

What is going wrong with your business model? Sad though it might be - do your employees bring in twice what you pay them? That's apparently something to think about. If they don't, then maybe more freelancers is the solution - only paying people when you are earning.

 

If you want to stop, then you need expert advice to deal with the pensions and rights of those employees - redundancy and other important issues. If you have to spend 6 days and long hours, something may be adrift. I suspect we're not really the ones to advise - your accountant is!

 

As for qualifications - it matters little if you are over 40, your CV and experience are worth more than an O Level in woodwork. Your experience in management will also be handy to other similar businesses - maybe as a manager rather than a gofer?

 

Maybe look at some of your regular clients - could you work for them, sourcing the AV kit elsewhere?

 

Worst case is that you have a stroke or heart attack - something like that. How would you cope then? You'd find a way, so maybe now is the time to examine the businesse's real value and maybe even sell it - to the employees even, maybe?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The best chance you would have of a 5 day working week, would be a local authority theatre or school technician; but with a salary range of around 18-23k depending on your geography.

The bonus that comes with these posts is, of course, the ability to stick pretty rigidly to a 35-40 hour working week (if you wish!), paid OT and a local government pension scheme.

Are there many theatre technician jobs in the public sector school system? I thought they were mostly independent, which wouldn't have most of those benefits unfortunately.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the thoughts and advice. I'll get my CV up to date. I'll need to think about references though - I've not worked for anyone as a long-term employee because I went straight into the business after graduating. I hope that doesn't go against me.

 

To answer some questions, the business is in the UK but not the SE and far enough north to be a bit parochial so I won't divulge anything further on that. Age-wise I'm ~40ish.

 

There's a lot to think about but finances will probably hasten decision. My children are young so going to be financially dependent for almost another 20 years and I need to put food on the table. Take home pay of £900-1000 doesn't really do that.

 

Looks like I need to discuss this with the accountant, probably get legal advice as well as keep an open mind and a positive attitude.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the thoughts and advice. I'll get my CV up to date. I'll need to think about references though - I've not worked for anyone as a long-term employee because I went straight into the business after graduating. I hope that doesn't go against me.

 

Do you have any regular clients who would agree to be referees? As an employer I'd be perfectly happy with that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I

Thanks for the thoughts and advice. I'll get my CV up to date. I'll need to think about references though - I've not worked for anyone as a long-term employee because I went straight into the business after graduating. I hope that doesn't go against me.

 

Do you have any regular clients who would agree to be referees? As an employer I'd be perfectly happy with that.

I showed this to a friend who used to be involved with recruiting for a large national company, I quote: "that is exactly what I'd be expecting in the circumstances."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.