Successfull or not?? - Tile Advice

[PJackson]

How many of you out there have made a genuine living out of becoming a self employed tiler after doing a 2 or 3 week course?.

Money isn’t all for me as I am looking to leave a very well paid profession, so the change is more important. Just need to know I can get enough work to feed myself ;-)

I am hoping it would take a year or maybe less to really get things moving.

On the subject of charging and rates etc, does a tiling course cover this in detail?

I am looking at going to Swindon for my training.

Thanks again
Pete

 

[DHTiling]

Tiling is a very lucrative trade and it really is just down to hard work and commitment to the job..it has its ups and downs but I've been tiling for nearly 18 yrs now and i wouldn't do any other job ....dave..

 

[scrubmuncher]

I know 4 or 5 lads who appeared from nowhere in the area who have done the short course at the Northeast place, (they said it was a good course, although maybe a bit misleading about how much work/money was to be made) 3 of them have gone back to their old jobs and the others are not making anything like a living up to now (maybe £2000 at most over the year), and are looking at other options, I dont think it was all they were led to believe. If I'm allowed my honest opinion on this, can the trade sustain the amount of tilers turning up? no it can't we've a huge number of very skilled tradesmen entering the county who are genuinely excellent at what they do, and cheaper, and a lot of quick turnout tiling courses going on, I genuinely wish every lad who gives it a go all the luck in the world but somethings gotta give. As it is in this area, even the old timers are getting pissed off and selling up to make room for the £15 p/m brigade.
It doesnt effect me so much, I'm pretty well known with a few tradesmen around the area and I can move between my work in another field when one goes quiet or I need a change. If I didnt have another option, I wouldnt like to rely on it to feed my family, run my vehicles and holiday as I like to. I suppose if your good, and a bit lucky, dont mind digging deap in the first couple of year then you may make a go at it. I'd try and suss out what the demand is like in your area before relying on anything.
Good luck!!

 

[GazTech]

Like any other service proffession,it takes dedication and application to be good at it.The bottom line is to be true to your paying custom and befreind them if possible....the work will then be like a snowball down a mountain,gathering momentum as the years pass,how many people have worked for you in your house and you recommend them and have them back time and time again?

 

[enduro]

Very true scrubmuncher, i did a two week course 2 years ago, as i wanted a change from my tree surgery business i had, i was fed up with all the red tape, insurance, health and safety etc, so off i went down the yellow brick road to earn my fortune £40,000 a year we were told, all the other guys on my course fell for it hook line and sinker, yeah i thought and I'm father Christmas. two years on and i probably could earn a living tiling, but i had too continue doing tree work and landscaping to keep me going, so I'm going to continue doing both. I'm tiling four new houses at the moment, plus all the landscaping. Got a sports hall coming up to tile in Oct, so i always keep busy doing either job, OK you could call me a jack of all trades, but that was the only way i could to get my tiling up and running, so anybody coming into tiling think really hard about it, check out the competition in your area, it will take a couple of years of hardwork to get it up and running.

 

[Holohana]

1st year i booked 16k and this year on course for booking £34k. Yes you can earn a nice living out of it and all that with time to spare.

Last year i worked a total of 5.5 months and still earned that and thus far only worked just over 3 months and netted £13k.

Be reday for crap months tho. This month £3k, July only £300, that is hard when your starting out!!!

 

[GazTech]

Fantastic post Endo mate..the point is the more strings to your bow,then the better opportunity you have to earn a living.Whoever coined the phrase "Jack of all trades and master of none" would have struggled to realise that my carpentry & joinery, plumbing,electrical,plastering,painting,decorating,bricklaying,carpet fitting,roofing,concreteing,auto mechanical,and accountancy were not my chosen proffession.

 

[enduro]

luv it gaz, what about the weekend course in brain surgery, did you change your mind on this one!!!

 

[devonmark]

The answer to your question is absolutley yes....but it's down to the hard work that you have to put in, you cannot sit back and wait for the jobs to come to you, you have to go out and find the work, if you have a few days with no work...then on them days you should be out looking for work...putting yourself about.
Mark.

 

[GazTech]

luv it gaz, what about the weekend course in brain surgery, did you change your mind on this one!!!

Thought about it,,but fatherhood knackered knees and alchoholism rather held me back lmfao

 

[DHTiling]

If you having probs giving up the big bad black drink gazza then these will help you...pmsl..lmao..faf.pp.........dave..Alcoholics Anonymous

 

[enduro]

And your on £40,000 a year working for topps, its a hard life....

 

[UKTT Darren]

The thing is here it is how good a businessman you are, if you think you are going to make a good living on your tiling skills alone you will be wrong, the people who succeed are the ones with the business brains, the personallitys and the willing to achieve, there is loads of money out there in the world you just have to find a way of getting it and that comes with making the right contacts and correct marketing, part of my course is drumming the business acumen into people, trouble is some people dont listen too much to that part and think the tiling is still the most important, the tiling is the last skill you need, getting the business is the one you need to master first, without that you aint doing no tiling. Dan has just posted about marketing, worth a look, I do tell people that you can make really good money out there but i dont portray it as been paradise out there, nobody is going to stuff money in your pockets as you walk past them, gotta build up the reputation over a few years and befriend the right people, some people make it work for them, some don't, thats unfortunate, i try my best to give the advice, thats all i can do, its up to yourself after that. Like Gazza says whatever you need to do , you do it if its going to make the dosh

 

[GazTech]

And your on £40,000 a year working for topps, its a hard life....

Which Topps is this Andy ?

 

[scrubmuncher]

I agree entirely with all of what you have said and I find that people skills are the only way to make money in self employment of any kind. I think alot of people doing these courses are expecting too much from it though. Almost a ticket into a trade when its anything but, surely alot of people who enter the course are looking for a helping hand, a quick fix to a life in the trade and expect that from it. On the other hand I think if you were looking for a skill to pocket extra money at the weekends, it could set you up nicely. I can only comment on what I hear and read about new tilers and experiences trying to get a leg up and the strugglers seem to outweigh the guys who fullfill the expectations. Just looking at the amount of brand new tools that go up for sale tells me people are jumpin the gun. Any idea on the actual success rate? I'd be interested to know. Yet probably impossible to answer as just as many will be in it for the experience, not a life changing experince in business.