Ash. I will start by saying you won me over and Im full of encouragement for you to succeed.
Life throws poo your way and always when your in a position not to cope with it or finance it.
I've lost my business in the past due to a relationship breakdown. My ex cleaned me out and i went from gaining a mortgage on a spacious four bedroom house and turning over 6 figures with ease a year to being homeless and penniless. 5 years on and Im not back where i was. Only just getting out of rented accommodation now. Being a cats whisker away from bankruptcy is soul destroying. Hurts even more when you can't provide for your kids. So i know in a way how you feel.
If you want this to succeed it will take all the strength you don't have to do it. It does for everybody that starts out self employed. Especially when you're starting from nothing.
The one thing i had when i was in your position which you don't is experience. Not just in tiling but running a business. Being self employed is like working two jobs. The admin can be just as exhausting as your day on the tools.
If you haven't got some funds already behind you then until someone is willing to take you on as a labourer then GRR is probably right.
Do the agency work for an income. Say your bills and get a cheap run around to get to work and cart the family around.
Evenings and weekends get leaflets out. But you have to bare in mind the phone still might not ring for six months after the drop. I did a leaflet drop almost two years ago in and area down here and i still get calls now from people that have it pinned to their fridge. There is a trick with the leaflets im happy to share....
Spend a bit more money and get A5 glossy print on a good quality paper. Feels better in the hand when they pick it up. Also fold the leaflets im half before you go dropping. Fold them perfectly! and here's the important bit . . . .
. . . . hide the advert. Fold the leaflet so they have to open it to see what it is. A good quality paper won't show them what's printed. You then have their undivided attention. Curiosity gets the better of everybody in the end.
Use holidays, weekends and evenings to do your tiling work and bank your earnings. Use the income from tiling to fund the business not the household. Spend that money on tools or removing the business.
Do it that way and give it twelve months and you won't need the agencies anymore. Won't quite be rich but you'll be in a better position to go it alone. Provided the business has shown signs of growth. But your diary will tell you that. :thumbup:
