[Mike Halliday]

How many of you have a pension? or are you going to work until you drop.

I can see my cutting down on my work load as I go into my 90s but I'll never get the income from a pension that I could get from working say 3 days a week.

although i might sell my bussiness to my son for £300 a week

when do you see the end to your carpet cleaning days?

Mike

[Londoner]

Pensions are a problem for anyone who is self employed these days. The return on a private pension is so poor now that you would have to be saving lots and lots to get any sort of return.
Best advise I can give you is to keep an eye out among your customers for a rich widow.

[Doug Holloway]

Mike,

An intersting topic.

1.Do you work as hard as you can building the business and then selling out completely at say 60 and living off the proceeds plus other monies accrued.

2.Do you run business down to 5,4,3 days reducing advertising to nil and only doing the lucrative jobs into say your 70,s

3.Do you become the 'old man' employ staff maybe even family and become more of a businessman never actually retiring and being carried from your premises in a box

4.Do you pay lots of money into a pension,buy shares ,property and see what you think in 10 years time.

I am currently on  4 but could easily move to another option as I get older(46)

Remember old carpet cleaners never die they just run out of suck.

Cheers,

Doug

p.s I used to call on a company called Bevaloid in Beverly,is it still there?.You live in a lovely part of the country!.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I have a private pension and 2 houses that I rent but when you look at the rents it will no way be good enough income as a cc, guess I will eventually run out of suck!

Shaun

[Shorty]

Good question.

I turn 60 next March.

But I still believe, I'm only as old as the girl I'm holding.      And that I will never truly grow up. :

I have four businesses.

WDR and Carpet Cleaning.

Upholstery cleaning which takes in Oriental rug cleaning plus protection of upholsteryand carpets as well as fire retardents. Under this biz name, I also do carpet spot dyeing.

Mattress sanitising for Asthmatics and allergy sufferers.

Leather cleaning, protection and repairs.

I will ease off next year, and get rid of the WDR and carpet cleaning, (contract carpet cleaning).

Gradually, as the body dictates, I will sell off the other businesses.

I can not see me sitting around watching days of our drearies, waiting for the inevitable 'Collaroy Conclusion',
(Aussie version of coronary occlusion).    

I get to cranky if I don't have something to do.      

Hope that when it's my time to go, I go 'on the job'.

Figure that one out for yourselves.  

Apart from that, I have a wife that has to be kept in a lifestyle that she has become accustomed to.      

Cheers,

Shorty.    

[Mike Halliday]

Anyone who is thinking of selling their bussiness and living off the money are in for a shock, how much is a carpet cleaning bussiness worth, not anough to provide a good retirement income.

As long as my mind stays intact & I'm not riddled with arthritis I 'll probally cut down my work rate to 2-3 days a week, this will bring in more than any pension.

hopefully my son will inherit the family bussiness and henry halliday & Son will become Henry halliday & son & grandson

Mike

[paulchambers]

I am 43 medically retired and use cc to top up my pensions though struggling to get work at present but things are looking up i dont want a lot of work

[Neil Gott]

I already draw state pension. It means that I only have to do a few jobs a week in order to pay the bills. I wouldn't want to pack up all together. Like the rest of you I need something to get out of bed for - other than for a pee at three in the morning.

A problem might arise when the old body slows down, but I am working on another less strenuous project for a back up.

[suedsct]

Hi guys


can anyone advise me please
I also rent a property and Im currently buying two more, so i will have a portfolio for my future  securuty.   I also have been offered my first 'builders clean'  and have never done this before only in my own house when i had a loft conversion.   So i need to form a LTD co  and put both businesses into it.  also any advice on builders clean would be apreciated. right now i have been officially unemployed( my 2 private cleaning jobs fizzled out)  for 3 m and dont know what to do ? i want to be reg SE.  I am under the 10k bracket at the mo.

thank you

suze

[WavieDavie]

Hi Suze

Here's some links to other boards which might be of interest . . .

Retirement Investing
http://boards.fool.co.uk/Messages.asp?mid=7306343&bid=50084&sort=collapsed

Self Employed
http://boards.fool.co.uk/Messages.asp?mid=8157828&bid=50086

Property Investing
http://boards.fool.co.uk/Messages.asp?mid=8596011&bid=50096

And, if you have any time left, you can find out more . . . http://boards.fool.co.uk/Index.aspx

[Londoner]

Is nobody taking my suggestion about a rich widow seriously?

On a more practical level, how easy is it to sell a CC business? Has anyone actually tried?
There is not much in the way of collateral to tempt a new  buyer and all the goodwill you have generated won't necessarily pass to the next owner.

In most cases you are the business.

[Zach]

In most cases you are the business.

Scary thought isn't it!

[Derek]

Hi Guys

The only thing of real value are contracts...if you have commercial work with regular contracts then you have something to sell on... domestics are all about your own goodwill...take 'you' out of the equation and there is nothing of real value!

I am in a similar position to Neil although I have a year or so to go before I draw a state pension so I intend to reduce my working hours as my body tells me ... I try to work a four day week at the moment and most times it works although when it does get busy, I tend to overdo it a bit...boy do I suffer for it.
Mike....you have the right idea sunshine.... work a couple of days a week to suppliment the state handout into a reasonable pension.

I have no intention of retiring at the present time... I want to keep going as long as possible... I am a firm believer in the concept of 'use it or you lose it'.... and I'll have no saucy comments from you young Lennard

Derek

[Londoner]

My experience in another business is that staff are a constant problem that you could well do without.

Some businesses work well employing staff but I personally would be very reluctant to go down that route. They just don't share your commitment.

[Derek]

Vince

I have also been down that route...have the scars to prove it.

Derek