What a round is, and why it's a good business
A round is a business where you visit the same customers again and again: every week, every month, every few months. The first customer is hard to win. The hundredth is easy, because they come back without you doing anything. That repeat income is why a round is more stable than one-off jobs.
The order that works
- Choose the service. Pick one thing you'll do well, rather than ten you'll do badly. You can add more later.
- Learn the job. Practise on your own home and friends' places before you charge anyone, and work out how long each job takes.
- Get insured. Public liability cover before your first paying customer. See insurance for round trades.
- Tell HMRC. You're self-employed from the day you start trading. See registering as a sole trader.
- Set your price. Use the method in how to price a round and set a minimum.
- Find your first street. Win a few customers close together, then the streets around them. A tight round earns more than a scattered one.
- Get paid without chasing. Decide now how customers pay: card, Direct Debit, bank transfer or cash. See Direct Debit for small traders.
- Keep records from day one. Every payment in and every receipt, in one place.
How many customers do you need?
Work it out from your own numbers, not someone else's. Take the income you want each month plus your monthly costs, then divide by what one customer pays you across a month.
- Income wanted: £2,000 a month
- Costs: £300 a month
- Total: £2,300 a month
- One customer pays £10 every four weeks, about £11 a month
Customers needed: £2,300 ÷ £11 ≈ 210
The number can look large at the start. It's why a tight, well-priced round matters, and why you shouldn't stop looking for customers when you reach your first fifty.
Your first ninety days
- Month one: price, insurance, paperwork and your first street
- Month two: fill the streets around it and start asking for reviews
- Month three: review which customers pay best per hour, and which don't fit the round
Common mistakes in the first year
- Pricing from other people's prices instead of your time
- Accepting customers far from the round because they asked nicely
- Not setting money aside for tax, then getting a shock in January
- Handling cash and cheques by hand, then losing track of who has paid
Set up the round as you go
Add customers one at a time, or import a list. Each one gets a price, a frequency and a next visit.