Guys. 40 years as a plumber and that's the most relatable conversation ever.

I was a self employed flooring contractor for over 40 yrs and I sacked myself many times, but I always took myself back on again the next day 😂!!

Two proper legends just having a chat ❤. Behind a successful man most often is a good woman 😘

I’ve been self employed for most of my working life, I was a carpenter builder in Scotland that retired and bought a farm in Queensland, Australia. The best thing I ever did was to make enough money to be able to retire very early and then just take all the hassle out of my life. I now get up in the morning and decide to do nothing most days, it’s the only way to go.

I'm 59, I'm a cabinetmaker, so not strictly the building trade, but still a highly skilled trade. My one member of staff who'd worked with me for 20 years retired at 67 years of age three years ago and I've worked on my own ever since. I should mention that I've suffered from Ulerative colitis for 31 years now and can confirm that running a business in this day and age is VERY stressful, especially with also dealing with a serious chronic illness. It's a constant battle of trying to keep up with all the paperwork , getting the quotes out, and doing the actual jobs, I try and give accurate lead-times but always overrun no matter how much extra time I think I've allowed for in the quote, I'm greatful of course for ALWAYS being very busy, but a home life every now and again would be great, I'm typing this comment out now while in my workshop at 01:16 am on a Sunday which in itself should tell you a lot about being a one man band running a business in the UK IN 2023.

I was a workaholic when I had my own business, got to 45 and I was burnt out, my knees have gone, back is knackered, hardly ever made any money, the sort of money others seemed to make, all I ever seemed to do was pay my labour, wholesaler bills, my bills and mortgage. I could never afford a holiday. Hindsite is wonderful and we all wish we could go back and take a different route, however, we can't and have to wear the pants we were given. Packed it all up 20 odd years ago and worked PAYE and don't regret it. OK, I cant nip off when I feel like it, I had fixed hours. Now over 60, no mortgage just normal bills. Just watching the clock till I retire, I cant wait.😊

Excellent video reflecting the issues facing actual hard working people, not the usual KZfaq fakesters. The millions of men watching Andrew Tate spouting nonsense should all watch this video and learn about the real world. I can relate to every point raised here. Tradesmen are not appreciated. I had a plumber round recently and he did a fantastic job for a fair price. He wants to pack it in and become a “day trader” because his knees are killing him. He’s 35. I told him: “one good plumber is worth a million ‘day traders’ - he’s helping people unlike a ‘day trader’ who’s a gambling waste of space!” Keep up the good work 👍👍👍

What a top bloke. Get yourself and family on Holiday though, it’s important. If you’re always looking for perfection you will never be happy. 99.9% of the time no one will even notice what you think could be done better 👍🏻

Been self employed for 42 years, hardly had any holidays in that time . Although paid my mortgage off by the time I was 40 . Now at the age of 63 started to feel my body has had enough of brick laying, plastering, plumbing , cut roofs , concreting and the rest . I have started to cut back now and only work on day rate now

Been there, done that, would never have lasted 40+ years of self employment without having a break. About 30 years ago I was burned out skint, and fed up, then a job went wrong big time because my brain was frazzled. I thought " fuck it I am not going broke while working my fingers to the bone", so I just doubled my prices pretty much. I didn't loose that much work and started making a decent wage and making ends meet. Loads of us underprice our work, or under value our skills, why?? Self employment is lonely, no one will tell you where you are going wrong, most of us are trades, not business people.

Honestly your chats have changed my life Roger. I'm earning double what I did pre COVID. It's the whole self worth thing.

That was a really good chat that touched on many points all builders can relate to. I think for UK builders you have a lot of extra issues, horrible weather, strict regulations and laws and buildings that are a lot more complex than other countries. I've said this before when you had your chat with Robin about quoting, that the easiest way to remove much of the stress and actually increase your profits is to truely work for yourself and build and sell your own houses. Or renovate and flip, or rent and build a portfolio. With the tightening of lending, this maybe more difficult these days but its an ideal to aim for. Once I got my foot in the door and started buying and renovating my own houses pretty much all that stress fell away.

Great chat to listen to. Well done Roger. Sam get yourself, Jen and kids away for a break pal. Life's to short.

What an amazing video . I can relate to so much you both talked about there . Up until June 2021 I have worked for someone else and have been told a Couple of times I’ve made a lot of money over the years ….. unfortunately for other people . I’m struggling with the pricing and organising and mistakes are costly . I worked on my own for many years until 2016 when Alex left school and wanted to work with me . That changed everything for me and truly blessed that I get to work with my son and best mate . We look out for each other and he more or less carries me now that my health isn’t good . After a hard days graft you feel tired but content, after a hard day of stress you are burnt out …. Stress ain’t fun . Sam get yourself off on holiday even a long weekend just to unwind you and the family deserve it . Thanks again for the video 🙏🏽🤜🏽🤛🏽🧱👍🏽

I've recently become self employed and after 6 months just come back from a holiday, only thing was I was checking the plumbing at the resort 😅. I eventually managed to switch off but now I really am struggling to get motivated to get back into work.

Good addition to Skill Builder having that builder on the channel...

Take Jen on holiday ASAP! She sounds like a gem!

FairPlay lads, I’ve been a self employed sparky for 5 years now and I’ve had difficult start but things are going really well now. A good nights sleep is a top tip 👍

Been self employed for about 14 years now , ive had enough and juat lookin to retire and throw the towel in and retire in my early 40s

As I got older I realised more that we don't have much time on this earth and took on board the mottos "Work to Live" and "Retire as soon as you can". I then focused on the latter and retired at 61. If you absolutely love work so much that you would rather do that than have hobbies and be with family and friends, carry on working, but it wasn't for me. PS, holidays are essential!!!

Brilliant chat gentlemen! I am a full time teacher and am currently renovating a house at weekends. This weekend I am so tired I have not gone to the house, it can get so monotonous. It seems to be all work and no play. My wife has filled skips, cut wood, and helped me in so many ways, she is indispensable. Although I do not have diabetes I did have a heart attack last year. Try not to be so hard on yourself, make sure you have life insurance and take care of yourself above all else. Thank you for this.

Lad's your little chat just warmed the cockles of my heart but remember your health is everything.

"we all know there's abrasive characters on the building site, I could be one" had me in stitches, the most pleasant man you could ever hope to find on a site

Nice stuff. Videos like this will pass most folk by without leaving a mark but there'll be a couple of people who really, really needed to hear someone else chatting about that stuff.

I'm now in a period of "why ewen bother, why ewen try😢" Thank you for this video

I'm in a very similar position to Sam, diabetes in a physical job is a major stress because it's very hard to walk that tightrope when you don't know what's going to be expected of you every day, you can end up running high all day because you were expecting to be grafting or you can end up fading to jelly because you had to push harder than expected and didn't get time to eat properly, you end up putting yourself in dangerous positions because you know you need half an hour for that food to bring you back up but you've only got 10 minutes before you need to be somewhere else. It's a real grind that never ends and because you're used to suffering in silence you tend to apply this to your whole life, you're conditioned to endure. I don't know what the answer is, I'm burning out and I don't know what to do to turn it around. I don't really have the money or desire for holidays and I can only realistically take time off in the winter, if work comes up in the winter I have to take it because I'm a single income household so it's all on me. This year in particular it's felt like I'm working more but I'm earning less somehow and I'm struggling.

Been self employed for nearly 40 yrs and totally burnout ... but like roger just have to keep going and can’t resisting helping people out never worry about the money and it keeps flowing or trickling if worry about it it stops! Is it weird to enjoy the more difficult jobs to the easy ones?

Quote them a little higher than you expect you can always reduce the price at the end. You know what you need to earn each day to lead a comfortable life. Thanks Roger nice to know that from the video and comments there are people out there with the same struggles.

That was a great video fellas, showing how working for yourself isn't the bed of roses that lots of people think it is. Having run my own business for the last twenty years or so, I still have no problem with the actual work but the stress and mither is the killer. At home in the evenings the worry of tomorrow's problems or issues (thankfully rare) with an awkward customer are always on the back of my mind. Yet the thought that keeps me going is feed the family and pay those bills. BTW, what are those 'holiday' things you talked about?

totally agree with everything said, well done guys 👍. I am a bricklayer and I used to love my job up until I HAD to do it. Once I had to do it to pay the bills I started to hate it. 37 years in feels too late to start anything else. Also you saying its less grief working for someone else, site work these days is run by a trade contractor under an umbrella to the main contractor, most of which have site managers that aren't trade related and higher ups who are only interested in bonuses, so us actual tradesmen(that want to do a good job) dont have the time needed.

Never mind the holidays! Start wearing knee pads, nothing more crippling than buggered knees. Two great builders thanks for opening up.

Being self employed is a mixed blessing indeed but generally one tends to work harder and for longer. Having to be careful with diabetes adds another level of complexity. Sam, I hope your efforts are reflected in your charges as generally speaking most people would rather pay a little more for a job well done!

I'm not a builder, I'm a self employed metalsmith but I can absolutely relate. Being self employed is hard, the fear of turning work away, the fear of no big contributed pension, that mortgage that never seems to go down...always giving the client the extra mile. Which I do, constantly over supply and under charge, especially with rising gold prices ..and then you get the "whilst I'm here could you just.." locking time for holidays is always a challenge but I can see the value in those. I'm so happy to have found this channel, it's also fantastic to see real men giving their wives the credit/respect they deserve. Can I get a Jen too?

wow thanks for that ,reminds me of the good days 3 blokes in a transit just chatting personal stuff , thanks also to your mate opening up about the problems with diabetes and the problems im type 2 and when your grafting it can cause problems , we all know the building is not pc bollox but its how we have always liked it probably last place we will find it didnt mind being called a daft cnut when i was young its what was known as character building , more chats like this please

This is so relatable, I work with my wife and peoples attitude changes when there is a woman there, they seem less intimidated and the wife can be available for the chat so you can carry on, as regards to doing extras for free while you are there, that was a short lived albeit twice made mistake. I do fencing and sometimes they have bits that are tatty as hell that werent part of the original job and I say I can pop back when I get a spare off cut to fill that bin in. After 2 or 3 days they are hounding you to do it, despite telling them it could be 4 to 6 weeks before you get an offcut. So you end up cutting a full panel at your expense to do the job so they dont write you a bad review despite the fact they are over the moon with the initial job. I have learned to do the job I quote for and no extras as it always bites you in the arse

I've been a type 1 diabetic for 35 years. Also a self employed electrician for over 25 years. I totally understand this guy.

Men need to talk like this more often. And yes I said men ! Top idea for a video Roger- thank you

This is possibly the best video of yours I've seen and I'm a big fan As a professional maintenance engineer who worked alone for decades, and with minimal support, and where it was expected that multiple issues per day were quickly resolved within a time scale on the first visit, I understand sleeping on a problem completely. I hated wrapping calls into the next day but always resolved them after a good nights sleep. I used to do a full days work, go home and then study and and learn the about the individual components of the equipment involved to discover what made them work and fail. I was successful but it all meant nothing. There is so much I can relate to with video. Thank you.

You guys are describing me 😅 my misses is constantly nagging me to charge more. Tbh, the customer always pays me more than what I asked for and tells me to charge more. I'm forever fixing 10 other things on the job. Thanks for your wisdom

Can relate to some of this. I'm not self employed but I have been cursed with the 'people pleasing' gene, which means I will break my neck to make sure I help anyone who asks, whether that is extra hours at work or doing projects for friends and relatives, but at the sacrifice of spending any time on myself. I only seem to get motivated to do things for others, when it comes to me I can't do it as it just seems like a load of hassle. Also never been on a holiday!

Treble your prices tomorrow less work less hassle but you will earn the same amount money, quality of life is so important. I just found this out after 30 years se, thank you for this great video.

The love to help is rare, may be undervalued but certainly rewarding to your heart & God will always have your back. 😇

Interesting to hear real life stories for a change.

Roger love this video think you need to do more like this. Just a casual chat with different people in the building game to tell their stories and opinions. Watching this was like having 10 o’clock tea break. I can definitely relate to all the points in the conversation.👍👍👍

What a coincidence Roger - I've just watched Robin Clevett's video on the Mental Health problems of the Self-employed - He loaded his about the same time as this one as well ........ I replied to his, so I'm going to copy a 'part' of that reply here .... Hope you don't mind 🙂 ...... "YES!! Mental Health 'is' a genuine problem but 'most' of us don't recognise it as a problem, we just assume that it's part & parcel of the job - Unpaid bills, too much work, not enough work, Loyalty to our customers even. Where we don't feel we can possibly take time OFF because we will be letting our customer down (Not realising that in MOST cases that loyalty is 'never' reciprocated) ..... Another thing is just 'Health' - We all get ill, but mostly we try and work through it, but when Mother Nature decides to give you a proper 'Kick In The Guts' there's no-one with a Safety-Net ... The DWP look on the Self-Employed as the lowest of the LOW! ..... If you get help within three months, feel privileged ... And Most S/E don't have their OWN safety-Net to last that long ... THEN! the Mental-Health Crisis REALLY Starts. Family and Friends are first! in the firing line, so you soon isolate yourself, which of course just compounds the issues" ........ There is a real MentalHealth Pandemic at present ... Compounded onto the Self-Employed by ULEZ - 15MinuteCities & LTN's - which are literally DESTROYING Businesses in general, but 'specifically' the Self-Employed who just CANNOT Swallow THOSE Bitter Pills ££££££££'s ..............

Such a good conversation, as a business owner it felt very relatable. Thank you both!

If ever a true word was spoken well done chaps

What an absolute pleasure to just sit and listen, you speak for every self employed person out there that is so critical of Their own work.

What a wonderful conversation, I have been self employed all my life working on a small family farm. My father tried to stop me saying that I would never earn any money, how true he was but I have forged a living with my wonderful wife and have now diversified into accommodation and camping, a lot of work, great fun wonderful people that we meet each year.

This video hit so many bells n whistles of being self employed! Loved this thanks guys. Personally for me I work in peoples houses as if it were my own, the client/customer 99% wouldn't have a clue but I would & to stop me waking up a 2am worrying about a damn job I always go full out as close to 100% as I possible can. I do a job to a point where I physically cannot even snag myself. easy lesson to learn when you are starting out so the ghosts of the past (jobs) never come back to haunt you....

Nice chat away from tools for a change, nice one fellas. I went to a customer yesterday that made me lemon cake, that was nice.

A good night sleep, best advice ever!

Thank you both I'm not in the building trade but watching this makes me realise how much a lot of these things mirror my feelings. We need more of men being open in general

Really nice to hear how genuine you both are. I work in people's houses and I'm a sucker for an old dear. Some times i just haven't got the time with the calls booked. Thanks!

I'm not a trade (although I seem to do more renovation than my job these days) but I am self employed and can relate to everything said here. It's hard to to get right and I'm far from it. Always fighting the pricing vs what is delivered battle and without a partner to encourage me to go on holiday I just keep working because of the if your not working your not earning mentality. I often think of jacking it in and working for someone else for the stress free life with all the perks of being an employee but that comes with it's own problems. It's honest open chats like this that we need from people in the same situation to put things into perspective.

The burnout got me a few years back when I realised I could never reach the carrot, the faster I ran, the faster the hamster wheel turned. Now I drift along, waiting for the inevitable.

Great video - thanks. I'm not a builder but I've worked on my own most of my working life. I do suffer from anxiety but have had some talking therapies which has helped me keep things in perspective. Being your own boss, can't beat it!

One of your best videos Roger👍 I think it's the tip of the iceberg in our industry. I'm going through the whole burnout for the last year and slowly trying to work through it... so so much I could talk about on this subject... Listen to Uncle Roger and get your holidays booked. It doesn't matter if its half way through a job, and remember to look after yourself. You're the most valuable tool in the van! None of the other can do fu*k all if you're not fit and healthy. Roger I'd love to chat about the self employed industry in construction if you ever fancy?

I agree with most of this but there is good living to be made as a self employed tradesman. If you're not earning enough to make ends meet you're probably not charging enough. And I think as we get older we are less inclined to increase our rates. Does £300 a day sound like a lot of money? once you've run your van bought your tools & paid your taxes, Pension, holidays, what are you left with?

I'm a 58 bricklayer , work 5 days a week and go to the gym 3 times a week . Dont smoke and drink very modestly. My days of weekend work are over , I enjoy my graft and hard work was instilled into me from a very young age. All the best lads.

Its great to hear you guys chatting about the stresses and strains of the building game, and 'a problem shared is a problem solved' as they say👍Thanks for the video 😎

It's very cool to see the tradies' perspective the increasing proportion of elderly population and customers. It's a global phenomena

Sam and Rodger. Really enjoyed your conversation. Sam who need to you easy on yourself. Diabetes and your family should be your number One priority. Because everyone looks after themselves. I work in a dialysis unit and the affect badly mange diabetes has on someone kidneys can life-changing. Give yourself some TLC for you and the family and take a holiday.

Brilliant video, with 52 years in the game You two hit it right on the head

Brilliant conversation guys..can relate to alot of what you talked about being self employed joiner/handyman..thank you

Great these chats. I work alone as a Cabinet Maker and can relate to all in the discussion and proves we all share the same experences. Good point Rodger, the job itself is not the problem, its the money and everything else !

Can relate to all of this. I work by myself doing extensions! Can be really stressful one day and the next, the radio is on, the sun is shining and it’s the best job! Would like a clone of me to work with! Hard work finding descents people!

Fantastically relatable video, well done. Makes me feel like im not the only one.

Electrical contractor / builder, for some 50 years', born in 1951 BTW! My family always came first... apart from one year, when I was financially furked... we went to Spain. Cannot turn the clock back!!

What a profound conversation. I really didn’t expect this. The honesty, insight and relatability from two normal blokes compared to all these stupid KZfaq influencers is incompatible. Well done gents.

A very enjoyable video, lads. Some important points raised here about looking after yourself. I can relate to what Sam said about blood sugar affecting work... sometimes my productivity plummets and I can take an hour to do something that would normally take me 5 minutes. I'm aware of it but just can't take a break to get back on track. Learning all the time.

Work is just an annoyance that gets in the way of playing with our toys 😉 I've always used that principal.

Very interesting chat lads. I can relate to most of this but recently iv started taking time out to enjoy myself. Just mark random long weekends into the diary and stick to it. Life just feels like a drag if you have nothing to look forward to. Your Mrs sounds like a star. Get her away into the sun, life's short.

great video guys,such a true honest video i personally and sure most other self employed tradesmen can relate to this, gives a true insight into the reality of being a builder or tradesmen in uk currently and the highlights the many ever increasing problems we have to deal with on a daily basis , CUSTOMERS watching hopefully get a glimpse of the reality builders are facing and that the building /actual work part is the easy bit and how much unseen work goes on away from the site. total respect to both you guys , listen to the advice from skill builder who has been there and done it and walked the path you are on, family time and making memories with loved ones is far more important than anything else, time is more valuable than anything and you can never get it back once its gone, jobs and work are a necessity but easy to replace and irrelevant really in the scheme of things, nobody regrets and wishes they had spent more time at work when there time is up

So good to listen to this. I have been self employed plasterer/general builder for over a decade now. Previously worked for the companies. It's all true what you are saying. Good night sleep is my go to solution. I only see builders that i work with who get sll the same struggles as you mentione but at the same time value the freedom and flexibility that you get from being self-employed. Often at the cost of working longer hours, having less time off and money. I recently applied for some employment positions in the same business feeling bitnt out and an idiot working like a donkey and not getting the rewards all others seem to get. Fortunately the company haven't responded to my application because after all i didn't really want to be someone else's slave. I think the key points are to charge accordingly and make a living, get time off, try not to work weekends (i calculated thay for last ten years because of working weekends and long hourse i worked easily 2 years longer then someone working Monday to Friday over the same 10 years - i can clearly see the mileage on my body - not worth it), don't over book yourself. Thanks for the great 👍 conversation!

Hi all . Good stuff , nice to see you talk about the job and how it can become the be all and end all of your life . But the fact you both are committed to do the best work you can , immediately sets you apart from many others . Rodger is right to say you need a break , and usually people are prepared to wait when they know there going to get a good job at the end of it . Another point to remember is knowing when to say no , far better to be up front with people and say I’m sorry but I’m just too busy . And not tie your self in not’s trying to keep everybody happy . Best wishes and kind regards as always 😀👍👍👍

Really enjoyed watching this guys- God bless you both!!

Wise words Roger and intelligent Sam asking and looking to learn extra tips - Healthy

I built an extension many years ago and a garage conversion on the back of it.I look at it all now and wonder where I got the motivation and effort from.Just me pretty well.I am knocking on now and agree motivation drops very low for the smallest of jobs.

What a brilliant, frank and relatable conversation. “rescuer syndrome” was a highlight!

Rodger is a institution. Thank you for your endurance.

Quality, real conversation 👌

A lot of time I will do work on a day rate, same as a lot of friends in various trades. If youre good then people understand that youre not there to rip them off, its about trust. Will still put in a 10-12 hour day if necessary. So many excellent tradesmen are no good at pricing especially when doing renovation work, sometimes its impossible. I also know guys running companies who rake it in but put in enormous prices. Totally get the comment about lack of self esteem, the building trade used to have a lot of misfits who couldn't get on with other jobs, intelligent people but yeah lacking self esteem. It takes years of experience to realise that youre fucking brilliant at what you do 😂

10:10 I’m glad there are people like you Roger who don’t walk away and do go above and beyond for customers

43 years as a self employed joiner. Now over 70 years old and running out of steam, but find it hard to give up working.

I can emphasis with Sam and his health issues, as I've got problems myself that stops me from driving and as such has meant I lost my job as a carpenter. He's lucky to have Jen so take her away and just do your best mate. 👍👍

We need to see (hear) more chats like this. Also, as the sun is coming, wear sun lotion!

The best advice I was given on deciding I'd go self employed was to never undervalue myself and my ability. If you are a rescuer in life that can be difficult! Excellent view on self employment.

Enjoyed that guys , Roger bang on about taking time of for holidays

Man this nailed me to the core.

Interesting chat. Been a self employed carpenter builder for 16 years. I’ve got Diabetes type 1 & Autism, I find some jobs so stressful. It’s a constant juggling act, trying to keep good control of my diabetes while working. I think the biggest problem tho being self employed is it’s hard to cut off from work in the evenings & weekends & get a work life balance, my wife finds it so annoying I’m always planning jobs or doing prices & invoices etc. evenings & weekends. When I’m doing smaller jobs I try do a 4 day week & do paperwork on the 5th day. Not sure about the bullying tho! There’s a difference between banter & being pulled up on bad work, & actual bullying. I’ve seen young lads been made to feel really shit about themselves with constant digs & seen plenty of racism on building sites, that’s really not on! Over 500 annual suicides in the construction industry, you don’t know what people are going through, just be kind.

One of the best videos you've done mate. Really honest and important for people to see. Well done 🙏

I remember talking to a plumber about 20 years ago who was going to start working for a large company after years of being self employed. Said after a full days work he had to go out in the evenings too looking at jobs and writing estimates, while his wife was ordering and picking up parts in the day, this is not even mentioning the paperwork.

Well done guys and i learned a lot from you Skill Builder and bricklaying steve with Alex, we wish you all the best with more happiness. keep it up.

Turned my brain to vegetable soup Lesson learned health comes before any amount of money

5 minutes and Rodger had said it all. Sound advice if you don’t take it more fool you. Great chat aswell

Great discussion. Get that holiday booked!!

Excellent chat gents. I feel the younger chap hasn’t quite sussed it yet. It normally clicks around that age. Your health and mental well being are paramount. Be careful, it can all fall in around you if you’re not careful. I know this, unfortunately. Take the time off, do nothing, sometimes. Re-charge. Charge more money to allow this to happen. People will pay for good work. It not a lifestyle, it’s ‘only’ work. Remember what you’re doing it for. It’s to live, not to bust a gut. Above all, don’t take the Mrs for granted. Things tend to change. Best of luck, you’ll be fine. 💪👍

Hello from Norway! - Thanks for this, so mutch to recognice here.

Great video. Great to hear even the pros struggle with this stuff, the mental weight. Thank you