Leaving Work and Becoming a PH Powerfully Built Director
Discussion
TLDR: left my job, sold my car, first baby was born, now I’m here…
I left the world of reliable employment and regular pay slips in July last year (2025). My first baby was also on the way, due September of that year. I’m now the father to a wonderful baby boy who I’m grateful to say is doing amazingly well! Second to father duties; I am the custodian of my own tech business and a regular in the PH Business forum. My long waffling below……
I had been at the same company for 11 years, (IT Network infrastructure, security, voice/video, managed services. Cisco only) having obtained a degree in networking and security, and for those in the field or similar - also gaining my Cisco CCNA certificate.
I covered many roles – starting out on the help desk, answering phones, fixing things, or driving to all corners of the country at 3 in the morning to replace critical failed equipment such as routers or firewalls in data centres or on customer sites.
Having previous experience in sales (I was a B&Q kitchen planner / salesman whilst at university, and as I was lucky enough to do really quite well from it, I kept it as a weekend job for the first 2 years along side my tech-helpdesk job) I moved to be an account manager in the same company, looking after existing customers and also prospecting for new business. After a few years I was offered a bit of a side shift into managing the partner relationships with our suppliers and one key vendor, Cisco.
Then one day we got the news via a company meeting that the owners had sold to a much, much larger managed service provider. Overnight we would go from having 35 colleagues to 200 colleagues. Great on paper, but difficult for some (me) to adapt to after being so specialised and laser focussed for so long. I won’t say too much other than it wasn’t for me. I wasn’t “feeling it”. It felt like going from working in an F1 pit crew, with just one job to do and do it well, to working at a Kwikfit or other high street oil/brakes/exhausts type outfit.
I managed a few years before leaving in July 2025, with a plan to take some time out, reset, enjoy family time with my new addition and then go from there. To make this story a little more ‘PH’ I should add that I sold my second car, a Clio 197 F1 to put a little cash in the bank and also remove what really could have been a liability or a big bill at any time. (although I do believe that long term they are solid investments!)
I did do some non-tech other work in that time – for around 9 years I have been ‘spannering’ a few weekends here and there for a GT3 race team so I continued to do that; a small income in comparison, but every little helps, and I found it even more enjoyable when it wasn’t crammed in an already busy schedule of real work!
Fast forward to now. I guess PH rules forbid me from mentioning the company name; but we’re a registered Cisco partner based in the East Midlands (you may remember this bit from earlier!) and I’m pleased to say we have some happy customers. It has most definitely not been easy. For a start, dealing with HMRC has seemed to be the most painful drawn out process! Register for VAT and I think it said it would take 40 days! Register for corporation tax again it takes an age for papers to come through, register to be an actual employer for PAYE and it takes so long I have to chase them only to be told “it’s still in the queue, but I can do it now for you”. (But the good news in that bit is I have turned a profit and can indeed pay myself for the first time in a long time!)
Prospecting has been a wild mix of customer feedback; some people eager to support the venture and back the perceived bravery or stupidity! And others not wanting to engage “we need 5 years of accounts to onboard you” .. “we only deal with companies £xyz size” … “sorry we use <insert large MSP> we don’t really like working with them but they’re cheap”.
Wearing all the hats is both difficult and rewarding. Everything from quoting, “selling”, meeting customers, placing orders for hardware/software, all the way through to loading the car, driving to a customer site, and delivering a successful project. I cannot explain how rewarding it is to get in the car after a long day installing a new network and all the testing that comes with it, to know that the long sales cycle, negotiations, on-boarding struggles, cash flow struggles…. Was all worth it. To have a real, happy, paying customer and hopefully the start of a long and mutually beneficial long term relationship for both.
A tiny snippet of tech/geeky stuff on what I’m delivering for anyone who may be in the field or know the lingo:
-Cisco networks – LAN, Wireless, routing, Meraki.
-Cisco security products such Firewalls, endpoint protection, mailbox protection, DNS protection, Cloud firewalls and more
-Cisco collaboration – voice and video communications either on premise or cloud based.
- All consultancy/support and design/planning/installation of the above.
For anyone not in the field, I suppose you can compare it to being a car dealer – they don’t design or manufacture the car, but you can go out there and do all the paperwork and audits and become for instance an Audi dealer. (you could choose other brands such as Ford or BMW; just as I could choose other tech vendors such as HP, Dell, Fortinet, Juniper, Ubiquiti etc). I don’t design or manufacture the hardware/software but I choose to be aligned to that vendor and authorised by that vendor to sell their products.
Why am I writing this? As soon as I get round to doing the admin bits of payroll, I am on the eve of getting paid. For the first time in nearly 12 months. But wow does it feel good. It’s hard to share or discuss that feeling with many people around you. PH is where I get my 15 minutes of peace whilst having a coffee every morning, I feel like one of the crew. I have frequented the business part of the forum much more recently; and hopefully I’ll have the chance to contribute some more too. (Where else but PH can you see so many people chime in on the pro’s and con’s of a winter tyres. (yes I run winter tyres. Yes they’re worth it. No it doesn’t matter if it hardly snows. No it’s not more expensive as I’m only ever wearing down 4 tyres at a time just like everyone else is. Yes you will feel like a god driving past everyone else the one time it does snow. No your 4x4 won’t help you stop at the bottom of the snowy hill it just was lucky enough to get you up)).
It feels like climbing a mountain, but when you think you’ve got to the peak, you realise it’s hardly the start, and now is time to take off your layers of jumpers and really dig in to get to the top. I don’t know how it’s going to go from here, but it feels like the momentum is building. I have one person working alongside me at the moment and every day feels like we’re making strides. Everything we do is new to us. You really do realise the difference between being and employee and going home at 5pm on a Friday – to having your name above the door and spending the weekend thinking how you’ll get around a cash flow issue, or working out how the VAT bills will land, or was your quote/proposal anywhere near the mark at all?
Sorry if this comes across as blowing my own trumpet; there is most definitely better/bigger/leaner business leaders in here whom I hope I can continue to learn from; but as above it just felt like I needed to put it out there and share the story so far! This isn’t a “look at me” post. My house is mortgaged to the max, I drive a 90k mile 9 year old car, and I now have the pressure of a family to feed – hopefully this is the first post of a successfully business story.
Thanks a lot,
Scott.
I left the world of reliable employment and regular pay slips in July last year (2025). My first baby was also on the way, due September of that year. I’m now the father to a wonderful baby boy who I’m grateful to say is doing amazingly well! Second to father duties; I am the custodian of my own tech business and a regular in the PH Business forum. My long waffling below……
I had been at the same company for 11 years, (IT Network infrastructure, security, voice/video, managed services. Cisco only) having obtained a degree in networking and security, and for those in the field or similar - also gaining my Cisco CCNA certificate.
I covered many roles – starting out on the help desk, answering phones, fixing things, or driving to all corners of the country at 3 in the morning to replace critical failed equipment such as routers or firewalls in data centres or on customer sites.
Having previous experience in sales (I was a B&Q kitchen planner / salesman whilst at university, and as I was lucky enough to do really quite well from it, I kept it as a weekend job for the first 2 years along side my tech-helpdesk job) I moved to be an account manager in the same company, looking after existing customers and also prospecting for new business. After a few years I was offered a bit of a side shift into managing the partner relationships with our suppliers and one key vendor, Cisco.
Then one day we got the news via a company meeting that the owners had sold to a much, much larger managed service provider. Overnight we would go from having 35 colleagues to 200 colleagues. Great on paper, but difficult for some (me) to adapt to after being so specialised and laser focussed for so long. I won’t say too much other than it wasn’t for me. I wasn’t “feeling it”. It felt like going from working in an F1 pit crew, with just one job to do and do it well, to working at a Kwikfit or other high street oil/brakes/exhausts type outfit.
I managed a few years before leaving in July 2025, with a plan to take some time out, reset, enjoy family time with my new addition and then go from there. To make this story a little more ‘PH’ I should add that I sold my second car, a Clio 197 F1 to put a little cash in the bank and also remove what really could have been a liability or a big bill at any time. (although I do believe that long term they are solid investments!)
I did do some non-tech other work in that time – for around 9 years I have been ‘spannering’ a few weekends here and there for a GT3 race team so I continued to do that; a small income in comparison, but every little helps, and I found it even more enjoyable when it wasn’t crammed in an already busy schedule of real work!
Fast forward to now. I guess PH rules forbid me from mentioning the company name; but we’re a registered Cisco partner based in the East Midlands (you may remember this bit from earlier!) and I’m pleased to say we have some happy customers. It has most definitely not been easy. For a start, dealing with HMRC has seemed to be the most painful drawn out process! Register for VAT and I think it said it would take 40 days! Register for corporation tax again it takes an age for papers to come through, register to be an actual employer for PAYE and it takes so long I have to chase them only to be told “it’s still in the queue, but I can do it now for you”. (But the good news in that bit is I have turned a profit and can indeed pay myself for the first time in a long time!)
Prospecting has been a wild mix of customer feedback; some people eager to support the venture and back the perceived bravery or stupidity! And others not wanting to engage “we need 5 years of accounts to onboard you” .. “we only deal with companies £xyz size” … “sorry we use <insert large MSP> we don’t really like working with them but they’re cheap”.
Wearing all the hats is both difficult and rewarding. Everything from quoting, “selling”, meeting customers, placing orders for hardware/software, all the way through to loading the car, driving to a customer site, and delivering a successful project. I cannot explain how rewarding it is to get in the car after a long day installing a new network and all the testing that comes with it, to know that the long sales cycle, negotiations, on-boarding struggles, cash flow struggles…. Was all worth it. To have a real, happy, paying customer and hopefully the start of a long and mutually beneficial long term relationship for both.
A tiny snippet of tech/geeky stuff on what I’m delivering for anyone who may be in the field or know the lingo:
-Cisco networks – LAN, Wireless, routing, Meraki.
-Cisco security products such Firewalls, endpoint protection, mailbox protection, DNS protection, Cloud firewalls and more
-Cisco collaboration – voice and video communications either on premise or cloud based.
- All consultancy/support and design/planning/installation of the above.
For anyone not in the field, I suppose you can compare it to being a car dealer – they don’t design or manufacture the car, but you can go out there and do all the paperwork and audits and become for instance an Audi dealer. (you could choose other brands such as Ford or BMW; just as I could choose other tech vendors such as HP, Dell, Fortinet, Juniper, Ubiquiti etc). I don’t design or manufacture the hardware/software but I choose to be aligned to that vendor and authorised by that vendor to sell their products.
Why am I writing this? As soon as I get round to doing the admin bits of payroll, I am on the eve of getting paid. For the first time in nearly 12 months. But wow does it feel good. It’s hard to share or discuss that feeling with many people around you. PH is where I get my 15 minutes of peace whilst having a coffee every morning, I feel like one of the crew. I have frequented the business part of the forum much more recently; and hopefully I’ll have the chance to contribute some more too. (Where else but PH can you see so many people chime in on the pro’s and con’s of a winter tyres. (yes I run winter tyres. Yes they’re worth it. No it doesn’t matter if it hardly snows. No it’s not more expensive as I’m only ever wearing down 4 tyres at a time just like everyone else is. Yes you will feel like a god driving past everyone else the one time it does snow. No your 4x4 won’t help you stop at the bottom of the snowy hill it just was lucky enough to get you up)).
It feels like climbing a mountain, but when you think you’ve got to the peak, you realise it’s hardly the start, and now is time to take off your layers of jumpers and really dig in to get to the top. I don’t know how it’s going to go from here, but it feels like the momentum is building. I have one person working alongside me at the moment and every day feels like we’re making strides. Everything we do is new to us. You really do realise the difference between being and employee and going home at 5pm on a Friday – to having your name above the door and spending the weekend thinking how you’ll get around a cash flow issue, or working out how the VAT bills will land, or was your quote/proposal anywhere near the mark at all?
Sorry if this comes across as blowing my own trumpet; there is most definitely better/bigger/leaner business leaders in here whom I hope I can continue to learn from; but as above it just felt like I needed to put it out there and share the story so far! This isn’t a “look at me” post. My house is mortgaged to the max, I drive a 90k mile 9 year old car, and I now have the pressure of a family to feed – hopefully this is the first post of a successfully business story.
Thanks a lot,
Scott.
Just read the post back for the first time!...
Title is cringy but had to be done, sorry.
I'm 34.
Started the business with £750 for incidental expenses. And a very small, separate pot to pay my personal bills etc for the first year.
Things I've learnt:
There is always a nappy to be changed.
I miss the Clio 197.
I'm now actually further away from my dream car than I've ever been (Impreza Spec C blobeye).
Customers don't always pay on time.
Scott.
Title is cringy but had to be done, sorry.
I'm 34.
Started the business with £750 for incidental expenses. And a very small, separate pot to pay my personal bills etc for the first year.
Things I've learnt:
There is always a nappy to be changed.
I miss the Clio 197.
I'm now actually further away from my dream car than I've ever been (Impreza Spec C blobeye).
Customers don't always pay on time.
Scott.
Bradders278 said:
Sorry if this comes across as blowing my own trumpet
Never apologise for doing that. Few people recognise the effort of starting something up, the risk, the worry involved and the pleasure you get when the first invoice gets paid.
I'm a firm believer that positivity begets more positivity so come back regularly and tell us of your next milestones along the way.
Bradders278 said:
Just read the post back for the first time!...
Title is cringy but had to be done, sorry.
I'm 34.
Started the business with £750 for incidental expenses. And a very small, separate pot to pay my personal bills etc for the first year.
Things I've learnt:
There is always a nappy to be changed.
I miss the Clio 197.
I'm now actually further away from my dream car than I've ever been (Impreza Spec C blobeye).
Customers don't always pay on time.
Scott.
This ^^^Title is cringy but had to be done, sorry.
I'm 34.
Started the business with £750 for incidental expenses. And a very small, separate pot to pay my personal bills etc for the first year.
Things I've learnt:
There is always a nappy to be changed.
I miss the Clio 197.
I'm now actually further away from my dream car than I've ever been (Impreza Spec C blobeye).
Customers don't always pay on time.
Scott.
I always paid my operatives and suppliers on time and non communicative late payers are a right pain in the buttocks!
Good luck with your venture and keep us posted.
well done for taking the leap and getting started, going self employed is always hard especially in the first few years getting clients on board and building a name for yourself.
Having been LTD now for a few years with repeat business and recommendations I have to say it's been worth it although stressful at times, keep up the good work and it will pay dividends in the long run
Having been LTD now for a few years with repeat business and recommendations I have to say it's been worth it although stressful at times, keep up the good work and it will pay dividends in the long run
Great story/post. Well done for getting this far. As you say, it's a world away from "Wey-hey, its 5pm Friday see you on Monday."
I've done the same but also worked for other since then and dealing with the crap in other companies means I can't wait not to work for someone else again.
I've done the same but also worked for other since then and dealing with the crap in other companies means I can't wait not to work for someone else again.
Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff