Why Do Some Motor Traders Work Independently?

English: Peacock Garage. Servicing motor vehicles, rather than Peacocks. A family business with a small fleet of vans.

There are many independently owned mechanical workshops and dealerships around the UK, these motor traders have chosen to work independently for a number of reasons and often being an independent works to their advantage.

Be Your Own Boss

Being part of a large franchise, even if you have purchased the franchise, means you have someone to answer to, strict guidelines to follow and in many cases strict targets to achieve.

This can add extra stress when starting up your own business. In fact franchise opportunities within this industry is similar to those in any other industry. You have the name to help you achieve success and yet you still have rules to abide by and while you can make your own decisions regarding your business, they have to fall within the franchise requirements.

Being an independent means you are your own boss, your business can be as small or large as you want it to be and the only person you have to answer to is yourself.

Reduced Overheads

Being part of a franchise means you don't only have rent to pay for your property, but in many cases you have franchise fees which are due either monthly or annually, putting a higher financial burden on your business.

Now it may be welcomed to use a large company name to help fuel your business, but at the same time with the financial burdens placed on these companies, working on your own is often a more viable option.

Those that work for themselves without being part of a large group enjoy financial freedom, they can pay rent and utilities, hire as many staff as they want and their overheads will be less than those that have chosen to join a large corporation.

Competitive Prices

Often those that work under the name of a well known company are forced to charge a specific amount for labour, parts and even vehicles. There are strict guidelines to follow and these guidelines is what turns customers away.

These days customers are choosing the independent companies due to their competitive prices, exceptional customer service and one on one contact. The smaller companies are able to deal with vehicle problems quickly, they use non-original parts that do the same job as the original parts and they offer their customers the one on one customer services that people are looking for in today's market.

If you've ever wondered why motor traders have chosen to work independently, just going over the advantages speak for themselves.

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What is Small Business Insurance?

Small business insurance is for all the businesses out there that are not large corporations and enterprises. These businesses still need adequate cover to protect them on a daily basis, due to the fact that they are smaller their profits are more precious to them and they need to ensure these are safe on a daily basis.

For this type of cover, business owners can enjoy peace of mind that their property or office is covered in the event of fire, theft or storm damage. Should anything happen to the property it won't cost them dearly to have the repairs carried out quickly and effectively enabling them to get back to work as quickly as possible.

Owning a smaller company doesn't mean that you need to lose out on the cover offered to larger businesses, you can protect your equipment, products and yourself under the policy.

You will need public liability cover if you welcome visitors to your property, this may be customers, deliver personnel or suppliers. Public liability cover is essential for every single business, this protects you when you have a claim against you should someone injure themselves while visiting your property. A claim can be for loss of income, medical and even mental distress caused by the injury and this can lead to thousands, which you are held accountable for.

It is a legal requirement in the UK to have employer's liability the minute you hire your first staff member, even though you are a smaller company, you may have a part time staff member assisting you from time to time, if they injure themselves while at work, you are responsible and having this cover in place protects both of you. It protects you from the claim and ensures the staff member is paid loss of income while recuperating.

If you advise clients on a daily basis, whether you mean to or not and they take your advise and it causes harm, you can see another liability claim coming your way for professional indemnity. Having this cover in place is an essential part of owning a company and will give you peace of mind when you give clients any advise. They don't have to follow the advise to the letter, but any injury or damage resulting in your advise can lead to a claim.

You can add additional cover such as loss of income which may be essential when you are a one man show. If you are unable to work for any reason, your company doesn't run, which results in profit loss. With small business insurance you can enjoy the benefits of knowing that every aspect of your business is taken care of.