Contemplating Career Change - small business networking questions

[jimg]

I would disagree w/ the advice that this is a bad time to start. It might have some unique challenges but nothing impossible. People are always improving their homes. Even in a poor economy that part of the business does reasonably well. I started when the economy was less than ideal and didnt have too much trouble finding work. It also helps to make contacts w/ peripheral trades...like interior designers in my case.

The advice about being in business 24/7 is pretty much right on. You never really leave your job...ever. You need to drum up future business & contacts. It doesnt work to do things sequentially.

 

[3RRL]

Jim has put this rather well.

Hazmat: I did almost this very thing exc my business was high end cabinets/solid surface tops and solid wood furniture. I really enjoyed it!!! Anything has its good & bad sides and I suppose those depend on your mental makeup. You MUST enjoy practicing the skills necessary to run a business, its MUCH more than just your trade. You must have an exceptional work ethic, strong drive to persevere, refuse to be discouraged, be an exceptional problem solver and have excellent people skills. As the owner operator you dont get sick days or time off w/o prior planning. For the first few years plan on working w/ little or no time off. Also plan on working LONG days....very, very long days. It will help if you can get your wife to help w/ books, phone, keeping your calendar, etc. In any case you both need to be on the same page mentally b/c your family cant insulate itself from what goes on w/ your business.

Having been in business for myself nearly all my life, what he says if very true. On the other hand, if you are serious about it and really want to take it on, there is no better time to do it than now. Immerse yourself. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life. How are you going to live it? Look at it this way. If you fail it is not the end of the world. You can always fall back on what you did before. You could end up being tremendously successful too. In that I mean not only monetary gains, but other aspects of life, family, health, peace of mind self satisfaction and happiness.
Bottom line is it is your decision of course. Your decision to share your dream with us is admirable.
Good luck whichever way you choose.

 

[atgreene]

Howdy neighbor!

A couple quick thoughts, if you're looking for work in the lakes region around here, and you have a pulse and return phone calls, you should do allright. If you know what you're doing, put up with the slugs looking for prices and extras for free etc... etc... you will eventually grow into a succesful business. I started mine 10 years ago or so with a tractor and a bushhog, kept growing to the point where I bought dump trucks, excavators and all kinds of equipment.

I will caution you this, Maine is a rotten place to do business, rated 48 th in the country, so you'll have to work at it. Also, work alone. Employees will only put you further behind. With the rules in this state it's much better to be a sole proprietorship.

Also, if you haven't noticed already, any Tom Dick or Harry can start a business with no license, no regulation and no insurance. If you present yourself as professional, intelligent, with some resemblence of an education and can string a few words together without using adult language with a potential customer, you'll do fine.

 

[CATMAN]

A co-worker went out on his own about 7 years ago, and some of his comments might apply here. He found out doing work for small to medium sized business was better than doing work for individuals. Getting your foot into a couple business that pay their bills(ontime) and supply you with work, was easier than hunting down individuals for payment/or your next job. Second, If your customers don't complain "just a little" about the price, then you aren't charging enough! Set aside a day for family (like every Sunday) and that day is only to be used for absolute customer emergencies. Most customers will understand and respect your decision about a day off.

One other person, I know, mentioned to find an accountant you like/trust and that they may want you to use a special software program for all your accounting needs and payrolls. This helps the accountant be more effective come taxtime. The accountants also may provide training in that software because they see the benefit down the road.​

 

[Toiyabe]

RE - "bad timing" - here in new england the building trades aren't as cyclical as the rest of the country - there just isn't that much open land and thus not really that much new construction.

Hope you are right. As I recollect there was a housing market crash in New England in the early 80s. And I recollect that quite a few people in the building trades lost everything in that crash.

A lot of what has been driving the home improvement craze is easy home equity loans. Those loans will be much harder to get over the next few years.

 

[Sigarms]

By chance if you use a family member in business, make sure you pay them and have documentation.

Make sure you meet all the state qualifications, and have insurance. Become a member of the BBB of your local community. Stand behind your work. Word of mouth from the customer is the best way to grow your business, and it's inexpensive.

Return all of your phone calls from customers (ALWAYS!), and if you're too busy to do their work, let them know. Follow up is the key.

Communication with the customer is what it's all about. You can get worn out dealing with homeowners who can be a PIA.

That said, you could create a monster (business) that is hard to control. Grow to fast, have to much work, and then you tick people (customers, who make you money) off. Have to many workers and not enough work, then you lay people off. I guess the trick is moderate growth which you can handle.

Good at what you do? Then you have to find the people who REPRESENT you just as well in the work THEY do. Your name is on the business, no one elses.

Perhaps not what you were looking for, but my .02

Good luck!

 

[jimg]

Toiyabe: Up to the point of the 'real estate crash' anyone w/ a hammer who could swing it might have claimed to be a carpenter. That market correction adjusted more than prices. OTOH anyone who knew their trade and was a good businessman weathered the storm. In fact those who did more than new construction did OK. If you were flexible and diverse you could do OK.

 

[dmccarty]

I'm currently employed as an engineer at a large company. I'm having a bit of an early mid-life crisis. I don't enjoy my work. I'm on my second "career" in the company currently working as a six sigma / lean blackbelt in supply chain. formerly worked in engineering design. I worked for a smaller company just out of college & didn't enjoy that all that much either (though it was better than the large company).

I'll take the other tack.

WHY do you not like the current job?
Is it because of the people you work with?
The management?
Just the job?
Can you change jobs such that it would removed what you don't like?
Will changing jobs substitute on set of problems for another equally bad problems but for less income?

I don't expect and answer to the questions, just throwing them out for thought.

If you can get ahold of the Tuesday Wall Street Journal there was a column, Cubicle Culture, regarding changing jobs/careers that was interesting.

Regarding handymen. I have thought about it as a way to dump my current job in a large company. When we where selling our old house we had a tough time finding people to just do odd jobs. We found people but it was kinda hard. If you present yourself as honest, literate and return phone calls I think one can find the work. Especially if you can get a name in area with expensive houses owned by people who can't do the work themselves but who have the money. Contact real esate agencies and pass around cards. Put your card up on the boards at grocery stores near the expensive houses. Maybe even direct mail those addresses.

Years ago I read one of the lawn care related websites. One marketing tool was the advertizing "books" that where bulk mailed. They where pretty cheap advertizing but they went to lots of houses. The percentage of people who contacted the advertiser was small but you only needed a handful of new customers a month. Hopefully that make sense.

Once you get known in a neighborhood you are like to get alot of repeat business.

Later,
Dan

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Just remember, if you start a construction company you will have to deal with a lot of people. If you have worked lined up you will have a lot of phone calls from these people wanting to know when you will start. You can tell them the same answer every time but they will keep calling. The worst ones are when the sun starts to shine they expect you to be there right then even if you are in the middle of another job. Then you will also meet the type that no matter what you do they will never be happy. And don't take a day off during the week if you run your own company. You will get caught and people get upset if you are not on their job. A lot of home owners think they own you when you sign on their job. Some are great, but they are not the majority. If you do enough jobs you will meet all the different types of people and after a few hard headed home owners you will start re-thinking your new career.

I enjoy working with my father in construction but I do not like dealing with the people. Now farming is a lot better. You don't have as many people to deal with and you don't have anywhere near as many phone calls to answer. Of course farming is a lot harder then construction as you need the land and the market but the only ones you have to answer to are the crops.

If you have any specific questions regarding construction feel free to PM me and I will do my best to help out.

 

[ToadHill]

Opened my business 7 years ago. You will need to know how to price your jobs. Do your competitors bid by the job or by the hour. You need to be in the ballpark pricewise or the business will fail.