Self employed . When do you know when its time

For those who have done it when did you know it was time and what does it take to do it?

 

Honestly, for me, it was pounded into my head my entire life.

My Dad had his own (partners with my uncle) trucking and excavating business since he was 15 yrs old, so I grew up working for them, and on other Family members farms.

My Dad, and my Gramps always told me "Your labor is gonna put money in SOMEBODY'S pocket, shouldn't it all go in yours?"

 

When I couldn't keep with the "real" job and the side job at the same time. Make sure your wife has a good, steady income including insurance and the rest of your bills are at a minimum. Also, you really need to be self-motivating.

I did it for over 10 years but 18 months ago I went back to a steady paycheck with insurance and I'm still trying to catch up after keeping the business going for a couple of years longer then I should have. When the economy booms here again I might give it another shot cuz the money was excellent while it lasted.

One of the nice things about working for yourself is the harder you work the more money you make. Whereas the harder your work now for your employer the more money they make not neccessarily passing extra dollars your way for the extra hard work.

Good luck bud.

 

In my opinion, it's time when you...

1) Are confident the business will work (be sure of this--do the math and sound out the plan with someone whose business sense you respect)

2) Are positive that you won't get sick of or bored with the business

3) Have enough money saved up to pay the bills for 6-12 months, or are already generating income and leads by doing the business on the side

4) Have enough money to start the business without dipping into your bill-paying funds (or can get a loan)

5) Are suddenly laid off from your current job or decide to quit

If you believe your business idea is sound, I highly recommend it. Most business owners I know only regret that they didn't do it sooner.

 

Oh, and keep expenses as low as possible, including working from home intially if the business allows it. Having your name on the door is cool, but turning a profit is cooler.

 

well put denise.........it is hard though and VERY stressfull................i did it when disney laid most of us off in our department...i was already doing afair amount of side work . my wife actually suggested i try it now while i have the chance......what a rad chick she is.........good luck man......donnie

 

Most small businesses fail in the first year,
because they didn't have enough money up front to keep going until the cash started coming in.

The shit you hate about being in charge now,would only get worse,
because it would be coming directly out of your pocket.

Look at the cost of shop space,heat,insurance,etc.

 

[ QUOTE ]
Most small businesses fail in the first year,
because they didn't have enough money up front to keep going until the cash started coming in.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would amend this to say, "Virtually all poorly planned small businesses fail in the first year, because they didn't have enough money up front to keep going until the cash started coming in."

Up front planning is critical. If your first business idea doesn't work out on paper, then scrap the idea. You'll eventually hit on an idea that adds up, and that business will have a much better chance of success.

 

Someone here made an excellent point a while ago that stuck in my head...

"If you are losing money by going to your regular job instead of doing your business, then it's time to think about being self employed full time."

Travis

 

I never really wanted to be my own boss, I just got tired of all the clients asking me "so when are you going to go into business for yourself?" I guess they got tired of sending checks to someone (my old boss) they never talked to or had never met.

Now, I'm glad they talked me into cutting out the middle man, I get to keep all the money for myself (actually that's not true - the government gets 50% and I've never met any of them!).

 

All of the above! It's not easy.Next month will be my stores 3 year anniversary, but I've only been full time for a year. BUT, I made sure that my wife carries the insurance, I have no car payments, my house is family owned so very cheap rent, and I have no real outstanding bills. Why? Because I have yet to pull a salary in 3 years from this place. So far everything has gone back into the business. It's not easy and if you are married it does but some stress on your relationship. Good luck!

 

It was time for me to leave my old company when I learned everything I could and figured out one night that the companys clients would rather pay me at 2/3's the company hourly rate to do the same work.

Also, the key thing that motivated me to work on my own (I'm a programmer by the way) was one day my old boss came riding up in his new Volvo that he bought on a fucking whim. I hadnt had a raise or a cost of living adjustment in nearly 2 years and was working miracles for shit pay. I saved up my money and secured a contract doing work for a project through the university here. 2 years later everything is going great and I would NEVER go back to work for someone else. EVER.

 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Most small businesses fail in the first year,
because they didn't have enough money up front to keep going until the cash started coming in.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would amend this to say, "Virtually all poorly planned small businesses fail in the first year, because they didn't have enough money up front to keep going until the cash started coming in."

Up front planning is critical. If your first business idea doesn't work out on paper, then scrap the idea. You'll eventually hit on an idea that adds up, and that business will have a much better chance of success.

[/ QUOTE ]Barrow at least twice as much as you think you need and be ready to work your ass off! pogo

 

hard to give anything more than generic information without knowing the type of business you are thinking of getting into.

but generally speaking try do all that has been listed here by others, and here are a few other thoughts to consider.

be the best at what you do, or at least always strive to be better than your competition.

know your market, what will they pay for, and more importantly what will they not pay for.

don't underprice yourself, your product or your service's, this is a common mistake that will kill you before you even get started. Remember things that are too cheap are always suspect. for example if you sell labor by the hour and the market average is 50 bucks in your area, i wouldn't price myself over 5% less, or $47.50

align your marketing to customers or clients that are service oriented and not price oriented. For example if they ask what you can do for them, this is good. if the first thing out of their mouth is how much is it going to cost, then run away.

the list goes on and on, but hopefully others will chime in and give their advise.

good luck, work smart not harder

bob g

 

[ QUOTE ]
hard to give anything more than generic information without knowing the type of business you are thinking of getting into.


[/ QUOTE ] Body shop Ive been at it for 12 years full time now and did it part time for three while I was still in school. Now I am a manager at 29. Its just a thought but I know I like doin it.

 

Maybe you'd be happier working on the floor,getting dirty,instead of being a manager.

Just thinking outloud.

 

After your written business plan is complete and sound.

Your business plan is sound if the $10 you have in your savings account is taken into consideration and it still works.

 

Check out the cost of a new spray booth,and a paint mixing system.

 

[ QUOTE ]
Check out the cost of a new spray booth,and a paint mixing system.

[/ QUOTE ] Its already there in the building I want and the mix system I already know I can kinda get free from some of the people i deal with now but i have to buy the paint from them. I like dealing with customers I dont l;ike dealership accounting

 

[ QUOTE ]
I like dealing with customers I dont l;ike dealership accounting


[/ QUOTE ]
Sounds like Boyd's ex-wife.
I just hate dealing with people.Period.

 

Most of my friends have tried working for themselves at one time or another. It is my opinion that their egos caused them to dislike their jobs with someone else.
One friend told me last weekend if he had stayed with the railroad he would have retired already at a good sum of money. He left the railroad in the early 70's because he had a boss that was an A>hole. Two months after he quit the boss died of a heart attack. My friend has been in business for himself ever since and with his wifes pay he manages to keep his head above water.No retirement coming ,no hope for anything better.
If you can get a good job ,and there are a lot of them out there ,I don't think you will ever beat it by working for yourself if you figure vacations,health care,hrs worked ect.
Just my opinion,

 

In 2003 the average CEO of all American corporations made 571% more salry than the average worker at the same company!!!

Yes, I said 571% more income than the average employee within his same corporation!!!!!

Need any more reasons???
HC

 

[ QUOTE ]
If you can get a good job ,and there are a lot of them out there ,I don't think you will ever beat it by working for yourself if you figure vacations,health care,hrs worked ect.

[/ QUOTE ]

On the other hand, the research-based book "The Millionaire Next Door" states that over 2/3rds of the wealthy (defined in the book as having a net worth of $1M or more) in America are self-employed.

I figure it's one of those high risk/high reward kind of things.

 

When you have enough people knocking at your door to pay your bills and you haven't been advertising, it's time.

A good place to start is http://www.sba.gov

That's the small business administration. Their sole purpose in life is to help people who are trying to start or have small businesses. They'll help you write a business plan (which is a very valuable thing to have).

I know one thing for sure Mike. If you can keep your prices reasonable like they are and do high quality work in a reasonable amount of time, you could make it.

Your location is kind of a pain in the ass...but it's also a gift. Low rent = lower prices for your customers and higher profit for you. Doing bike stuff is really the way to go in your situation. All the parts can be UPS'd back and forth, which is cool. However, you do some stuff like Donny from Imperial Kustoms does and you'll likely be seeing cars rolling your way too. Even w/ the cost of shipping to and from you I bet it would still be cheaper for a lot of people to get wild, multi-colored paint work than from a shop in a big city. The other thing that's cool is that you WANT to do it. You LIKE doing that work. That'll always show in the end product.

 

If you wanna know my story, pm me---I can give you a boatload of things to think about

I've been self employed in the body shop business for 20+ years, and I've definitely formed some opinions, good AND bad.

mid-tenn mike

 

The capital and planning considerations are vital, but there's one more area to think about.

What do you really want from life?

I was self-employed at one time, and had one of those health events that makes you re-evaluate things. I decided that I was working 12 hours a day 6 or 7 days a week instead of having a life. I don't need to be rich and though being self-employed seemed pretty important when I started, the boss still did stupid stuff, only it was me instead of someone else.

Sometimes the money was real good, but other times there wasn't any money. I'd turned a hobby into a business and had begun to hate my hobby.

I've been back on someone's payroll for a number of years now. I miss being able to take any day off I choose, and having someone notice if I'm a little slow getting starting in the morning is a drag, but then I get paid nicely every month, not just the months where I'm productive and I can quit by 5 pretty much everyday, excepts weekends when I don't have to work at all.

And now I have time to spend playing with my toys, which was completely lost during those years I was self-employed!

I'm not saying its a bad thing to be self-employed, but the advantages come at a price, and I've decided not to pay it anymore.

 

I think its really all up to the individual. SOme people dont mind the added stress and some hate it.

Personaly I want to own my own shop (custom stuff and I have idea for kit cars which Canada doesnt have alot of!). I dont mind working for others but if I am good at something it just builds thier companies rep, not mine.

I worked in a body shop that started in a 5 bay place and 5-8 years later (when I started) they built a new building with 2 paint booths, 12 bays and a frame alighnment bay. I think they did so well because of thier high quality work. People knew that the car would be perfect when it was done.

I say go for it man! Your young, if it fails (probly wont if your good and probly are if your into rods) you still have lots of time to bounce back.

 

for me that day was today.

it started when i started to work full time at my day job a few months ago. i had already proven myself by being part time for a year and a half with them. i told the owner it was time my paycheck reflected the quality and speed of my work. i quit when she refused the number i wanted, which, by the way, was still less than other guys at the company that did my job. there was a number of other factors involved, namely that fact that they can't get thier shit together as far as paperwork or customer service. my old boss wasn't an asshole, but he wasn't the most organized. i left on good terms.

my last day at my old job was friday. i let them know that i was going to start working subcontract for other outfits.

i was planning on enjoying a week off before my first contract job(i had this one lined up before i quit). i got a call this morning, it was my old boss. they need me sub for them too. the difference is, this time, things are done my way, on my time, and i can pick and choose what i want to do. and now they pay me more than i asked for before.

things are very good right now. this is day one, and i've already had to turn work away because i don't have time to do it. this is the good side here. the bad side is when i don't have any work to do, because i don't get paid. no paid vactions, no sick days, no overtime.

in the end, if everything turns to shit, i can always go back to being a regular hourly rate employee at my old job. if i didn't have that to fall back on, i wouldn't have done it. David

 

the only advice i can offer: do better work than anyone else in the market. let the other guys pick up the cheap customers. you want high profit low volume work, not the cheap shit you have to fly through in order to make money off of.

 

this is all good advice. thanks i will be needing it really soon.

i've been doing body work 12+ yrs now. i finally decided to quit when i got tired and bored of working on bmw, benz, volvo etc. it paid well but i didn't like the stress they gave me. the owner of the body shop has 9 locations and brings in $32,000,000 in sales. with all that cash he cut out are x-mas bonuses, made us pay for are x-mas partys $30 per person, stopped chipping in on are 401k, cut out the family picnics. BUT every friday he was out of town riding his dirt bikes. he is big into motor cross.

when you have customers come to your house for estimates at the same time your eating dinner. its time!

the biggest complaint i've heared from business owners is why they didn't do it sooner. also don't hire someone to run your business cause they wont run it the way you want.