To All The Newbies Starting Up Their Own Business

C buck

Everyones posts are so true. Its a releaf to know that most everyone goes through the same things i have and sometimes still do. You are all so right and all have GREAT advice! I wish I would have read this when I started.
My advice to anyone starting out(same as some others)
1 - Keep a regaular job at first

2 - Have money saved for capital, and living, not just new tools ect.

3 - Keep overhead low, you don't need an ad in every paper/phone book, you don't need to spend money on fancy letter head or things like that, just things you'll profit from

4 - All the ideas you have in your head of how great being on your own will be, throw them out the window, until your established and have a safe steady income(which may never really happen), you'll have to work what seems like 1000X harder to live the same as you're use to, untill you learn to keep things in control and learn how to REALLY run a buisness, it's not as fun as its all cracked up to be.

dirt diggler

i beg to differ on this last part ...

ChicagoLawn

Good job Dirt!!

You are "right on the money" with your statements.

You know what this really proves................ all of us crazy bast*ards that kept on pushing our business' full steam ahead when times were tough (hopefully not a long time) have in fact become DIAMONDS from coal. Just think how thick our skin is today from the experiences we have faced. I try to back myself out of the experiences I have faced over the years and ask myself what type of school can you enroll in that would teach you the equivalent education?? I say there are no schools available today that can fully prepare you for the contractor life. My observation is that the more educated action that a contractor takes, the greater possibility of profit exists!

Our choice of contractor/skilled labor based career's could be classified in the same category as a cliff diver...... you never know when there will be a massive boulder just below the water to greet you! That reminds me, I better look at my insurance coverage once again.

Have a good one and keep up the good work!

Joe

farrellpainting

DIRT for PRESIDENT!

i dont feel so dumb now, thanks!

i went through practically that same scenario last/first season!

i had never bid a paint job in my life, i was confident that i could do any house around, but went way out on a limb when i started this gig. i figured since i looked very young, that no one would take me seriously, so i went low just to play it safe to ensure id have something to do, well it's amazing how fast you learn when your working til 9p.m. on a friday for nothing!


experience is the ONLY teacher, people can only tell you how it is!

i cant even imagine the catastrophes that these HO/GC people, that you all talk about, cause! i guess they learn the hard way too!

PressurePros

Great thread, Dirtman. We all have jobs in our histories where we ended up paying the customer to come out with a portfolio pic at best. Its not a mystery why failure statistics are what they are. Somewhere along the line someone started this myth that if you work hard you'll be successful. That sure didn't come from the mouths of the Gods. Some days/weeks/months seem positively parasitic.. no matter what you do, expenses just won't stop (like you mentioned Dirt with tires, equipment, tax bills etc) No capital reserve = very deep hole. I wish all guys starting a new business the best of luck but the ones that start with a philosophy of "I'll price better to win jobs".. I prefer to just pray for them and their families and hope they don't completely ruin their lives.

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dayspring

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bill r

ARRANGE and COLLECT frequent draws. Be prepared to lose any amount the customer owes you. The business you save may be your own. Unfortunately, there are a few scuzzballs out there smart enough to LOOK FOR THE NEW GUY, knowing full well that they can screw him. I doubt that there are many; but all it takes is one to hurt you. Any new business is vulnerable.

Heritage

Nice post. As a newbie who is walking the tight-rope (in business less than a year now) I just see it as a rite of passage. I registered the co. back in June, I got in touch with a GC and agreed to sub on a project that I closed with the H/O. Anyways, 1 month, 3 NSF cheques, 1000 excuses later I walked off with just $500 (deposit) in my pocket - My gas cost me more ! All bcuz I was desperate for work. Garnished his account, sent the Sherriff & still not one more red cent! 2nd contract I did direct with a HO. Halfway through she "runs out of funds"...single mom raising 3 teenagers...I didn't have the heart, took my loss and walked off the job . And for the grand finale (this one is for all the ppl that don't believe me when I say that god has a sense of humour) I get robbed @ gunpoint for 3k cash I was carrying on way to the bank to pay my mortgage (welcome to Scarborough). All in all, a 10k loss my first month in beezwax. I almost swore off the business, believed I was cursed and that my fate was to find the 2 guys that robbed me...kill 'em...then find the GC...kill him too and spend the rest of my life fleeing the law. Thank god for the very very supportive g/f...god bless my good looks, I'd be on my arse. Honestly, if you don't laugh about it and try to find the humour in it all...you'll lose it all (this coming from a guy with anger management issues).

ttscs7

A newby myself. All dirts info was very informative.
Will take it all to heart.
Very good info for beginners and oldies.

WNYcarpenter

Thanks for digging that out of the archives!

I don't know what happened to d.diggler. Sometimes I think he's still around.

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A.T.C.

Someone dug up the Dirt!!!!

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chris klee

Start your own business!

Be your own boss
Set your own schedule
YOU keep all the profits

what it really means:

Be your own boss = every client is your boss. instead of one, you have a bunch

Set your own schedule = you work around your clients schedules.

YOU keep the profit = you also loose all the money when things dont go well.

my dad used to tell me this all the time. its pretty true.

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blackbear

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aht9h...eature=related

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blackbear

and for those real sh*ty days

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIiUqfxFttM

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480sparky

Is there a contest going to see who can dig up the oldest active thread?

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TJBClassicConst

I found this thread very useful, old or not!!! Being a newbee it helps, tremendously!!!

Willie T

I had to laugh at Dirt’s comment about joining church.

Personally I think church membership is highly overrated—except for the business contacts made there. But as a Christian, there is no way I can deny the ‘miraculous’ help that has so often simply materialized out of nowhere.

Three things I’ve done in life have helped make me acutely aware that our faith in something often gets us through when it seems there is no way out of a situation. Those three things are being a pilot, riding and racing motorcycles, and being in business for myself.

Trust me, they all three seem to involve many of the same risks and mind-blowing “impossible” escapes from certain doom.

You’ll probably get by if all you have any kind of faith in is yourself. But it’s sure a lot easier when you allow some extra help to just pick you up and sail you right through what often looks like a mile and a half of minefields.

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Willie T

I'm fairly sure he is.

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ttscs7

I thought his information was very informative and knowledgeable. Our business is very challenging to say the least. Being unorganized and misappropriating funds in business will lead to disaster. His example showed that very clearly. I thought this would be a great eye opening experience for anyone trying to get ahead without fully understanding the outcome of their decisions.

WilsonRMDL

Sounds like the basement project i underbid by $10k and had to get a personal loan to finish te project. It was my first basement, now i take my time bidding big jobs.

Great story dirt

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