Business Opportunity

Abeh

I'm a small painting contractor who has been in the business for the last 12 years. I worked for several well known painting contractors in my area and went out on my own 3 years ago. My business has been picking up and last year I cleared 40k but I'm limited since I don't have the extra money to hire additional people and equipment. I have a great reputation and work ethic. This year I can do better and I'm hiring part timers when I need to. My question is this, I was called last week by the owner of a large painting contractor I use to work for and he asked to meet with me next week. He would like to hire me back as his Foreman for all his jobs since his company is growing. My questions are the following

1. He is telling me that he would be willing to pay me hourly or salary, which way do I go?

2. He is telling me that I can keep my existing contracts, how do I handle this?

3. He is providing benifits and the guy is terrific, a great boss. What are the things I need to cover in this type of negotiation?

Thanks,

Abe

Mike Finley

I think the only thing you need to decide is if you are commited to being a business owner or an employee and that is all you have to decide.

Redman

If the price is right and you feel its a good deal for you and your family, then do it. But make sure you don't through away everything you worked for in the last 3 years. what if he lets you go or goes out of business. make sure you are prepaired for that. other wise good luck.

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One day at a Time.

AAPaint

....and I think the above statement says it best.

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-AAPaint

AA Quality Painting & Pressure Washing LLC
Jacksonville Painters
Jacksonville, FL.

realpurty2

I agree with the above suggestions of making a decision of being a business owner or employee as the first step. Weight your options against each other by listing pro's and con's of each option. If your hourly, you would make potentially XX dollars vs salary you'd make XX. Same with hours of work involved. As an employee, you work the hours your told to work, as an owner you set the hours your available. It all falls on what your goals are in life, what priorities matter most to you, and where you think you'd best enjoy being. If you do decide to go back to working for someone, you can always keep your business as a side job or pick up where you left off in the future.

My only negative concern would be the potential for conflict of interest. Right now, the boss is going to be nice as possible trying to lure you back, saying you can keep your side work, but the moment he thinks it's a conflict of interest, expect to be forced to choose. Might never happen but be mentally prepared if it does.

Best of luck on either decision.

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Woman in a Man's World.

joasis

The conflict of interest is something I would give away if I were you, while I negotiate a percentage of the work in whole. The next best thing to owning the pop stand is to be the taster with no risk. I would ask for a percentage of the gross, maybe based on productivity. This is a pretty common tool in business to get and keep quality people who otherwise, would be on their own. 5 or even 10% is not an unheard of figure. Good luck with your decision.

Pearce Services

Joasi has a good idea,

If he does go for that, maybe you should be asking for a percentage of the ownership of the business, as time goes on, the percentage can increase.

Another thought, I do not like the idea of doing your own thing on the side, If he is so busy that he needs you, you can't do both effectively. I would ask for a commision on any work you bring in, the time so sell these jobs as needed, and first refusal to run the projects you sold.

DOWNTOWN

I agree with the others about deciding whether you prefer life as a business owner or as an employee. My personal preference is that of business owner. There are a few more headaches, but the rewards are pretty phenomenal too...

If you do stay in business, and want to be careful about cost, I would look into piecework. My company (a painting contractor) pays everyone a percentage of the sale price - regardless of how long it takes them to complete the job. This allows your painters to determine how much per hour they make. For example, today we did a job - I estimated high, he worked fast, completed it in half the time I suggested... my painter ended up making $30/hour because of that. I don't have to worry about having extra money to hire people because it's all in the job price. But, that's another thread...

If you decide to work for this person, here are my thoughts regarding your three questions:

1. Hourly or Salary - If he GUARANTEES you no less than 40 hours a week (meaning, he gives you stuff to do when there is nothing to do, and pays you for it) - then hourly (yay - overtime!). If you are concerned about down-time and not getting paid if there are no jobs - then salary.

2. Be careful about "keeping your existing contracts." If you are open about it, it may mean that he now profits from any additional sales to them. If you agree to work for him, he is gaining free access to your blood, sweat, and tears. I say free because he's only paying you for the work you do for him, not for the work you have done over the last three years.

3. You just need to make sure that what you agree to is a win/win situation. Don't agree to anything right away. Give it a day, or a few days, and see how your gut feels. If he really wants you, he will wait. I will just say one thing about benefits - I just came from a salaried position with benefits. I was lucky to get a 3 percent pay increase each year, and had no immediate control over increasing my income. I was restricted to their vacation time and offering. After taxes and benefits, I brought home 50% of my gross. If I had dependents, I would have brought home less than that. I didn't realize how much was taken out until I started analyzing it while making the decision to go independent. Shocking. I will never go back to that.

One last thing - if you decide to work for him, and he wants you to bring your clients with you, suggest that he "buy" your business. Sell it to him for $40,000 and then join his team. If he doesn't take you seriously, then he is underestimating what you worked so hard for.

Anyway - good luck with whatever decision you choose...