bradjacob

I was a carpenter in the union for 15 years. I left the trade to pursue computers. That has definitely run its course, I want to get back into what I love to do - what I'm good at. I have the skills, but need to turn it into making a living. I did learn some good business skills working in the financial industry.

I've also been reading the posts on this site in particular because its a group of contractors who are doing it for real - and what I've read is really valuable. The kind of info - not found in text books.

I plan to start out in the time I have free to me. I know I need to incorp in some way (LLC?) and I need insurance. Past that, I'm unclear what the next steps are. How find the jobs to bid on, etc, etc... I know it's a long road ahead, but hey - one has to start somewhere. Any help or advice is welcome.

Meetre

How long have you been out of the trades? Do you have the required liceases/registrations, insurance, workers comp., etc? any experience in marketing? how is the outlook in your area? lot's to consider before you jump in the deep end.

__________________
www.meetre.com LinkedIn Facebook Meetre_Newsletter

Heritage

Although you have a lot of field knowledge and experience, it's not assumed that you could actually manage a job properly.

Everyone has a different story, and we all came up in the industry one way or another. I started off as a general labourer. I wasn't trusted to hold a drill.

Do your homework. It's not easy, I don't care how intelligent you are, you will be used, abused, misused, and confused if you jump head first into the deep end and open up your own shop. The more you prepare, the less likely you will be to not end up a statistic (90% will fail in the first 2 years).

If you're looking for easy answers, you're not going to find them here. Furthermore, if you're looking for easy you're going to end up in a world of disappointment. Being a carpenter, earning a steady salary, working set hours is a far far cry from running your own shop.

It's a different planet...welcome

__________________
Our Website
Our Blog
On Facebook
TwitterYoutube

bradjacob

With all due respect, this is exactly the kind of answer I didn't want. I have no misconceptions about this going to be hard. I'm not looking for easy answers or an easy way out. I'm actually expecting this to be the craziest thing I ever embarked on.

What I'm looking for is the next steps. Do I need workman's comp just being on my own? And licensing, etc... Also, how do you get lists of jobs to bid on? What credentials do I need to get a list? Things like that.

heartoftexas

Slumps will happen so plan for them.

Don't spent alot of money on phone book advertising,if any!

Referrals are KING!

davitk

ROFLMAO list of jobs to bid on???

What you want to do is take a job with a contractor, the steal his customers Best go-into-business plan I ever did hear of.

Meetre

well, are you going to have employees or hire sub-contractors? then you need comp. licensing varies state to state, county to county, and city to city, you'll have to help us some. list of jobs, if only it were that easy marketing will help you "make" your list, referrals from past clients..etc. sounds like you have a lot of energy with little direction...not a very good start. running a business is tough, don't brush of Heritage's info, you need it. Chasing down payments, arguing with a client about what is and isn't in the contract, employee's and sub's doing sub-standard work...this isn't easy. Do you have money in the bank to get started, cover your bills while you're getting money and tools together, do some advertising, you know, start a business? just because it's not what you're looking for, doesn't mean it's not what you need.

__________________
www.meetre.com LinkedIn Facebook Meetre_Newsletter

Winchester

1. General Liability Insurance
2. Worker's Compensation (Where I live you can opt out for yourself if it's your own company.)
3. License(s)
4. Advertising, Marketing, Selling (Do a lot of research, read a lot of books, this is important)
5. Lawyer -> Good contracts with good clauses. Can also help with forming the company if you are incorporating etc.?
6. Doing quality work is important, but doing quality customer service is more important.
7. Good luck.

That's all I have for you.

__________________

cueball707

There is no magical list of jobs to bid on, you have to work hard to make contacts to even get to bid on jobs. Start by telling everyone you know that your in business for yourself. You should be able to get a few jobs just by doing that. I agree with the guy who said don't waste money on yellow page advertising, its the lowest return for your advertising dollar that you will ever get. If you are planing an ad campaign, stick with the inexpensive ads, (ie classifieds, online classifieds, business directories, small print ads, etc). Joining a business referral group in your area may be a good idea too. There is tons of more stuff you'll need to know. Keep researching , alot is available on this site and online. Good Luck!

bradjacob

thanks fellas. that was what I was looking for. I'll keep ya posted!

Scott Meyer

We like to differentiate between the project/job side of things and the business side of things. We'll call it field work vs office work. It's two sides of the same coin. They must be developed and polished together. But neither can make you succeed along.

Office side - yes, there are certain requirements needed before you can begin in the eyes of the state (or region). This stuff should be simple to find. Harder to develop will be the business procedures. A system for billing/collecting money, and system for tracking costs, and system for evaluating jobs (you just can't accept anything offering money). It's like my old man use to say, "The goal is to make the most amount of money by doing the least amount of work." If you discover that every job you take has 4 hours of office work, develop systems so it becomes only 1 hour (streamline). You make the same amount of money, but now have saved yourself 3 hours. Also, you said you have found a lot of advice on the internet. Take that advice and do something with it. Just reading about it doesn't mean you're using it to your advantage. Act upon it.

Field side - Obviously you need jobs to pay for things. It won't be your skills that will let you down. The vast majority of contractors I have met perform very beautiful and high quality work. I hate marketing, but I have a great deal of respect for people who can do it well. Its much harder than it looks. You need to be very disciplined to make a clear and coherent statement about your specialty. Too much info and you confuse people. If you’re trying to market above and beyond referrals, market the company so people fall in love with you or the experience. Just showing past projects isn't as good as giving homeowners peace of mind.


Long story short, it's tough to ask one question in a forum and get all the answers you need. But best of luck to you.

__________________
Build Smart
www.MyRiskControl.com

bradjacob

Scott -

This is GREAT info. I know times are slow as hell now, and it seems almost laughable to think about starting something up now. But I'm trying to educate myself and plan things out as much as possible during these sluggish times. Everything you said made perfect sense and I really appreciate this kind of personalized insight!

Virg

start with one employee. preferably a general laborer that wants to learn carpentry. that way you can focus on the skill part of the work while he/she can keep you moving and payroll stays low while you get the ball rolling. i use the payroll service ADP. they take care of all tax issues concerning paychecks and i also use them for my workers comp. quick and painless. also, learn to sub out what you cannot do effeciently. it will just cost you money

dirt diggler

There are guys who have been doing this their entire lives and are starving for work. I'm green compared to them ... I'm giving it one more year to see what happens. But i sure as hell am not married to this sh*t.

So ask yourself if now is the best time to be doing this. You're already going into a very well-saturated field. In fact, not only is your field saturated with Americans ... but foreigners as well (legal and illegal ones).



Wanna know how I'd do it? I wouldn't touch a single damn hammer. Involve others from the start - whether you sub work or hire as employees. But being an owner-operator, one-man shop, etc ... eh, ain't my cup of tea. There are plenty of gentlemen around here who would disagree with me on that. If they like working 20 hours a day in the field, 7 days a week, for 7 months straight - well, they're better than me I guess.

__________________
Thanks in advance!!!

davitk

If you have the "people skills" talent to do just that you've got it made. I on the other hand I have THE WORST luck with subs and while I do use them have acquired the skills to do all that needs to be done ; all the while knowing using those skills costs me money. FWIW