I Am Just Starting

nautaflcl

I'm pretty young, and have decided to go into getting my own contracting side jobs apart from my normal construction job, and maybe start having to be less dependable on the normal amount i make.
I do several things, but my main focus for this would be suspended ceilings.
I feel pretty confident in some things when it comes to starting this. But there are a couple things I want to know if you could help out.
Should i make some kind of portfolio of my work or something of the sort, and get samples of materials the client can purchase?
Also, do i NEED to have a license in order to do this?
And one last thing, when i get a job to do, what kind of paperwork do i need to fill out? a contract? hahah. i'm guessing so.
How will that come about and what does it need to look like?
I'm not some huge company, so if all of this doesn't apply to me because i'm not a company yet, then what do i need to do? Thanks.

480sparky

One thing I would look into is whether or not your current empoyer frowns on such activity. You may find yourself starting a business with no customers, no income, no operating capital, and no nine-to-five job either.

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outlaw

Naw,
You don't need none of that. Just put an ad on craiglist and go to work.

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MHMConstruction

call your local building dept to see if you need to be licensed in your area to do acoustical ceilings - I'm thinking not since it is not structural, but it is up to you to find out.

quick way to get some info:
call one of your 'future competitors' (other than your current boss) and ask what kind of license they carry and what is req'd -

don't be scared - have fun

MHM

carolinahandyma

nautaflcl many of your start-up questions have been answered before...suggest you do a search on this site and you will find a wealth of information.
Good luck!

Jacob25

Well, Interesting discussion is going out here. As an aspiring contractor, i got to know lots of new things here. Thanks a lot for sharing such a useful information.

nautaflcl

Thank You very much. I appreciate the help.

jhark123

In Washington if you don't have a license, your contracts are unenforcable (but not for the other party).

Windwash

Nauta,

Most of the people on this board (including myself) are full time contractors. To us, there is no such thing as a "side job". We must charge enough money per job to pay for our overhead and provide us with a profit to stay in business. By doing these "side jobs" at a (potentially) much lower rate than we would charge, you are undercutting us and asking us for help to do it.

That being said, most of us here at one time were working for other people and may have done some work on a saturday for cash.

Where are you located and are these ceilings residential or commercial?