How Do I Get Started?

Mezei

hi
im 17 and ive been wanting to start my own business in some kind of construction. ive taken my far share of business classes in high school so far. a couple of months now ive been thinking about owning my own excavating company. my problem is i dont know how to get started. i know i am way to young to be starting my own business nor have any experiance. how do i get started?

after reading alot on here. it seems that the schools for excavating arent worth the paper the deploma is printed on and the only real way to get started is to get working for someone for a while.

how do i do this. looking in the help wanted sections of local newspappers the ad for help for excavating companys dont exsit. do i just go down the yellow pages calling companys and tell my story and see if they would need any help?

once i do get some experiance how do i get going to starting my own company? will the questions i have now be answered after the experiance comes? like what equipment will i need, how do i get business, do i start doing it doing it on the side or do i do it full time, what i need to do to be legal with the goverment, what kind of insurance i need, ect ect

i also have my all my school paid for up till i am 23 because my parents are devorce and my dad has to pay for it. and i would like to take advantage of it while its free and i can always fall back on my education incase owning my own business dosnt work out. but i dont know what i want to go to school for.

thanks so much already and thanks for any help or advice you can give me

ElIngeniero

If you are capable of attending an accredited University and have anyone else pay for it--do it. No matter what happens with you, your company, etc, you can likely have something to fall back on in that situation.

If you are extremely dedicated to construction, I would go with a civil engineering technology degree or a construction management type degree. Look for jobs as an estimator/Project Manager with some of the more established companies. Imitate what they do, how they operate, where their efficiencies AND weaknesses lie, etc. Ask a LOT of questions. When you have the financing/credit to do so, begin work on the sides. Understand this is a mean, rough business but if you can accept the abuse, it can be lucrative and fulfilling. However, if you're looking to get rich quick--this is not the industry .

Good luck to ya!

rino1494

Get a education before you enter the construction field.

__________________
Life is hard. It is harder when you are stupid

Uncle Sam wants YOU....to speak ENGLISH

TMatt142

get your education, work summers in construction. Depending on where you are you could go as far as even joining a local union if you so chose. I will say this...WORK in this business first.....watch and learn, listen to the experienced workers. Maybe after a few years you may even decide it isn't the business for you....The pay can be good, but you definitely work for it. Always ask questions, and never complain about the job you are asked to do. Good luck.

Mezei

how do i get a job working for a company during the summer? do i just call around and ask if the would need extra help?

dayexco

be a man.....ask your mother in law for the money!

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someday, i'll be as patient as Nick.

Blas

Ah to be seventeen again, football, wrestling, track, girls, Be seventeen and enjoy it it only happens once. The best way to get into this business is people you know ask around the world is smaller than you think. Go and look eyeball to eyeball with potential employers. Go to their shops and offices put in your resume by physically handing to another human being not by fax. You can go down to the nearest union hall and ask for a list of excavators and utility companies. Work summers and get a construction management or civil enginerding(not a typo) degree. Best way is start as laborer because that is the only thing you have to offer right now a strong back and willingness to work and learn. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

__________________
"It is what it is"

Blas

This is a smart man I would listen to his advice.

__________________
"It is what it is"

rino1494

What events did you compete in in track?? I did the 110m HH, 300m IH, triple jump and I anchored our 4x400m team. My best was the hurdles. I still hold the school record for the 110's. In college I did the 110 HH and the 400 IH, then I got a knee injury and it was downhill from there.

__________________
Life is hard. It is harder when you are stupid

Uncle Sam wants YOU....to speak ENGLISH

DEAD_ONConst

My best suggestion is to drive around town and scope out job sites where excavating/soil prep work is being done. Walk onto the site, and being MINDFUL and RESPECTFUL, ask to speak to a foreman or the Owner and approach him/her with your desires and interests. Inform him of your Formal education and experience, or lack there of in the field.

Don't expect to be given a job or even be put in a machine! You are going to have to do a lot of grunt work from the get go. You aren't going to make a lot of dough, either, at least from the get go. If you are dedicated and diligent, the CO WILL notice you and if he has his salts about him, will recognize it and come to you! All you need to do is ask intelligent questions and do what you are asked! I say "asked", because NO GOOD business owner will "issue orders" or "command" you, unless you are a slacker or idiot. I have dealt with my share of both! He will also recognize that you are "Green" and will EXPLICITLY explain what he needs done, what it should look like when your are finished and compliment you on a job well done. Over time, as you get more proficient, the compliments turn into "I need to get 'Joe' on this because he knows "You" know what he wants and needs to be done! Congrats and Welcome to "The Trades"!

tgeb

Get as much education as you can, while you can. put off owning a business and get the schooling out of the way. Work Summers if you can find something in construction.

Who knows, you could be right around the corner from one of these guys on the forum, and they might take you under their wing.

My kid brother put himself through college by painting houses during the Summer.

Education is key, you can never know too much.
I know plenty of guys who wish they had more schooling/education, but I have never meet someone who wishes they had less.

__________________
Tom

www.gebcon.com

ctkiteboarding

education education education education education oh yea learn spanish whille getting your education

Blas

Track was fun but I wasn't that serious about it. It was something the football coaches forced us to do to stay in shape in the off season also this is when I put weight back on from wrestling for football. But I did pole vaulting 10'4" Highest, Discuss and weight man relay races. I was smaller than all the weight man so I would smoke them in the relay races. I blew up my knee wrestling senior year rehabbed it but still bothers me sometimes. I was going to wrestle in college but my knee injury put me in the keg Olympics instead.

__________________
"It is what it is"

Grumpyplumber

If I were 17, knowing what I know now...
I'd have a stack of college apps in front of me for an engineering degree, along with financial aid forms and a list of possible grants.
For the time it takes to do a backbreaking apprenticeship, the painful & expensive learning curve of self employment and constant adversity and competition in the world of contracting...time is MUCH better served in college.
If I had an engineering degree, I could still easily be doing what I do now if thats what I wanted.
I could also be working for 6 figures for a company that does things I can't go near as a plumber.
Options are nice.

bobcaygeonjon

If you have your education paid for until you are 23 the I would definately get educated and maybe work summers/weekend. BTW Running your own business is not fun. I only do it for 2 reasons; 1, the money 2, I'm a lousey employee.
Seriously please stay at college/uni

denick

Mezei,

Everyone has given you advice from where they look at the world. I can agree with all of it to fit someone’s circumstance. It all comes down to how you look at the world from where you are standing. Who are you Mezei?
Are you?
A good student? Or not?
Athletic? Or not?
A leader? Or not?
A reader? Or not?
Mechanical? Or not?
Etc…….
Etc…….

You state?
“im 17 and ive been wanting to start my own business in some kind of construction. ive taken my far share of business classes in high school so far. a couple of months now ive been thinking about owning my own excavating company.”

Why construction?
Do you like being out doors? Do you like working with your hands? Do you just like an “idea” of what you think construction is? Anyone in your family in construction? How close have you ever been to “construction? Do you want to guide a crew of men to accomplish a task ?

Why excavating?
Have you ever run any equipment? Do you spend a lot of time outdoors? Do you
mind getting really dirty? Does it bother you to walk around with oil or grease soaked into your clothes? Do you want to jump in a hole calf deep in mud and persevere over adverse conditions using most every muscle you have?

Why do you want to own your own business?
What advantage does owning have over being an employee for you now? In 10 years? Do you want to be the person in the office taking calls, selling jobs and making deals to buy some new equipment?

This is what I would like to know to be able to tell you how to get started on a certain path.

Have you ever had a summer job before?

Are there excavating companies close by you? Ones that have decent looking trucks and equipment?

Gee I didn’t realize I had gone on so long

__________________
Nick

"Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving" Albert Einstein

tgeb

Holy Cow, Nick! I hope you/we have'nt scared him away.

__________________
Tom

www.gebcon.com

Mezei

A good student? grades mostly Cs and some Bs. school after high school will happen but i cant see my self or dont know if i will have the oppertunity to go (because of grades) to a university
Athletic? yes play foot football and all the working out in the off season
A leader? not as much as i would like to be.
A reader? only when i am into what i am getting out of the reading or want to lerand what i am getting out of it.
Mechanical? yeah

Why construction? ive always been into it. maybe just cause i am a boy. i could be wrong but construction seems to be one feild were you can start you own business slowly and grow. i like to build things. Do you like being out doors? yes Do you like working with your hands? yes i have taken apart and put back together every mower i have. just to give a exaple. Do you just like an “idea” of what you think construction is? since i know no better yes i do like the idea. Anyone in your family in construction? no my dad is a doctor and my mom is a nurse and the rest of the family lives on the east coast. How close have you ever been to “construction? not enough to know the difference of liking the "idea" of construction and what it really is. Do you want to guide a crew of men to accomplish a task ? if i knew what i was doing and the opportunity arose, yes.


Why excavating? hmm. from what i have heard the house market is just about going to fall on its face. excavating seems alot more flexable on what kind of jobs you can do. excavating also dosnt seem to be as saturated with different companys that building companys seem to be.
Have you ever run any equipment? no Do you spend a lot of time outdoors? yes idk how to prove it though Do you
mind getting really dirty? not at all. Does it bother you to walk around with oil or grease soaked into your clothes? no if i have a reason to be. Do you want to jump in a hole calf deep in mud and persevere over adverse conditions using most every muscle you have? i wouldnt think any one wants to, but when you have to get something done then you have no other choice. dose it bother me if i am in a job where i will be in the situations where i have to? no

Why do you want to own your own business? you are not capped on what you can and cant do. you get to call the shots. something to show acheivment.
What advantage does owning have over being an employee for you now? none at the moment. i have no experiance or training. In 10 years? Do you want to be the person in the office taking calls, selling jobs and making deals to buy some new equipment? i like to gather information and using all that information to get something done. being the one in charge of a project seems to be more or less what i want to do. and if that means i am doing the digging as well if i had my own small company so be it.

This is what I would like to know to be able to tell you how to get started on a certain path.

Have you ever had a summer job before? Not really, just a job in a general store. since its very flexible on when i have to work. and summer i usally dont have to much time with football camps, summer school weight lifting.

Are there excavating companies close by you? yes Ones that have decent looking trucks and equipment? yes


i tried to answer that as honest as i could. thank you all so much everyone. i have tried to talk to my guidance counselor at the high school but they couldnt tell me anything.

dayexco

i'm VERY impressed with nick's line of questioning...and even MORE impressed w/your answers. i'll give you a few suggestions if you're opening to listening to them. get your grades up, get a college DEGREE in something...when my son "who is now 29........graduated from h.s., he immediately wanted to come to work in the company. i told him to bring me back a degree in something, then we'd talk. education gives you options, AND tools that are very applicable to the const. industry. and also allows you other venues of employment should you decide being a contractor isn't for you down the road. many here will tell you that the courses in h.s. you now think a waste of time have been very beneficial. like english comp. you need to be able to prepare proposals to your customers that give some credance to your ability to perform the service. speech class? after you submit that proposal, they may call you in to ask you specifics about it. you need to be able to present yourself well....all your math classes? critical!! you need to be able to calculate job quantities, estimate time on job, etc. h.s. level bookkeeping class would even be beneficial.

my son went on and got his b.s. in const. management and for the most part is taking over the day to day operations of the company. he's good with people, good with paperwork, very fussy "to the point of being a touch anal"...about his finished product.

i would suggest....get your grades up to get into college, work for a contractor the summer months. don't feel degraded if at first you're the grunt. everybody starts somewhere...pay attention, listen, and when you feel capable, confident, ask to do something on the next level. i wish you well!!!

__________________
someday, i'll be as patient as Nick.

ElIngeniero

If you're truly interested in construction--I would suggest getting a part-time position over the summer to at least get some experience before heading off to college. While in college, try to maintain a part-time job as well so you can see the application of what you're doing. As a 'civil enginerding' graduate, I can tell you that oftentimes you get so caught up in the academia that you fail to realize how it relates to industry. So goes the adage "In theory, theory and practice are the same. In Practice, they're different". I'm only 23 so I'm still learning the extent of this myself.

I'll give you my background and you can take it for what it's worth. I've grown up around construction as my father is the owner of the company. At 12 I was greasing/fueling all the equipment EVERY day. I hated it after a while but enjoyed the 5 minutes I was able to 'drive' the machines around the sites. I began running an old D5 dozer at 13 throughout the summers while keeping up the maintenance job. While I'm definitely not the best equipment operator, I can get a job done. When the time came to goto college, I decided Civil Engineering was the best choice for me as it gives me more options if heavy construction doesn't work out. I know that a lot of illegals are dramatically driving down the cost of work so...in my thinking, a civil engineering degree is harder to affect than a construction management degree. I was still able to take a number of construction management classes as electives. I'll say this though, if you KNOW that all you really want to do is dedicate yourself to construction, then the easier and perhaps more suitable degree would definitely be construction management.

Consider those options now but don't fret--either degree is very good to have.

Besides, you don't want to miss out on the greatest 4 years of your life .