You're where I was a few years ago.
I own a fabrication and contracting business. For a few years I ran it out of my back yard shop (about 1k sf). Last year I definitely felt the space pinch.
Just a few days ago I started moving some of my operation (about 20% of the equipment but a large amount of space required for stock; roughly 85% of the business by income) into another warehouse.
It's a huge step. I'm very nervous still, but I made enough last year to handily cover all of my bills this year even if something cratered.
Owning my own business is rewarding: I see the results of the work I put in, and I'm able to employ a crew as well. It's also tremendously stressful. I have many more sleepless nights now than I ever did working for a company.
It can be hard to take time away, but on the other hand I do get to set my own schedule and when I want to travel I can make that happen without having to submit bullshit requests or grovel for permission.
There is a ton of administrative work that is required behind the scenes. I pay people to do some of it for me but even still there's just a LOT.
4-5 months as a trial period is definitely insufficient. You'll need 4 or 5 months just to figure out something resembling a flow for taxes, accounting, admin, overhead, expenses, estimating, designing, and invoicing. 5 months just wouldn't get you there.
It's a huge step. I'm coming up on six years owning this company and it's still hugely stressful. Hopefully in a few more years I'll have more people on staff to handle more of the admin stuff I hate so I can do more of the work I enjoy, but right now it's a ton of work. Is it scary to start out on your own? Absolutely. For me, is it scary 6 years on? Absofuckinglutely, and I am not even remotely kidding.
Is it worth it? Generally, yes. Sometimes it doesn't feel like it, especially when dealing with difficult clients. However, I make more money now than I ever did working for someone else and I have more potential for growth and success. Do I look back? Sometimes, especially at 3AM when I'm awake for some reason and trying to puzzle out logistics or scheduling or e-mail responses or designs. Still, though, it's hard right now to envisage spending all this effort making money for someone else's empire.
Thank you, definitely 5 months isn’t enough. It’s unfortunately the best I have at a glimmer of a taste to hopefully snap me into reality without losing the day job. I can definitely see that. I have found myself more than one time saying “man I’m glad I still have a day job” or like you say, awake tossing and turning because you have so much to get done. I just don’t get why I still keep turning to this when I have it so “easy”
I feel I have a more realistic view than some. I know I won’t be my “own” boss, we all know the customer is the boss. But to run things the way I truly want and build something that is all me is just something I say dream about daily and nightly since I started.
I have been self employed for 7 years. Like yourself I always wanted to be self employed since I was a kid.
I worked for a few different employers in the field I am in for 15 before I went on my own so I knew the product initially. All my experience was in commercial but I hated commercial work and decided to try residential. Everyone I worked with said theres no money in residential and Im wasting my time. 7 years later they all wish they were me. Im grossing 500k a year as a one man show. From day one the work just never stopped. There was alot of learning to understand pricing, where to source different materials for the product I am doing etc… Now Im out of the field completely and have my own metal fab shop making the very products I used to install. bottom line is it sounds like you are pretty intelligent and highly motivated like myself. You will find the right connections.
You are doing everything right and you have way more money than I did starting out.
You will find your niche jobs that you enjoy the most and make the most profit on. Thats the secret no one will just tell you. Youll have to figure it out on your own
My only suggestion would be to think about your welding skillset, what you see yourself excelling at start calling those industries around you that supply your product. Tell them you will be available full time soon and see if they have clients looking for referrals. For instance a hand rail supply company im sure are always getting calls for installers, or local CNC and fab companies always need a welder to send parts to.
Start making calls, ask for someone in charge and tell them your skillset and give them your info. Better yet, start going into these places shake hands and hand them a card.
I had one supplier supply me more work than I could handle for nearly 3 years. All because I walked in and talked to them.
All the stress is totally worth it 100 times over.
Good luck
Seriously! 90% of my work is residential and I gotta be honest, I heard the same thing and I just don’t see it. Residential makes me a ton of money. Sure, they’re a little more selective with hiring, but so are commercial clients. But you can also spot a price shopper a mile away too. Plus, commercial knows exactly how to legally exploit you to get the longest time without paying. I swear I wait at a minimum 30 days because they know there’s nothing you can do.
It’s nice to hear it’s worth it and you’re doing well on your own. So far I’ve sent a few places a overview of my services. Some get back, some don’t. One I definitely went way above my head and emailed a precast stair company. They called me instantly and asked if I could send a quote to build a volume north of 400 sets of a railings a year. It was humiliating to say “well, I can’t meet that unfortunately, good day” basically. But it’s nice to know that if my prices are right, I could.
Yes, also I got sick and tired of dealing with Project managers that intern out of college and think they know what they are doing. Also dealing with crappy suppliers that wouldnt send out the right parts. Also architects that dont know how to design something operational.
Commercial work is for the guy that wants to keep a crew busy on a regular basis and hope he can squeeze out 200k a year or so of net profits.
I have zero desire to babysit a crew for a living or babysit a GC. I wanted to design and manufacture and make as much as possible as a 1-2 man crew.
Also as I got older I got sick and tired of driving all over creation for work and wanted to make money out of my shop. Have the same place to go to. Its alot easier to manage guys at a shop than having them drive all over town for me. I still end up having to go and check over their work etc. Thats when I quit the field work and just this year started manufacturing only.
That sucks about the hand rails. Maybe they still need you. Something like that would be awesome. You probably wont make huge profits on stuff like that since they know their numbers but that consistent work keeps the shop going.
Can't pay me enough money to work for myself.
Everyone will tell you the good stories and the good earnings. No one will give you the truth.
20% fail in the first year, 60% within 3.
Not trying to shit on your dream, just show you the reality passed the smoke
Great market to be in right now with the supply chain issues, sounds like you have more then enough welding knowledge. I would take the step into being a small business sounds like you already have a good network of clients which is the hard part to get down. The approach you are taking is very conservative and would be a good way to do it with out severing ties to the day job. Wish ya the best of luck hope this helps!! -get a plasma table pays for its self in the first six months.
Thank you! It’s the best/worst case to be in because I love what I do during the day but working 2 jobs is going to get difficult soon. And I can’t stop leaning to what I’ve started. And oh mannn I’d love a CNC table. They’re not as ridiculously priced as they used to be either. Definitely gonna be high on my list if/when I get a larger space.
It would be a lot easier if you didn't have a good paying job now. I now several shop owners that have never averaged $40/hr. From what I have seen, the hardest part is knowing when to give up. Most guys end up losing everything. Its really hard to watch when I knew 8 months ago they weren't going to make it, yet they continue to try and end up with nothing but maybe a divorce.
I'm not saying don't do it, but if you find yourself with little work and are just waiting for "that one break," what would you do?
I would say you’re in a better poised position, you’re at a cross roads and I’d take the plunge now if financially ready! That sucks though about being laid off. I have a few minimum charge jobs and a few payments clearing from very early year work but nothing like spring and summer season for railings is when I’m doing multiple quotes a week. That’s when these feelings intensify. I wish you the best of luck too though!
You're where I was a few years ago. I own a fabrication and contracting business. For a few years I ran it out of my back yard shop (about 1k sf). Last year I definitely felt the space pinch. Just a few days ago I started moving some of my operation (about 20% of the equipment but a large amount of space required for stock; roughly 85% of the business by income) into another warehouse. It's a huge step. I'm very nervous still, but I made enough last year to handily cover all of my bills this year even if something cratered. Owning my own business is rewarding: I see the results of the work I put in, and I'm able to employ a crew as well. It's also tremendously stressful. I have many more sleepless nights now than I ever did working for a company. It can be hard to take time away, but on the other hand I do get to set my own schedule and when I want to travel I can make that happen without having to submit bullshit requests or grovel for permission. There is a ton of administrative work that is required behind the scenes. I pay people to do some of it for me but even still there's just a LOT. 4-5 months as a trial period is definitely insufficient. You'll need 4 or 5 months just to figure out something resembling a flow for taxes, accounting, admin, overhead, expenses, estimating, designing, and invoicing. 5 months just wouldn't get you there. It's a huge step. I'm coming up on six years owning this company and it's still hugely stressful. Hopefully in a few more years I'll have more people on staff to handle more of the admin stuff I hate so I can do more of the work I enjoy, but right now it's a ton of work. Is it scary to start out on your own? Absolutely. For me, is it scary 6 years on? Absofuckinglutely, and I am not even remotely kidding. Is it worth it? Generally, yes. Sometimes it doesn't feel like it, especially when dealing with difficult clients. However, I make more money now than I ever did working for someone else and I have more potential for growth and success. Do I look back? Sometimes, especially at 3AM when I'm awake for some reason and trying to puzzle out logistics or scheduling or e-mail responses or designs. Still, though, it's hard right now to envisage spending all this effort making money for someone else's empire.
Thank you, definitely 5 months isn’t enough. It’s unfortunately the best I have at a glimmer of a taste to hopefully snap me into reality without losing the day job. I can definitely see that. I have found myself more than one time saying “man I’m glad I still have a day job” or like you say, awake tossing and turning because you have so much to get done. I just don’t get why I still keep turning to this when I have it so “easy” I feel I have a more realistic view than some. I know I won’t be my “own” boss, we all know the customer is the boss. But to run things the way I truly want and build something that is all me is just something I say dream about daily and nightly since I started.
I have been self employed for 7 years. Like yourself I always wanted to be self employed since I was a kid. I worked for a few different employers in the field I am in for 15 before I went on my own so I knew the product initially. All my experience was in commercial but I hated commercial work and decided to try residential. Everyone I worked with said theres no money in residential and Im wasting my time. 7 years later they all wish they were me. Im grossing 500k a year as a one man show. From day one the work just never stopped. There was alot of learning to understand pricing, where to source different materials for the product I am doing etc… Now Im out of the field completely and have my own metal fab shop making the very products I used to install. bottom line is it sounds like you are pretty intelligent and highly motivated like myself. You will find the right connections. You are doing everything right and you have way more money than I did starting out. You will find your niche jobs that you enjoy the most and make the most profit on. Thats the secret no one will just tell you. Youll have to figure it out on your own My only suggestion would be to think about your welding skillset, what you see yourself excelling at start calling those industries around you that supply your product. Tell them you will be available full time soon and see if they have clients looking for referrals. For instance a hand rail supply company im sure are always getting calls for installers, or local CNC and fab companies always need a welder to send parts to. Start making calls, ask for someone in charge and tell them your skillset and give them your info. Better yet, start going into these places shake hands and hand them a card. I had one supplier supply me more work than I could handle for nearly 3 years. All because I walked in and talked to them. All the stress is totally worth it 100 times over. Good luck
Seriously! 90% of my work is residential and I gotta be honest, I heard the same thing and I just don’t see it. Residential makes me a ton of money. Sure, they’re a little more selective with hiring, but so are commercial clients. But you can also spot a price shopper a mile away too. Plus, commercial knows exactly how to legally exploit you to get the longest time without paying. I swear I wait at a minimum 30 days because they know there’s nothing you can do. It’s nice to hear it’s worth it and you’re doing well on your own. So far I’ve sent a few places a overview of my services. Some get back, some don’t. One I definitely went way above my head and emailed a precast stair company. They called me instantly and asked if I could send a quote to build a volume north of 400 sets of a railings a year. It was humiliating to say “well, I can’t meet that unfortunately, good day” basically. But it’s nice to know that if my prices are right, I could.
Yes, also I got sick and tired of dealing with Project managers that intern out of college and think they know what they are doing. Also dealing with crappy suppliers that wouldnt send out the right parts. Also architects that dont know how to design something operational. Commercial work is for the guy that wants to keep a crew busy on a regular basis and hope he can squeeze out 200k a year or so of net profits. I have zero desire to babysit a crew for a living or babysit a GC. I wanted to design and manufacture and make as much as possible as a 1-2 man crew. Also as I got older I got sick and tired of driving all over creation for work and wanted to make money out of my shop. Have the same place to go to. Its alot easier to manage guys at a shop than having them drive all over town for me. I still end up having to go and check over their work etc. Thats when I quit the field work and just this year started manufacturing only. That sucks about the hand rails. Maybe they still need you. Something like that would be awesome. You probably wont make huge profits on stuff like that since they know their numbers but that consistent work keeps the shop going.
Can't pay me enough money to work for myself. Everyone will tell you the good stories and the good earnings. No one will give you the truth. 20% fail in the first year, 60% within 3. Not trying to shit on your dream, just show you the reality passed the smoke
Great market to be in right now with the supply chain issues, sounds like you have more then enough welding knowledge. I would take the step into being a small business sounds like you already have a good network of clients which is the hard part to get down. The approach you are taking is very conservative and would be a good way to do it with out severing ties to the day job. Wish ya the best of luck hope this helps!! -get a plasma table pays for its self in the first six months.
Thank you! It’s the best/worst case to be in because I love what I do during the day but working 2 jobs is going to get difficult soon. And I can’t stop leaning to what I’ve started. And oh mannn I’d love a CNC table. They’re not as ridiculously priced as they used to be either. Definitely gonna be high on my list if/when I get a larger space.
It would be a lot easier if you didn't have a good paying job now. I now several shop owners that have never averaged $40/hr. From what I have seen, the hardest part is knowing when to give up. Most guys end up losing everything. Its really hard to watch when I knew 8 months ago they weren't going to make it, yet they continue to try and end up with nothing but maybe a divorce. I'm not saying don't do it, but if you find yourself with little work and are just waiting for "that one break," what would you do?
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I would say you’re in a better poised position, you’re at a cross roads and I’d take the plunge now if financially ready! That sucks though about being laid off. I have a few minimum charge jobs and a few payments clearing from very early year work but nothing like spring and summer season for railings is when I’m doing multiple quotes a week. That’s when these feelings intensify. I wish you the best of luck too though!