Consider scrapping the cubicle life..

[Scott B.]

I did it. I was a high school teacher for 5 years in my 20's and left it. I felt institutionalized by the cinder block walls, acoustic tile ceilings and bad lighting. And the politics.

That was a good chunk of years before I got married and had a family. I was willing to sleep in the bed of my truck as long as there was some freedom involved. Fortunately, that was in a good economy where it is easier to start. Now that I am in my 40s, I am much more conservative.

The fundamental question is what you want your life to look like. You only get one (that we know of).

 

[Scott B.]

It will turn you into a different person.

Quote of the day.

 

[skids]

You think you have too much stress now, just wait.

Being a self employed carpenter is not all cotton candy and butterflies.

I have 3 kids and an old lady who is in nursing school full time.

I pay for everything. It will turn you into a different person.

How so? Articulate a bit I am curious...Have you ever worked in an office? I mean for a long period of time..Fought your way into promotions? Dealt with the -poor systems of leadership where senior leaders haven't a clue on how the job gets done, but by some divine wisdom make all the decisions? Or how a publicly held firm cares mostly about earnings for shareholders rather than their customers. But thats the easy part...The American corporation is all thats wrong with America, possibly the world. It's what's made being a small business such a difficult existence...rejoice in the fact you create something, done the right way something that will last and ultimately be judged for generations. Go work for a large company for a while, you will have nothing to show for your labor and zero control over your decisions. It wears thin on free souls like us.

 

[Scott B.]

You think you have too much stress now, just wait.

Being a self employed carpenter is not all cotton candy and butterflies.

I have 3 kids and an old lady who is in nursing school full time.

I pay for everything. It will turn you into a different person.

How so? Articulate a bit I am curious...Have you ever worked in an office? I mean for a long period of time..Fought your way into promotions? Dealt with the -poor systems of leadership where senior leaders haven't a clue on how the job gets done, but by some divine wisdom make all the decisions? Or how a publicly held firm cares mostly about earnings for shareholders rather than their customers. But thats the easy part...The American corporation is all thats wrong with America, possibly the world. It's what's made being a small business such a difficult existence...rejoice in the fact you create something, done the right way something that will last and ultimately be judged for generations. Go work for a large company for a while, you will have nothing to show for your labor and zero control over your decisions. It wears thin on free souls like us.

There is that.

Self employment is the other end of the spectrum with stress of equal and opposite intensity: There Is No Anonymity.

When the music stops, you are guaranteed to be most likely to be still dancing every time. Never boring.

 

[skids]

You think you have too much stress now, just wait.

Being a self employed carpenter is not all cotton candy and butterflies.

I have 3 kids and an old lady who is in nursing school full time.

I pay for everything. It will turn you into a different person.

How so? Articulate a bit I am curious...Have you ever worked in an office? I mean for a long period of time..Fought your way into promotions? Dealt with the -poor systems of leadership where senior leaders haven't a clue on how the job gets done, but by some divine wisdom make all the decisions? Or how a publicly held firm cares mostly about earnings for shareholders rather than their customers. But thats the easy part...The American corporation is all thats wrong with America, possibly the world. It's what's made being a small business such a difficult existence...rejoice in the fact you create something, done the right way something that will last and ultimately be judged for generations. Go work for a large company for a while, you will have nothing to show for your labor and zero control over your decisions. It wears thin on free souls like us.

There is that.

Self employment is the other end of the spectrum with stress of equal and opposite intensity: There Is No Anonymity.

When the music stops, you are guaranteed to be most likely to be still dancing every time. Never boring.

Well said..This is not lost on me trust me. Like I mentioned I grew up around small business. I know I am not headed to Candyland if I make this happen. It's a tough racket.

 

[Scott B.]

You think you have too much stress now, just wait.

Being a self employed carpenter is not all cotton candy and butterflies.

I have 3 kids and an old lady who is in nursing school full time.

I pay for everything. It will turn you into a different person.

How so? Articulate a bit I am curious...Have you ever worked in an office? I mean for a long period of time..Fought your way into promotions? Dealt with the -poor systems of leadership where senior leaders haven't a clue on how the job gets done, but by some divine wisdom make all the decisions? Or how a publicly held firm cares mostly about earnings for shareholders rather than their customers. But thats the easy part...The American corporation is all thats wrong with America, possibly the world. It's what's made being a small business such a difficult existence...rejoice in the fact you create something, done the right way something that will last and ultimately be judged for generations. Go work for a large company for a while, you will have nothing to show for your labor and zero control over your decisions. It wears thin on free souls like us.

There is that.

Self employment is the other end of the spectrum with stress of equal and opposite intensity: There Is No Anonymity.

When the music stops, you are guaranteed to be most likely to be still dancing every time. Never boring.

Well said..This is not lost on me trust me. Like I mentioned I grew up around small business. I know I am not headed to Candyland if I make this happen. It's a tough racket.

Sounds like you are thinking it through. The book I will never get around to writing would include a chapter called "Planning for the Transition", which it sounds like you are doing. I planned my exit strategy out carefully and equipped it with a one year sabbatical safety net. Wasn't hard to cut the net away.

 

[lumbajac]

I did it. I was a high school teacher for 5 years in my 20's and left it. I felt institutionalized by the cinder block walls, acoustic tile ceilings and bad lighting. And the politics.

That was a good chunk of years before I got married and had a family. I was willing to sleep in the bed of my truck as long as there was some freedom involved. Fortunately, that was in a good economy where it is easier to start. Now that I am in my 40s, I am much more conservative.

The fundamental question is what you want your life to look like. You only get one (that we know of).

English teacher I'm assuming?

 

[Scott B.]

I did it. I was a high school teacher for 5 years in my 20's and left it. I felt institutionalized by the cinder block walls, acoustic tile ceilings and bad lighting. And the politics.

That was a good chunk of years before I got married and had a family. I was willing to sleep in the bed of my truck as long as there was some freedom involved. Fortunately, that was in a good economy where it is easier to start. Now that I am in my 40s, I am much more conservative.

The fundamental question is what you want your life to look like. You only get one (that we know of).

English teacher I'm assuming?

Yes. I try to misspell something once in a while though.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

You think you have too much stress now, just wait.

Being a self employed carpenter is not all cotton candy and butterflies.

I have 3 kids and an old lady who is in nursing school full time.

I pay for everything. It will turn you into a different person.

How so? Articulate a bit I am curious...Have you ever worked in an office? I mean for a long period of time..Fought your way into promotions? Dealt with the -poor systems of leadership where senior leaders haven't a clue on how the job gets done, but by some divine wisdom make all the decisions? Or how a publicly held firm cares mostly about earnings for shareholders rather than their customers. But thats the easy part...The American corporation is all thats wrong with America, possibly the world. It's what's made being a small business such a difficult existence...rejoice in the fact you create something, done the right way something that will last and ultimately be judged for generations. Go work for a large company for a while, you will have nothing to show for your labor and zero control over your decisions. It wears thin on free souls like us.

What you describe is no different then dealing with the general public, they are your bosses, higher ups etc.

I am a corporation, most businesses are.

You are right though, I try to make as much as possible, max out what I am worth. When you start realizing what your time is worth and everything you have to pay for, it gets a little harder finding customers that are willing to pay what it takes for you to support your business and your self.
Most small outfits just end up owning a job, not owning a business.

If you start off trying to be the cheap guy to make sure you have work, you will spend years trying to not be the cheap guy.

I can go on and on about all the bull crap you will have to deal with, all the friends who will eventually try to screw you over, all the people who think your time is of no value, all the people who will find any way they can to not finish paying you.

You will get some thick skin and you will start to see people for who they really are.

I know I sound pretty negative, but you will need to learn to deal with it.

I have come a long ways and I have found a good niche and the right customers, but there was a lot of crap you have to wade through to get there

 

[Brice Burrell]

Someone needs to play the devil's advocate, I suppose I'll do it so you get another angle...

So far there is a lot of talk about running your own business.  You aren't there yet, you're likely years away from having the knowledge and experience to pull it off.  So, how are you going to get that experience?  Unions are the only ones with an apprentice program.  I don't know how likely you are to get into the union.  Another option is a tech school, that's time and money.  Third, find someone willing to give you chance.  Unless your current skill level allows an employer let you jump right in you might have a difficult time getting hired.  Most people getting started pay dues by doing unskilled labor and slowly build skills.  Let's be perfectly clear on what unskilled labor is, it's the grunt work.  It's hard, dirty, unsatisfying work and trust me, it dosen't pay well.  In my area that's $10-15 an hour.  Junkie is only one to mention physical aspect of laboring for a living.  You better be in decent shape or you're in for a rude awaking.  Unless you're sharp, super motivated, determined and type of person that must succeed at everything in life, you better think long and hard.

Now, don't think I'm trying to talk you out it, I'm not.  Like Darcy said, it's not all cotton candy and butterflies, someone needed to point that out.       

 

[Scott B.]

I did it. I was a high school teacher for 5 years in my 20's and left it. I felt institutionalized by the cinder block walls, acoustic tile ceilings and bad lighting. And the politics.

That was a good chunk of years before I got married and had a family. I was willing to sleep in the bed of my truck as long as there was some freedom involved. Fortunately, that was in a good economy where it is easier to start. Now that I am in my 40s, I am much more conservative.

The fundamental question is what you want your life to look like. You only get one (that we know of).

English teacher I'm assuming?

I saw another post in which you said you were a 12 year teacher (the post seems to be gone now). Good for you, man. If I wasn't doing what I am doing, I would still consider teaching to be in the top 5 things I would want to be doing, and all for the kids. I have had the good fortune of being able to stay in touch with, and in many cases hire, former students - some of whom are now in their early 30s. That is when you really see how cool it is to be a teacher, to see who these kids turn into. Very humbling.

And yes, you are right, I am fortunate to have been able to combine my passions for writing, educating and finish work.

After I painted my way through grad school and got my first teaching job, I wanted the summer painter lifestyle initially, but the passion for growing this business overruled. I have rarely looked back. Not to say that its been all shoestrings and earrings, but I have continued to build the business I want to own. And it gets torn right off the chassis every january for modifications.  [big grin]

 

[lumbajac]

I did it. I was a high school teacher for 5 years in my 20's and left it. I felt institutionalized by the cinder block walls, acoustic tile ceilings and bad lighting. And the politics.

That was a good chunk of years before I got married and had a family. I was willing to sleep in the bed of my truck as long as there was some freedom involved. Fortunately, that was in a good economy where it is easier to start. Now that I am in my 40s, I am much more conservative.

The fundamental question is what you want your life to look like. You only get one (that we know of).

English teacher I'm assuming?

Yes. I try to misspell something once in a while though.

Figured - based upon your prolific writing.  It's pretty cool that you've been able to carry over your English skills/interest to writing about your current profession.  It seems you get just as much satisfaction out of that as with one of your finishing jobs well done.

I put myself through college, or at least paid the rent and put food in my mouth, with carpentry.  This was all to become a teacher.  I admire/envy you for being able to walk away from the teaching gig after investing probably 5 years of schooling and another 5 years in the profession. I've come close on a couple occassions, but never had the guts to do it myself.  I'm pretty well stuck now after 13 years in; though I'm fine with it (mostly) by way of dealing with the politics and public misconceptions and what not in a manner that zapdafish mentions in an earlier post.  By what's been written and just living life long enough I think most of us go through trials and tribulations with just about every career and eventually learn how to deal with them or move on.  Which of the two depends upon, in my estimation, a combination of the severity of the situation and the disposition of the person involved; either of which leads to no two situations being the same.

 

[lumbajac]

I did it. I was a high school teacher for 5 years in my 20's and left it. I felt institutionalized by the cinder block walls, acoustic tile ceilings and bad lighting. And the politics.

That was a good chunk of years before I got married and had a family. I was willing to sleep in the bed of my truck as long as there was some freedom involved. Fortunately, that was in a good economy where it is easier to start. Now that I am in my 40s, I am much more conservative.

The fundamental question is what you want your life to look like. You only get one (that we know of).

English teacher I'm assuming?

I saw another post in which you said you were a 12 year teacher (the post seems to be gone now). Good for you, man. If I wasn't doing what I am doing, I would still consider teaching to be in the top 5 things I would want to be doing, and all for the kids. I have had the good fortune of being able to stay in touch with, and in many cases hire, former students - some of whom are now in their early 30s. That is when you really see how cool it is to be a teacher, to see who these kids turn into. Very
humbling.

And yes, you are right, I am fortunate to have been able to combine my passions for writing, educating and finish work.

After I painted my way through grad school and got my first teaching job, I wanted the summer painter lifestyle initially, but
the passion for growing this business overruled. I have rarely looked back. Not to say that its been all shoestrings and earrings, but I have continued to build the business I want to own. And it gets torn right off the chassis every january for modifications.  [big grin]

Yea, it's back up, had to correct a couple things so ended up rewriting a version of it. 

 

[Scott B.]

I did it. I was a high school teacher for 5 years in my 20's and left it. I felt institutionalized by the cinder block walls, acoustic tile ceilings and bad lighting. And the politics.

That was a good chunk of years before I got married and had a family. I was willing to sleep in the bed of my truck as long as there was some freedom involved. Fortunately, that was in a good economy where it is easier to start. Now that I am in my 40s, I am much more conservative.

The fundamental question is what you want your life to look like. You only get one (that we know of).

English teacher I'm assuming?

Yes. I try to misspell something once in a while though.

Figured - based upon your prolific writing.  It's pretty cool that you've been able to carry over your English skills/interest to writing about your current profession.  It seems you get just as much satisfaction out of that as with one of your finishing jobs well done.

I put myself through college, or at least paid the rent and put food in my mouth, with carpentry.  This was all to become a teacher.  I admire/envy you for being able to walk away from the teaching gig after investing probably 5 years of schooling and another 5 years in the profession. I've come close on a couple occassions, but never had the guts to do it myself.  I'm pretty well stuck now after 13 years in; though I'm fine with it (mostly) by way of dealing with the politics and public misconceptions and what not in a manner that zapdafish mentions in an earlier post.  By what's been written and just living life long enough I think most of us go through trials and tribulations with just about every career and eventually learn how to deal with them or move on.  Which of the two depends upon, in my estimation, a combination of the severity of the situation and the disposition of the person involved; either of which leads to no two situations being the same.

You are right. The grass is never greener, it just depends on which shade of green is most appealing to you. I have to admit, some of what helped my decision to leave teaching was spending 5 years with people who had been teaching for 30 years. Some of the most cynical and miserable people you ever could meet. But I now know carpenters, plumbers, electricians, rockers, roofers and insulators who are even more miserable.

And you are never trapped. You worked your way through college with your hands. Most guys I know who did that are pretty well balanced people. I did 4 undergrad, 2 grad and a semester practicum, painting all the way. The best years were undergrad, I was painting beach houses on Old Orchard in Maine. When I am old and staring into the fire, I will always remember that gig.

I hope you get to do the summer gigs. You are in a fortunate position of benefits, reasonable job security and the ability to cherry pick a summers worth of siding replacement, sill rot repair, and deck building. Maybe a book case and built in here or there and life is good!

 

[fshanno]

Or you could be the customer and the contractor.  If you as the customer give you the pro any guff then you the pro just tell you the customer were to get off!  Buy a fixer upper and flip it.

Don't quit your job at first.  Work until you drop in the evenings and on weekends.  Tell the family that this is an experiment and you'll be mostly gone for a while but you'll be back before the holidays.

You could flip a property.  Since it's your place you could do most everything yourself and learn learn learn.  Make sure it has a ratty stair that needs to be redone and hire your friend with the proviso that you get to work beside him and learn everything and do as much as you can.  Find out what you like to do and don't like to do.

Just a thought. 

 

[sancho57]

How are your business skills? Pricing/ bidding, computing labor hours, materials , scheduling, advertising?

How are you go about buildiing a client base

Do you know how to create a bomb proof contract, change orders?

Im going through the same thing right now.

Are you going for a niche or handyman, cabinet maker?

Are you allowed in your city to run a business from your home?

If not what are you going to do for shop space?

Lots of things to consider.

 

[Dane]

I went the other direction.  I put myself through college working as a carpenter and handyman and just kept on doing it for about 10 years after I graduated.  Eventually designing and building houses.  When my wife got a job in DC after grad school, I decided to take an opportunity to try and office job rather than restart a business in a new area.  I have found that the stresses in the office world are of an entirely different flavor than those of being a self-employed carpenter.  I'm not sure which is better, but I will say that when you are on your own and running your own business, there is a 24-7 feeling of slight desperation always percolating in the back of your head.  It's the sense that your entire existence depends on landing the next job, making enough money on the current job and the ever-present possibility of having to re-do work from a previous job.  I'm not sure that the sense of freedom and self-determination that comes from being master of your own destiny doesn't outweigh that, but these things sit differently on different people.  You will be coming from a world in which you can count on a certain amount of money landing in the bank every 2 weeks without fail.  You will be entering a world in which you will never really know what is around the next bend.  For some folks that is invigorating, for others it is paralyzing.  You will certainly have to rework everything about how you live your life-how you spend money, your time and plan for the future will be completely different.  Retirement is no longer just taken care of, you will spend as much, or likely far more, time seeking and landing new work than you will actually cutting wood, and one bad injury can mean that you are no longer able to make money.  Again, for some, the sense of freedom outweighs all this.  It might even for me.  I am not at all sure that I will stick with the office life, but I will tell you that it is nice not to have the stress of money while I am starting my family and dealing with getting my kids out of diapers.  The other thing to be mindful of is that all businesses average 5 years before they are profitable and can run in any sort of predictable fashion.  Have you got five years to be somewhat at loose ends?  You will be working 80 hours a week, minimum, and thinking about work the rest of the time.  Again, for some that is worth it to be unchained from the desk.  But, you will still spend a good deal of time at a desk.  I like this idea of keeping your job and flipping a house on the side.  I have done that for the past couple of years and it is a very fair approximation of what running your own business is like.  I come home from the day job, put m kids to bed and head to the jobsite for about 3 hours every night and all weekend- that's a lot like starting up a business.  If you can survive the flip with you marriage and finances intact and you still like it, you may be cut out to be a contractor full time.

 

[jmarkflesher]

Dane, Very well written. MARK

 

[UncleJoe]

Just something to add to all the things you have to consider. I have been self employed for more than 15 years. I work in the IT industry not in carpentry. Carpentry is my hobby/therapy. It keeps me sane.

A couple of years ago while riding my motorcycle on vacation in the Smokey Mountains a guy in a truck took me out. It was not pretty. I had not considered what would happen when my clients needed work and I was in the hospital on morphine. As it turned out I did rebuild a clients firewall at 2 am by remote access from my hospital bed. I was fortunate that my injuries were not life threatening nor did they keep me out for too long. I was able to do the work that I do within a month but if I made my living as a carpenter it would have been more like 9 months.

Often we think of work related accidents. In my job that usually means a paper cut. Any accident can happen to you. A hunting accident, a car accident, a jealous husband, [cool].

When you are planning to become self employed you have to have a plan to take care of all this. I love being out on my own and it works for me. It is not for everyone. I am 56 and debt free, no house payment, no truck payment nothing but taxes, food and utilities. That takes the stress off but I just recently paid off the house so for most of my time being self employed I had that bill hanging over my head.

If you decide to take the plunge have a large cash reserve.

I also have a little rule of thumb about self employment. If you work in an organization and you have not proved yourself enough to move into management what makes you think you can manage your own business when everything is on the line. Of course there are exceptions to this rule but it is worth considering.

If I were in your shoes I would want to work on a carpentry crew until I was managing a crew before I went out on my own. There is a lot of new things you learn about the job wen you are managing the job that you never know when you are just working the job. If I could not make it to a manager level I would have to have a hard talk to myself about the reality of managing my own show.

If you talk to folks that failed in their own businesses a lot of them never managed anything until they started their own. That is a pretty expensive learning ground. Learn how to manage while someone else is paying you. It is a lot better.

Good luck.

 

[Vindingo]

Maybe I am wrong, but I feel like there is a certain freedom once you learn a trade and have your own business.

I'm a career switcher, but did the carpentry/builder/architect thing for a while.  This statement, about freedom, is 100% opposite of how I felt.  Work was on my mind 24-7... That reward at the end, the one where you look at what you have built- it lost its luster pretty quick for me.    One reason (albeit a small one) for changing careers was that I enjoyed wood working too much to do it for a living. And those corporate jerks that you already don't like, they will be your clients...   

What part of the country to you live in? There isn't that much work for people with no experience in a lot of places. 

Flipping a house on the side while keeping your job is a great option.