ShawnRussell
Member
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2011
- Messages
- 251
I have not made the switch, I have been thinking about it for 3 years, and I am currently in year 1 of my plan. I have given myself 7 years to make a complete switch from corp to self employed.
As others have said it is what I put into my plan. I am paying off everything, buying equipment, taking classes, and on the side doing work here and there to start building contacts. I have worked on Habitat homes for the last 3 years. I am going to buy my first property this year. I will be able to use all of my skills and it will also force me to learn new ones. I expect to fix the house up and either keep to rent or flip it. I intend to use the next 6 years as experience.
I would definitely say have everything paid off and have all the equipment you need/want without any debt before you make the transition. Save up enough money that you can go at least 12 months without any work. I am a wee bit conservative and I am shooting for 3 years worth of living expenses. Start exercises, drinking water, getting enough sleep, and get your body in shape. I would make sure woodworking after long hours is still just as enjoyable 10-14 hours into the day as it was the first minute you started a project. Find a niche with very little competition. Lastly, start selling work across different economic lines. Do you enjoy doing more, fast, easy projects that are cheaper but you net more profit on volume. Do you enjoy multistep, mutli-week projects that require more brain than brawn and may offer large profit potential? And after you are doing projects, try to find jobs that force you to work with other sub-contractors, designers, and architects.
Adding one more, how well do you handle stress and poor service. You are going to run into those knuckleheads. The ones that want to change mid project, those that want a palace on a tent budget, those that will actively try to rip you off and not pay, and then those that are just a pain in the arse to deal with and complain about everything not being the way they wanted it; regardless of having a contract. Can you stomach all of that and still treat the customer with grace and respect? Once you go solo, your name and reputation carries you or sinks you.
As others have said it is what I put into my plan. I am paying off everything, buying equipment, taking classes, and on the side doing work here and there to start building contacts. I have worked on Habitat homes for the last 3 years. I am going to buy my first property this year. I will be able to use all of my skills and it will also force me to learn new ones. I expect to fix the house up and either keep to rent or flip it. I intend to use the next 6 years as experience.
I would definitely say have everything paid off and have all the equipment you need/want without any debt before you make the transition. Save up enough money that you can go at least 12 months without any work. I am a wee bit conservative and I am shooting for 3 years worth of living expenses. Start exercises, drinking water, getting enough sleep, and get your body in shape. I would make sure woodworking after long hours is still just as enjoyable 10-14 hours into the day as it was the first minute you started a project. Find a niche with very little competition. Lastly, start selling work across different economic lines. Do you enjoy doing more, fast, easy projects that are cheaper but you net more profit on volume. Do you enjoy multistep, mutli-week projects that require more brain than brawn and may offer large profit potential? And after you are doing projects, try to find jobs that force you to work with other sub-contractors, designers, and architects.
Adding one more, how well do you handle stress and poor service. You are going to run into those knuckleheads. The ones that want to change mid project, those that want a palace on a tent budget, those that will actively try to rip you off and not pay, and then those that are just a pain in the arse to deal with and complain about everything not being the way they wanted it; regardless of having a contract. Can you stomach all of that and still treat the customer with grace and respect? Once you go solo, your name and reputation carries you or sinks you.
