I really think you should worry about your own toes going into business for yourself. I wouldn't worry about going out of town to find work when there is work to be offered whre you are. It's every man your himself when it come to business.
Starting a business in a few months
Well i am sure there is no amount of time or advice that could prepare anyone for starting their own business but I have been a residential painter for about six years now and a fellow worker at my current employer has asked me to partner up with him and start a business. My to be partner has been painting for about ten plus years and has more technical know how than I but our work ethic and mantra are pretty spot on. We have been chatting and planning for awhile and have come to the conclusion that at the end of the busy season we will let our employer know we are heading off on our own. We are planning on working in a different section of the state than we are now so at least we are trying not to step on toes, but with business i understand people get touchy. Well to cut to the chase it's always enlightening to hear some words of wisdom from the seasoned veterans around so if anyone has any bits that they wish they had known when they began, I am all ears.... Thanks for any pearls passed on.
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I wish you the best of luck. Just remember you will probably work harder and longer for yourself.
Starting a business isn't like flipping a switch. Just because you start a business doesn't mean you will have customers. If you don't have customers, you don't have a business. If you don't have a lot of potential customers, you won't have the right kind of customers.
It all starts and ends with leads. Make the phone ring. If the phone is ringing a lot, you will do well. If it isn't, you will be buying jobs-- i.e., bidding low to get work.
Develop a marketing plan and put it into action at least month before you go into business. Or else, you will be buying jobs very quickly.
Brian Phillips
It all starts and ends with leads. Make the phone ring. If the phone is ringing a lot, you will do well. If it isn't, you will be buying jobs-- i.e., bidding low to get work.
Develop a marketing plan and put it into action at least month before you go into business. Or else, you will be buying jobs very quickly.
Brian Phillips
Start business during slow season in sluggish economy? I hope you spend the next few months lining up work for next winter, which is sometimes even in the best of times easier said than done.
Not trying to be a buzzkill, just reality.
Not trying to be a buzzkill, just reality.
make sure you have a very detailed buy/sell agreement drawn up between you and your partner. Its funny how money will change people.
Starting to line up work slowly for fall and winter so i am hoping when i am ready to jet off i have a decent amount of jobs ready to go, i am not really trying to stay out of the same areas as my current employer i just think certain areas are over saturated with contractors, and yeah i have been thinking about writting up a formal agreement with my prospective partner
Everything you buy for the company, get two. One is yours & one is his. Then when one of you pisses the other off it won't be such a bad divorce. You split it down the middle & both have everything you need to keep working. I say this because I've seen it happen more than once in a few different fields. It don't look like fun when you and your partner split up, he wins the battle on who keeps what, and leaves you broke with no equipment to be your own company. You end up working for somebody else making their starting wage barely affording your bills let alone having enough money to start another company. Always have a back up plan, trust nobody, and be prepared for the worst. If only the best happens then good for you. When it's time to expand you'll have what you need to do so. That's just my opinion on the matter and how I do it. Anything you pitch in & buy together you better have a good agreement on what happens to it if you go seperate ways. 
Lawyer up
:cowboy:
If you don't now, it'll just cost more later
:cowboy:
If you don't now, it'll just cost more later
If your serious go get a small business lawyer/accountant. Get you partnership legal. Start to develop you marketing plan yesterday and .....screw waiting until the end of the busy season....do it now! Would you plant a garden in December? And most important.....dump your partner!
Ok so heres the part I dont get. If I am Islandbound and thinking about jumping ship after the busy season (which in and of itself I am having trouble wrapping my mind around) and I am going to have a partner and I understand that there ought to be some sort of legally defined relationship, perhaps even an entity in place, plus I have to market and book work for the fall and winter...here are some questions I would be asking myself and my would be partner:
Where does the money come from to purchase the equipment we need to start with, the marketing we need to launch this thing, and the fees associated with even establishing this relationship legally?
If I feel that the market I am in is oversaturated with paint contractors, what are the chances of us marketing in other areas where we are not known and don't have many contacts?
Would this come off as fly by night or would customers appreciate our willingness to travel?
Can we factor travel time into our estimating and be competetive?
What are we driving for vehicle(s) and how will gas expenses work out?
What if those far away markets we are willing to travel to are also saturated with paint contractors and we dont find out until we get there?
Would we be better off to continue working for a paint company that we do not own where we can just show up and paint for a good wage and not have to worry about all this crap?
Where does the money come from to purchase the equipment we need to start with, the marketing we need to launch this thing, and the fees associated with even establishing this relationship legally?
If I feel that the market I am in is oversaturated with paint contractors, what are the chances of us marketing in other areas where we are not known and don't have many contacts?
Would this come off as fly by night or would customers appreciate our willingness to travel?
Can we factor travel time into our estimating and be competetive?
What are we driving for vehicle(s) and how will gas expenses work out?
What if those far away markets we are willing to travel to are also saturated with paint contractors and we dont find out until we get there?
Would we be better off to continue working for a paint company that we do not own where we can just show up and paint for a good wage and not have to worry about all this crap?
There is really something to be said for just showing up and getting your assignment, getting a steady paycheck, and being able to say "call the office" when some customer flips outWould we be better off to continue working for a paint company that we do not own where we can just show up and paint for a good wage and not have to worry about all this crap?
You need to figure out if you are an entrepreneur, or a technician having an entrepreneurial seizure...if anyone has any bits that they wish they had known when they began, I am all ears....
Don't walk...run, bike, bus, skateboard, drive, taxi, jet ski, over to your nearest bookstore or library and read The E-Myth Contractor right now
SlickThere is really something to be said for just showing up and getting your assignment, getting a steady paycheck, and being able to say "call the office" when some customer flips out
I gotta tell you, there are many days where I would love to work for someone else. Punch in, punch out...not my problem, maam...Sorry you'll have to talk to the boss on that one...Thats why he gets the big bucks...dum de dum dum dum :whistling2:
Matter of fact, once in a blue moon GMack and I sub to each other, and man its like going on vacation going on his job, and vice versa.
....here's the best advice you will get all day......................... ................................... go get a edjamacation and get out while you can!
paper or plastic ........put on a orange vest and go get carriages every hour or so ..... I dream too!Slick
I gotta tell you, there are many days where I would love to work for someone else. Punch in, punch out...not my problem, maam...Sorry you'll have to talk to the boss on that one...Thats why he gets the big bucks...dum de dum dum dum :whistling2:
i appreciate the advice but man you guys sound bitter, i understand that there is a major reality check involved when you dream of going onto business for yourself, I also understand that if you want to get anywhere in this world you have to take things on and go get it. Of course it's great to have a steady paycheck and no headaches but thats not all there is to a career. I am a young man who is educated my partner is educated as well, the fact is i live in the most populated state there is, through out this entire "sluggish" economy I've seen work remain absolutely the same, I and my partner both get requests very very frequently to do work for people which we both decline or try to if feasible get done on our own time. We both just get by on weekly paychecks and watch businesses flourish around us knowing they are doing half as good work. If i can make money and provide a quality job that makes customer's happy, i am going to do it
We are based out of NJ as well. Yes there is still a good economy here and people do spend money. They spend it only if they know what they are spending it on. We are established in our area and still it is a hard life. You look at your boss and think that you too can do what he is doing- maybe you can, but just be careful. Busy contractors are not always making money. Contractors that make money are making money for a reason. We live in one of the most expensive states going right now. After you pay all of your taxes ins. w/c and all the rest, the paycheck from your old boss might be a good thing.i appreciate the advice but man you guys sound bitter, i understand that there is a major reality check involved when you dream of going onto business for yourself, I also understand that if you want to get anywhere in this world you have to take things on and go get it. Of course it's great to have a steady paycheck and no headaches but thats not all there is to a career. I am a young man who is educated my partner is educated as well, the fact is i live in the most populated state there is, through out this entire "sluggish" economy I've seen work remain absolutely the same, I and my partner both get requests very very frequently to do work for people which we both decline or try to if feasible get done on our own time. We both just get by on weekly paychecks and watch businesses flourish around us knowing they are doing half as good work. If i can make money and provide a quality job that makes customer's happy, i am going to do it
Where are you living now? I could use some subs for a lot of work.
live up in north jersey morris passaic county area
Islandbound - these guys might sound bitter, only because the truth very often is bitter. Many tradesman think because they can paint - that they can open a painting business. If you go back 40 and 50 years ago - that's exactly how life was - if you were a painter, you painted on your own and did it for a working wage from homeowners. Life has changed - now you have to be a legit business and know all your overhead. Have you priced what your company needs to make per hour? Will this hourly rate support a marketing campaign that will effectively draw customers to you?
The thing is - you need to be a businessman these days to operate a painting business - but if you have a background in business, I doubt you would choose something like painting - it's a damn hard business to crack! And it ain't easy to start like some people think - what if you have homes that are 36 feet high? You need tons of ladders and scaffolding. Got lead? Now you need to be licensed. And all the while you have ignorant latin americans underbidding you, and not doing anything legally. What's there not to love?
I've been in business 5 years, however I have changed my business focus to something else and don't chase painting work anymore - but you'd think still, with my yellow page ads and the fact I have done lots of painting work in the past 5 years, I'd still be getting phone calls, right? Wrong. I have done one interior job this winter and not one phone call since - and I have the logo'd trucks and the advertizing. That's ok - like I said, I haven't been chasing the work for the last year in favor of other work. But goes to show - if you aren't aggressively and spending marketing dollars - your work will dry up. And if you are new without a thought as to how the work will come your way - then trust me, it won't.
The thing is - you need to be a businessman these days to operate a painting business - but if you have a background in business, I doubt you would choose something like painting - it's a damn hard business to crack! And it ain't easy to start like some people think - what if you have homes that are 36 feet high? You need tons of ladders and scaffolding. Got lead? Now you need to be licensed. And all the while you have ignorant latin americans underbidding you, and not doing anything legally. What's there not to love?
I've been in business 5 years, however I have changed my business focus to something else and don't chase painting work anymore - but you'd think still, with my yellow page ads and the fact I have done lots of painting work in the past 5 years, I'd still be getting phone calls, right? Wrong. I have done one interior job this winter and not one phone call since - and I have the logo'd trucks and the advertizing. That's ok - like I said, I haven't been chasing the work for the last year in favor of other work. But goes to show - if you aren't aggressively and spending marketing dollars - your work will dry up. And if you are new without a thought as to how the work will come your way - then trust me, it won't.
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