Trying to decide when/how to leave my company...(LONG)

[thefed]

fed
Take this in the spirit intended. But you are all over the place.....Collections....Rehabs...Cleaning....Landscapimg....next month Taxes? Month after Computers? Then Phones

Your felony convictions can hinder you. Getting licenses could be a problem. Say maybe a Contractors License? Do you need one for cleaning ducts?

My advice....Pick something a stick with it. If you are going to clean ducts then do THAT! Landscaping? Then do THAT! Focus all of your energy and attention on that venture. When you don't, you spread yourself too thin and bad stuff happens.

my 2 cents

I feel exactly the opposit, actually. Since everything I've put my mind to in life is a success, why not do a few things? Once I see a market/opportunity to exploit, I'll go full force with it. I'd have no problem landscaping 2 days/week and cleaning ducst 2 days a wee and doing some odd jobs once/week. Once any of these ventures has a huge, undeniable potential, I'll focus more energy thre. I'm playing the odds. You always hear "x out of 10 buiness fail in the firstyear"...well, I'm hedging

 

[Scrapr]

But how will you know if the business' will go unless you give 100%? Now you may be in the stage of your life where you are trying everything to see what you like/love. But once you have found the "thing" give it 100%.

Let's say you are cleaning ducts and a call comes in for yard mowing. What are you going to do? Clear out early from cleaning ducts so that you can trim a yard? What could you be working on in the duct cleaning biz when you are out mowing yards? Marketing? Networking? Smoozing? Joining a local organization of duct cleaners? Resting so that you are fresh in the morning?

Why do business fail in the first few years? Cash Flow and undercapitalized. You've got your duct cleaning truck paid off (IIRC) so that frees up cash flow. And your throw everything against the wall strategy creates cash flow. So that is good. But there is a point where you need to decide what it is you are all about.

 

[Martha]

I went from being a kingpin(believe it or not) to an ethical, 9-5 working family guy. The transition has taken 3 years and isnt complete, but it's happening.

The transistion isn't complete? Complete it before you screw up all your hard work. Then think about leaving your job and being wholly self employed .

Good luck. You have lots of drive.

 

[thefed]

The transistion isn't complete? Complete it before you screw up all your hard work. Then think about leaving your job and being wholly self employed .

Good luck. You have lots of drive.

No, it isn't. I still have to remind myself day in and day out what I'm here for, who I'm here for, what makes me happy, and how to accomplish what needs to be done. The lure of easy fast money is there...I cant escape it. I dont know if/when I will be on auto-pilot, but for now its still a 'manual' operation.

 

[brewer12345]

No, it isn't.  I still have to remind myself day in and day out what I'm here for, who I'm here for, what makes me happy, and how to accomplish what needs to be done. The lure of easy fast money is there...I cant escape it.  I dont know if/when I will be on auto-pilot, but for now its still a 'manual' operation.

Hey, don't feel bad, I have to remind myself of the same things every day, and the closest I have ever been to a brush with the law is a parking ticket.

Back to the original topic, I would suggest that you get the stuff you have going right before you jump into other ventures. I have seen plenty of entrepreneurs let themselves get spread too thin and it is usually costly, at least in the short term. But I would make the leap if I were you.

 

[thefed]

Hey, don't feel bad, I have to remind myself of the same things every day, and the closest I have ever been to a brush with the law is a parking ticket.

Back to the original topic, I would suggest that you get the stuff you have going right before you jump into other ventures. I have seen plenty of entrepreneurs let themselves get spread too thin and it is usually costly, at least in the short term. But I would make the leap if I were you.

thanks for the input brewer, much appreciated

 

[thefed]

the more I think of the logistics, the more I see that I can actually do this. The real question now is WHEN will I grow the balls to actually do it.

I took the risk 5 years ago, but then, money was easy and fast. Now I have to work for it, which is fine, but it doesnt come in so steadily.

I keep telling myself "When you have whole days and weeks to yourself, you can:

a)spend 10-20 hours/week on the phone soliciting duct cleanign sales

b)concentrate on making my duct cleanign website more visually appealing as well as easily accessible through search engines

c)Create a website related to my ebay sales that I can market through yahoo and google advertising programs (I found a neat little niche that is goign well on ebay)

d)spend a day each week making stops at real estate offices,doctors offices,hvac offices etc to promote my duct cleaning business

e)spend as much time as i need working on my rehabs,thus freeing up some capital set aside for contractors

f)have all day every day available to answer duct cleanign phone calls and travel for estimates


But I wonder...am I just making excuses? Cant I do some of this stuff BEFORE I pull the plug? Yeah...I probably can. But why is it so hard to pull the trigger and get it goign now... yet I feel like it will be simple as pie once I am not tied down from 9-6 daily.

 

[brewer12345]

Time for some rocky mountain oysters, dude!

Dunno if you are wired the same way, but when I have to make a decision involving a lot of zeros it helps me if I can lay out everything on a spreadsheet. Of course the numbers won't be an accurate forecast, but if you stick in reasonable, conservative assumptions and things still look OK, it can be a help.

 

[maddythebeagle]

I probably can. But why is it so hard to pull the trigger and get it goign now... yet I feel like it will be simple as pie once I am not tied down from 9-6 daily.

I think this is the question everyone asks on this forum...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Because you have a hairball. You built it over the course of years during which you were told that you had to grow up, get a job, and earn a paycheck. This was reinforced through your teenage years as you started getting jobs, had to pay for your own apartment and had to buy food and other necessities. Life = success = money and stuff = job = paycheck.

It is now ingrained in you that not having a job is akin to high wire balancing without a net over a pit of crocodiles. No job, no success, no life, failure.

You look at all that good data that tells you that you can quit and safely retire or make a living on your own. And without evaluating that data your hairball kicks back a buttload of worry and concern.

Cough up that hairball.

 

[sgeeeee]

There is no such thing as a hairball. Anyone who thinks otherwise clearly has one.

 

[haha]

Course I made $30,000 in one month. 

What the heck were you doing?

Ha

 

[SteveR]

What the heck were you doing?

Ha

Selling dope?

 

[Martha]

Cough up that hairball.

Thanks for the early morning image.

I think I need to go take some asthma medication.

 

[thefed]

Selling dope?

that's a lot of dope.

 

[SteveR]

Felons and hairballs and dope, Oh MY!

This thread has gone down the Yellow Brick Road for sure. Where is that wicked witch anyway? Oh wait, that was my first wife. Even water couldn't melt that b*tch.

Toto! Toto! Antie Em! Antie Em!

There's no place like home.........There's no place like home.

Hack...hack...cough...gag...................ah much better now! That nasty hairball is gone.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

This thread has gone down the Yellow Brick Road for sure. Where is that wicked witch anyway? Oh wait, that was my first wife. Even water couldn't melt that b*tch.

You should have tried dropping a house on her.

 

[justin]

What the heck were you doing?

I don't want to let my secret job out of the bag, because I may go back to it later in life and do something big with it (nationwide).

Let's just call it "Engineering data collection". I had a crew of around 12 working for me when I made that much in one month.

That would be a lot of dope though.

 

[REWahoo]

You should have tried dropping a house on her.

I'll bet he did "drop a house" in the divorce.

 

[SteveR]

I'll bet he did "drop a house" in the divorce.

You got that one right. A house did drop but not on her. A lot of other stuff got dropped too and mostly on me but that is water under the bridge.

 

[thefed]

So... I sat down and CRUNCHED the numbers....
If I maintain my current lifestyle but exclude my splurge purchases...which are rare (2-3k/yr on home improvements,travel,nifty gadgets, car hobby), I need a meager 900.00/month to survive.

This is only considering rental income from 3 properties. No duct cleaning. No side jobs. NOTHING.

I can clear that with 3 duct jobs/month....each taking about 3 hours to complete. I'm averaging 6/month without advertising for the last 4 months.

BUT, if I continue to work and deal with the crap, I can be saving 1500-2500/mo....which is good for me....this is on a lowball guess of 3-6 duct cleaning jobs/month.

So I feel myself being lured back into working for'the man'...the lure of another 10-15k cash cushion looks mighty intriguing and SHOULD only take another 6 months to get there...


ahhhh! i hate this

whats funny is the numbers im spouting off on here are a few 00's short of most of you all....but its the same conundrum

 

[SteveR]

So... I sat down and CRUNCHED the numbers....

ahhhh! i hate this...

...whats funny is the numbers im spouting off on here are a few 00's short of most of you all....but its the same conundrum

Join the club.
There is no competition here on the number of zeros after you "number" there is only what works for YOU. If you need to work a few more months before you can have enough to escape to your business income then so be it. That would be the prudent thing to do if you can do it. If it is a life or death situation where you health is being affected, then bail out now; otherwise stick it out until you have a cushion. Once you get there bail out and go solo with enough cash to carry you incase the business slows down or some other financial issue comes up. Being under funded with too little cash is the major reason for small businesses to fail.

 

[brewer12345]

Before you decide to stick with the man, try this on for size: How many duct jobs a month would it take for you to save 1500 a month? How difficult would it be to get there? What other income opportunities do you regularly pass on because you don't have time to pursue them?

 

[thefed]

Before you decide to stick with the man, try this on for size: How many duct jobs a month would it take for you to save 1500 a month? How difficult would it be to get there? What other income opportunities do you regularly pass on because you don't have time to pursue them?

I know brewer...that's more or less the way I'm looking at it. I easily have 1+ years cash for taking the plunge now. BUT, I want a bit more. I know I will pull the trigger soon, but when?

 

[brewer12345]

I know brewer...that's more or less the way I'm looking at it.  I easily have 1+ years cash for taking the plunge now. BUT, I want  a bit more.   I know I will pull the trigger soon, but when?

Maybe never. You might want to set a firm line in the sand and push yourself once you cross it.

The only regret I have about my younger days is that I didn't take enough risk. Live and learn, I guess.