Leaving day job for own company

Status
Not open for further replies.
My advice?

don't do what i did

decades ago ,i approached my employer to inform him I had passed my masters ,
his response was ' a master don't mean nuthin' to me'

My response was 'I does to me, and i'm out the door, see ya"

Only to learn a tradesman does not a biz man make , the hard way

Fast forward ,now in the back 9 of my career looking back , i ate a LOT of crow , it's just not a meritocracy , contracting is akin to spending your time in a shark tank of smiley toothed sorts who target fresh meat, litigation is always a palpable presence, dealing with the public daily is condusive to misanthropy , and don't get me started on our lovely Infernal Revenue service.....

Cultivate advice, experience, and all biz tools you will, but above all consider the mindset of a biz stature ,and it will be your suit of armor

Good luck out there

~RJ~
 
..contracting is akin to spending your time in a shark tank of smiley toothed sorts who target fresh meat..
~RJ~

Well said.

William J. Ferguson, General Council, Babcock Power, describes legal liability:
Taken from ECM Video - Fast FWD to 44min mark

Consequence for unknowingly using counterfeit parts:
10yrs in Prison & 5-Million fine for individuals on 1st offense. 20yrs in Prison for 2nd offense.
Civil charges: Breach of Contract, Gross/Negligence, Intentional Misrepresentation, Strict Liability
Criminal charges: Fraud, Punitive damages, and Attorneys Fees, among others.

The legal doctrine used to prosecute contractors in most States is called:
Joint & Several Liability: 1% responsibility = 100% liability. You Touch it, Your responsible.
Counterfeit Equipment prosecutions are similar to civil litigation for building-code negligence.
 
There are other sharks in contracting waters:

Regulatory Mandates

General Liability Insurance - few thousand annually
Errors & Omissions Insurance - few thousand annually
Workers Compensation Insurance with/out payroll services - few to several thousand annually
Employer Contributions for any Self-Employed Retirement Contributions - Up to $20,000 per year, per employee
Employer Contributions for State & Federal required Health Insurance - few thousand annually per employee

Operational Mandates

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) - few thousand annually for access to more than 1 code standard.
Better Business Bureau (BBB) - few thousand annually for a logo on your website.
Dun & Bradstreet - few thousand annually for business credit registration.
Internet Optimization Services, Yelp, Google, etc.. - Several hundred a month or else, the phone won't ring.

I'm sure I missed some, if anyone cares to join in..
 
There are other sharks in contracting waters:

Regulatory Mandates

General Liability Insurance - few thousand annually - Really several thousand - Required by who
Errors & Omissions Insurance - few thousand annually Humm did not know it is required
Workers Compensation Insurance with/out payroll services - few to several thousand annually -
Employer Contributions for any Self-Employed Retirement Contributions - Up to $20,000 per year, per employee - where you get this!
Employer Contributions for State & Federal required Health Insurance - few thousand annually per employee - what this guy is going to immediately open up a 100 employee shop!

Operational Mandates

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) - few thousand annually for access to more than 1 code standard.
I have access to all the codes current and past for free.
Better Business Bureau (BBB) - few thousand annually for a logo on your website. Those folks could go pound sand
Dun & Bradstreet - few thousand annually for business credit registration. not a necessary
Internet Optimization Services, Yelp, Google, etc.. - Several hundred a month or else, the phone won't ring. you can do for free

I'm sure I missed some, if anyone cares to join in..

Yep! you highly over state what is necessary.
 
Yep! you highly over state what is necessary.

The Sharks push it, and say we need it. Who are you to argue with insurance agents.

Not getting screwed is another full time job. Miss a day, and your business folds.
 
Last edited:
you have private backlog greater than a years salary?
how did you solicit the work?
it's the hardest part because you can't offer services to anyone that already has a relationship with another engineer
they must post an rfp or contact you
 
you can't offer services to anyone that already has a relationship with another engineer

not entirely true. you can't offer services in an attempt to knowingly displace a firm/engineer which has been retained or is in the process of being retained for a specific project. we don't know enough about how the OP is earning work to determine if he is acting ethically or not.

they must post an rfp or contact you

my understanding is you can non-indiscriminately solicit, with informational brochures, public engineering project meeting attendees so long as you are not trying to take work already agreed to be completed by another firm/engineer.

the act of attending the public meeting about an engineering work is enough to establish interest of engineering services. no need to wait for someone to call you cause they found your name in the classifieds. getting work in the private sector.. that's a different story i know nothing about.
 
not entirely true. you can't offer services in an attempt to knowingly displace a firm/engineer which has been retained or is in the process of being retained for a specific project. we don't know enough about how the OP is earning work to determine if he is acting ethically or not.

my understanding is you can non-indiscriminately solicit, with informational brochures, public engineering project meeting attendees so long as you are not trying to take work already agreed to be completed by another firm/engineer.

the act of attending the public meeting about an engineering work is enough to establish interest of engineering services. no need to wait for someone to call you cause they found your name in the classifieds. getting work in the private sector.. that's a different story i know nothing about.


pretty much 100% true
'supplant' is the word
we know there are ethical concerns since he has not notified his employer of his side engineering work

he said he is working with clients from the past
since he is working for (or has worked for) others, it would seem the clients are/were his employers
the question is would his employer want the work?
would they have received it had it not been for their employee who garned the work by a relationship he developed while being employed by that firm (or a previous employee)?

it's a grey area and varies by juristiction
I did alot of public work and most gov entities have an appointed engineer
it's required by law

if I would distribute material to attendees and solicit their contact info at a conference of muni officials then make a 'sales' call that would not fly in PA
if I had a booth and they took info that is another matter
 
pretty much 100% true
'supplant' is the word
we know there are ethical concerns since he has not notified his employer of his side engineering work

he said he is working with clients from the past
since he is working for (or has worked for) others, it would seem the clients are/were his employers
the question is would his employer want the work?
would they have received it had it not been for their employee who garned the work by a relationship he developed while being employed by that firm (or a previous employee)?

it's a grey area and varies by juristiction
I did alot of public work and most gov entities have an appointed engineer
it's required by law

if I would distribute material to attendees and solicit their contact info at a conference of muni officials then make a 'sales' call that would not fly in PA
if I had a booth and they took info that is another matter

clients from older job doing short circuit studies. current employer does residential. so long as his moonlighting doesn't affect his day job and he is using 0 day job resources, i see no problem except he should have told his employer that he was doing this.

you can't offer services to anyone that already has a relationship with another engineer they must post an rfp or contact you

i just mean to say that I disagree with this interpretation. My reasoning here.
 
clients from older job doing short circuit studies. current employer does residential. so long as his moonlighting doesn't affect his day job and he is using 0 day job resources, i see no problem except he should have told his employer that he was doing this.

i just mean to say that I disagree with this interpretation. My reasoning here.

a few questions remain:
if aware, would his employer allow it
would the employer have his employee do the work on behalf of the firm

not informing: that is a big problem, likely grounds for dismissal and board sanction

from your nspe interpretation
this is his out:
The remaining questions asked whether the consultant could send the municipal official a professional resume and arrange a personal visit.

the muni official is in essence giving him permission/requesting him to contact them

my questions
if they answered they had a relationship and not to contact them, and he did, is that a violation?

that info is from my alma mater
https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~bmclaren/ethics/index.html
 
Agreed on all points re: having to inform employer.

The soliciting comment is taken under consideration. There is some that is left up to interpretation and that is sometimes enough to not even take a chance. However there is a right way to find work.

Neat to see that the available resource is from your Alma mater.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 
Agreed on all points re: having to inform employer.

The soliciting comment is taken under consideration. There is some that is left up to interpretation and that is sometimes enough to not even take a chance. However there is a right way to find work.

Neat to see that the available resource is from your Alma mater.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

it's tricky waters
alot depends on if a party wants to push it

one of the cases said that having a booth at a muni (or authority) conference was not kosher
same for construction trade shows
it's done all the time
I've heard the PA board said it was ok if it was advertised and open to all interested parties

if in doubt I avoid it, if it feels wrong it likely is
if your work speaks for itself word of mouth will do it in a small market like mine
 
it's tricky waters
alot depends on if a party wants to push it

one of the cases said that having a booth at a muni (or authority) conference was not kosher
same for construction trade shows
it's done all the time
I've heard the PA board said it was ok if it was advertised and open to all interested parties

if in doubt I avoid
if your work speaks for itself word of mouth will do it in a small market like mine
All very good points. Thank you for sharing your perspective of experience.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top