Making the plunge
- Thread starter peter d
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Fulthrotl
~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
- Occupation
- E
yep. it falls into the "i'm not good enough" category of fear.
underneath every rampant perfectionist, lies this fear. trust me on this.
while the fear is gone, the perfectionism remains. habits are hard to break.
that's why i strive to make my work "perfect", so that you won't guess
that i am really, deep down inside, a worthless P.O.S.
try this, and see what happens.... take 5 minutes, and pray to whatever
flavor of deity rings your bell. i'm willing to bet a cheeseburger, that
after you are done, there will not be a bolt of lightning, and a peal of
thunder, and a voice echoes..... "dude, you're screwed. have you looked
at the fundamentals lately? we laid off 10% of all the souls in heaven,
and there are only 11 archangels left to facilitate miracles, and you just
aren't good enough to deserve one. perdolo." (sorry, in latin)
without getting all preachy on ya, there seems to be one primary
instruction that applies here:
"it is done unto you, as you believe."
The only thing to fear, is fear itself.
Think about it. Get the facts together and make an educated decision.
Back in the 70's we were so busy we were working 12 to 14 hours a day 7 days , and they kept saying we were going into a recession, we thought they were nuts until our phone stopped ringing, but cheer up the started ringing again 18 months later, business is always a risk, but in the market we have today, unlike the 70's, there is more plastic out there and it's at 27% or more intrest, in the 70's the consumer credit was at 6% bad but not as bad as now.
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
Well, if things get really bad everyone will be in trouble, more or less.
Except for Marc, he'll be working in the anti-government people's bunkers, telling them how much he hates the IRS.
Except for Marc, he'll be working in the anti-government people's bunkers, telling them how much he hates the IRS.
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
I have thought about it, I have accumulated the majority of the facts that are important. Now I'm in the educated decision process.
NolaTigaBait
Senior Member
- Location
- New Orleans,LA
I did it. How hard can it be?
I didn't think about it though. I never thought about anything when I was young.
Just tell your wife to get a second job just in case
same here, i just did it, didn't really put much thought into i...if i can do it, then anyone can
brantmacga
Señor Member
- Location
- Georgia
- Occupation
- Former Child
it may be different in everyone's area, but here, radio advertising is the most effective. talk to some other business owner's there to see what is working for them.
but i guess it depends on what you're going to try and specialize in.
what exactly are you going to market yourself as?
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
tonyou812
Senior Member
- Location
- North New Jersey
reluctantly that's what I did as well, and I put that in my phone book ad, and so far its worked out great. But to tell you the truth, and I'm not sure if its just my magnanimous personality but almost 85 percent of my work now is word of mouth and a few good/ Great GC's. You have to find your niche and make it work for you. I have a few commercial accounts that I do regular work for but ultimately I would love to have 85 percent commercial work and 15 percent resi. I would love nothing more than to get in the industrial market but I have yet to find a good way to get my paws in that door. But we'll leave that for another day.A hack.
At first I will probably market myself as a residential specialist.
Peter I really think that your decision should really come from your heart. Don't take this the wrong way and i dont really know you that well but you almost come off as "ho hum" about your quandary. You said it yourself no kids, wife etc so to me "What is the Problem"? Its almost like your setting yourself up for defeat before you even started. and I only say that because of your comment "well at least I gave it a shot". I think a lot of people dont make it as entrepreneurs because they dont really want it. Ive seen plenty of people go belly up in the restaurant buissnes because they go into it with your attitude. for me its almost an obsession
Im curious as to what is your main reason for wanting to go into buisness for yourself.
quogueelectric
Senior Member
- Location
- new york
Most ECs will tell you it is never a good time to go into buisness as they are running down the road with loafs of bread under each arm.
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
Mike Lang
Senior Member
- Location
- New Jersey
I just started my business in the thick of it and I certainly don't have all or any of the answers but like you said I dont' have a family or a huge mortgage to pay for. I'm not advertising right now because it's extremely expensive near em and I doubt ti will work right now with this economy.
I did get a pretty decent E250 for $2500 and I have purchased all the tools needed through the years so it wouldn't hit me all at once. I didn't have much choice in starting up, my boss was getting slow and I just went for it. I do have a 2 new homes coming up in early 09 other than that it's all small stuff. The biggest and most frustrating problem I'm having is getting paid on time.
Mike Lang
Senior Member
- Location
- New Jersey
That's pretty funny and true. I ran into an older guy in the supply house about 6 months ago and he was all heated about young guys going into business. He had the nerve to say they don't go into business... they work for me! Needless to say he was wearing Kahki's and a polo shirt driving a luxury car. I wanted so bad to ask him if he was born a licensed electrician. I'd love to get one of his accounts one day.
JohnE
Senior Member
- Location
- Milford, MA
Peter,
This is about the worst timing you could pick. But you are at a good point in your life to go for it. No wife, no mortgage.
You say you don't want to work for just a paycheck. I hope you mean long term. Because in the beginning you might be working for less. (Or not working I guess.)
Good luck with the decision. I know you are already far more qualified than some of the guys I know who are in business and do pretty well.
This is about the worst timing you could pick. But you are at a good point in your life to go for it. No wife, no mortgage.
You say you don't want to work for just a paycheck. I hope you mean long term. Because in the beginning you might be working for less. (Or not working I guess.)
Good luck with the decision. I know you are already far more qualified than some of the guys I know who are in business and do pretty well.
Rewire
Senior Member
- Location
- Lake of the Ozarks
there is a movie out on DVD it is called "Flywheel" I have taken my business phylosophy from it.It may not be everyones cup of tea but I have found it made a big difference in my stress level.
How 'bout a synopsis?:smile:
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