Shutting Down

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jmellc

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
Occupation
Facility Maintenance Tech. Licensed Electrician
I made it just over 5 years but I am now shutting down. I go to work next week with another co. in town.

I have done some grieving but I feel relieved too and look forward to my new job. This EC has been around a long time and has a good name here. I may still do a little side work but not a whole lot. I will take all the OT they can offer when it comes up.
 
Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Congratulations on the new position. Running your own business is tough even in good times. Glad to hear you landed softly, that is really hard to do and a testament to your personality and values. Keep in mind you have to be smart to do what you did and are doing. Most people do not understand that because they ... can't.:thumbsup:
 
jmellc said:
I made it just over 5 years but I am now shutting down. I go to work next week with another co. in town.

I have done some grieving but I feel relieved too and look forward to my new job. This EC has been around a long time and has a good name here. I may still do a little side work but not a whole lot. I will take all the OT they can offer when it comes up.
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:( Sorry to hear this. Good luck. Keep that license active for fallback.
 
Yes, I will for sure keep up my license. That helped me get the job.
 
jmellc said:
This EC has been around a long time and has a good name here.
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This could be a benefit for you. Pay close attention to how he runs his business. Watch how he schedules, pays, benefits and manages his employees. If you can see how he manages supply houses, insurance companies, customers and pretty much anything you feel that you needed to work on.

When I started I learned the hard way. By making money costing mistakes. If I could have just watched and observed how a successful business ran before I started one I would not have lost the money and time I did at the start.

Good luck on your new job and be the best that you can be.
 
dduffee260 said:
This could be a benefit for you. Pay close attention to how he runs his business. Watch how he schedules, pays, benefits and manages his employees. If you can see how he manages supply houses, insurance companies, customers and pretty much anything you feel that you needed to work on.

When I started I learned the hard way. By making money costing mistakes. If I could have just watched and observed how a successful business ran before I started one I would not have lost the money and time I did at the start.

Good luck on your new job and be the best that you can be.
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That's good advice!
 
dduffee260 said:
This could be a benefit for you. Pay close attention to how he runs his business. Watch how he schedules, pays, benefits and manages his employees. If you can see how he manages supply houses, insurance companies, customers and pretty much anything you feel that you needed to work on.

I had actually seen more up close than the average guy. I helped 2 previous bosses quote jobs and helped manage accounts for 1. Another co. was part owned by my BIL so I saw their processes closer than most people. Still, nothing like having "the buck stop here". Looking back, I can clearly see a lot of mistakes, including some I thought I would never make. dunce:
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I started back in 1994 with a pickup and $400 in my checking account. Now I have a pickup and owe several hundred thousand dollars. But at least I have a lot of friends now.
 
dduffee260 said:
This could be a benefit for you. Pay close attention to how he runs his business. Watch how he schedules, pays, benefits and manages his employees. If you can see how he manages supply houses, insurance companies, customers and pretty much anything you feel that you needed to work on.

When I started I learned the hard way. By making money costing mistakes. If I could have just watched and observed how a successful business ran before I started one I would not have lost the money and time I did at the start.

Good luck on your new job and be the best that you can be.
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I had seen more up close than the average person. I helped 1 former boss manage the business, kept up with some of the accounts. Did job quotes for him and the next guy I worked for. Worked for my BIL's co a few years. Didn't help them manage, but saw/heard more info than most people.

My biggest issue was keeping up with all of it with no real help. Intending to get home & work on books, instead get home & crash on the couch or at the table over a quote. That kind of stuff.

I am now "getting back to fundamentals". Reorganizing my tools as I have to switch vehicles a lot, selecting bags/boxes, etc. I used to be one of the best at keeping my stuff organized and at hand. I began slipping at that my last couple of years. That is a terrible killer too. I have all the stuff I used to and much more.

I have been 2 weeks with this co. now. I like them. I do service calls under 1 guy and some job work under another. Both are good to work for. I had arc flash and lift training with their safety trainer. Met 2 other office guys and the office manager. Have only met 3 guys in the field; I work with them on a job I sometimes go to. They are good to work around; I knew 1 of them a little from another co we both used to work for. Have briefly said hello with a couple of others at the office, haven't really met. But all in all, they have a good atmosphere around the office & job site. They have been around over 30 years and always had a good name on the grapevine. That tells a lot. This is a family owned co. Many of the guys are family and have done electrical work all their lives, learned at the knees of fathers, grandfathers & uncles. Their family's roots in this business go back to the 1930's. Not bad at all.
 
jmellc said:
I have been 2 weeks with this co. now. I like them. I do service calls under 1 guy and some job work under another. Both are good to work for. I had arc flash and lift training with their safety trainer. Met 2 other office guys and the office manager. Have only met 3 guys in the field; I work with them on a job I sometimes go to. They are good to work around; I knew 1 of them a little from another co we both used to work for. Have briefly said hello with a couple of others at the office, haven't really met. But all in all, they have a good atmosphere around the office & job site. They have been around over 30 years and always had a good name on the grapevine. That tells a lot. This is a family owned co. Many of the guys are family and have done electrical work all their lives, learned at the knees of fathers, grandfathers & uncles. Their family's roots in this business go back to the 1930's. Not bad at all.
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we all need a comfortable spot. glad you seem to have found one.

after 35 years in the electricians union, it seems that door is finally closing.
kinda feels weird. been out of sorts about it for a week or so now.

and with that ending, my phone has been ringing off the hook. i have
zero free time between now, and april fools day... i turned down a
$150k ish conference center remodel in san diego, 'cause i didn't have
time to even drive down there to bid it, let alone do it.

the saying is, when one door closes, another opens.
they don't say how long the hallway is in between the doors, however.

here's to short hallways.
 
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