How to go full time?

boosted · Mar 13, 2017

Apologies for the novel. Looking to rant, and maybe get some advice.

A little over a year ago, I was ready to leave my job and start a machine shop. My employer lost a contract, and was really slow. I had lots of dreams, and a fairly large nest egg saved up. Decided to start up my thing, work part time for the boss, and then transition to a full time gig if (when) I got too busy.

Right after I put 30% down on a new VMC (a mistake), I was approached by another company with a really good job offer. Something where I would make so much money that if things got busy I could just write a check for the machine payment every month. So I took the job, and as these things often are; it was too good to be true. After a year of 60-70 hours a week, and too much time on the road, I finally quit. Went to work at a local shop as a manufacturing engineer.

Now insert the current predicament. Because I have had so little time to invest into the business, it has pretty much stagnated. I have a couple okay customers, and if I hustle, the jobs they bring can pretty much cover overhead every month. But that's it. The business has not grown at all in the last year. I'm still stuck with the day job until the business can support our family, but because I work all day, it's really difficult to get out there and solicit work. I have a 40X20 VMC and a 6inch chuck TC, so it's not like there is much to set me apart from the dozens of other garage shops in the area.

Not really sure how to go forward and take it to the next level...

ewlsey · Mar 13, 2017

Sounds like the classic conundrum of self employment. Most guys here went through about the same thing.

I read all the stories about guys working after hours and part time and raking in piles of cash while maintaining the day job. I came to the conclusion that they are A) lying, B) dicking around in a home shop, C) into some kind of niche that no one else can replicate. It was pretty obvious I couldn't do it.

Business happens during the day. I have to be at the shop (it's not at my house) to accept deliveries and unload steel trucks. I need to be able to call suppliers and accept calls from customers. I need access to email. You can't do that when you have a full time day job.

That's my take on it. You want it or you don't.

roll-a-leblond · Mar 13, 2017

Quit your job, let the bills pile up for about two months, now you're ready to start your own shop ,go get it.

Ewlsey is spot on, businesses are run during the day, money is made during the day . 8am-6pm

It took me years to establish my client base in the automotive field ,now I have been working on some of their cars for over 10 years.

U can do it, but you have to jump both feet in and accept whatever happens. Either you're going to get it or you're not .

I say give it a try if it doesn't work out you can go back to working for someone else .

Sometimes it sucks like never being able to take a day off, but it's very gratifying not have an answer to anyone but yourself .

kpotter · Mar 13, 2017

make a product sell the product make more product. You dont have the fire power to compete in the job shop world.

robert123 · Mar 13, 2017

If you can get fired from your job where you will be able to collect unemployment for 6 months or however long they allow now, you can still have some income while getting things off the ground.

ewlsey · Mar 13, 2017

You don't get unemployment if you get fired.

Oldwrench · Mar 13, 2017

ewlsey said:
Sounds like the classic conundrum of self employment. Most guys here went through about the same thing.

I read all the stories about guys working after hours and part time and raking in piles of cash while maintaining the day job. I came to the conclusion that they are A) lying, B) dicking around in a home shop, C) into some kind of niche that no one else can replicate.

Yup. Here's option C, from a guy who knows:

kpotter said:
make a product sell the product make more product.

I chose option C as soon as I could get up the guts to turn away the job-shop work. It was either that or go broke investing in every new development in CNC. I left that to my neighbors, and with one exception they went broke...

awander · Mar 14, 2017

ewlsey said:
You don't get unemployment if you get fired.

Well....sort of. You don't get unemployment if you get fired for serious misconduct, but if that's not the case, then you sure do collect unemployment.

And if you quit without good cause, you definitely don't get unemployment...

m98custom1212 · Mar 14, 2017

kpotter said:
make a product sell the product make more product. You dont have the fire power to compete in the job shop world.

Yep, found that out the hard way but honestly the best move I have done.

Comatose · Mar 14, 2017

If a year of 60-70 hour weeks was more than you could swing from a work/life balance, why do you want to go full time self employed again?

adama · Mar 14, 2017

I disagree, the very business you want is not done 9-5 because your customers are at work themselves. Yeah your not running a 9-5 job shop, you gotta see around that. You have to sell the advantages of not 9-5 not sorry im not here 9-5, more like, hay i specalise in out of hours rapid support type stuff.

Materials, you have to find alternative sources, its easy enough to do, most places do online ordering and delivery. IMHO if you can't solve such a simple issue for your slef, how are you going to fix the complex ones of customers?

You have to carve out your own niche, its a bit like a dog hunting, first you need to spend enough time prowling, then you catch a wiff of something then you have to chase it down.

You also have to distance your self from others in what you offer. If you have a lathe and mill great, but then who does not? Now use that tooling to make something else tooling wise that lets you unlock a niche and your away. Gotta think outside the box, gotta find and carve your own niche.

kpotter · Mar 14, 2017

I am very greatfull that there are shops that want to produce my parts. I have zero interest in producing other peoples parts for the lowest possible price. You wont need the latest and greatest machines if you make your own stuff. I run old as crap conventional machines that stay set up to do one operation they never change. I buy more machines when I get a new operation or I farm it out to one of six bizzillion job shops all wanting easy machine work. I actually have 3 that produce most of what we sell. Pick something you would like to make and produce it and sell it. It is important to actuall know what it is you are making and know all about it so you know the market and know the customers. I was a goldsmith for 20 years so I had a pretty good idea about what I wanted to make and sell. Sell direct to the customer cut out the middleman. We are now larger than our three main suppliers. When we started we were in my garage now we earn more money and are stronger financially than our vendors. Just make a good quality product you dont have to be the cheapest just be better, people do want quality when you can show them the difference. When you produce a product you may have one or two competitors not a bizillion in every city and town. We have 3 world wide.

Oldwrench · Mar 14, 2017

kpotter said:
...When you produce a product you may have one or two competitors not a bizillion in every city and town. We have 3 world wide.

That right there is the reason to quit your job and go into business. The other way, you just trade getting a paycheck for writing a paycheck...for twice the work.

motion guru · Mar 14, 2017

robert123 said:
If you can get fired from your job where you will be able to collect unemployment for 6 months or however long they allow now, you can still have some income while getting things off the ground.

This is what is wrong with the world today . . . I would refuse to do business with someone who abused the unemployment system like this because they have the values of a feral cat. . .

david n · Mar 14, 2017

awander said:
Well....sort of. You don't get unemployment if you get fired for serious misconduct, but if that's not the case, then you sure do collect unemployment.

And if you quit without good cause, you definitely don't get unemployment...

Posts like this need a dislike button...............................

Guest · Mar 14, 2017

Comatose said:
If a year of 60-70 hour weeks was more than you could swing from a work/life balance, why do you want to go full time self employed again?

Exactly, if any small shop owner, especially those who are a one man army always works standard day shift hours
7-3:30 M-F and takes all holidays off please raise your hand.

DavidScott · Mar 14, 2017

I've been making my own product and doing some job shop work. Much of the job shop work is for one customer. A year ago I came up with the bright idea of helping my job shop customer come up with new products that I would like to make. So far the work I am doing for them has increased about 6 fold and I expect to more than double that by the end of the year. If you want to have your own business you better be creative and find opportunity where others don't.

boosted · Mar 14, 2017

Comatose said:
If a year of 60-70 hour weeks was more than you could swing from a work/life balance, why do you want to go full time self employed again?

Guess I didn't clarify. 60-70 hours a week was at the day job. I have no problem working my ass off, but there's only so many hours in a week. At a certain point I realized that having that extra 20-30 hours to put into MY business made a lot more sense.

By the way, thanks for all the good advise so far. Really need to hunker down and consider what I need to do to get out of the job shop market all together.

gustafson · Mar 14, 2017

well, I started with no payments, worked temp jobs, got a cell phone worked all night till I got busy enough

Got a lot of work from my day temp jobs, some good customers back in the day

2 1/2 years of little sleep and little money and I went full time, a bit more sleep and no more money

There is nothing wrong with voice mail and cell phones, customers know you are small. Hell I don't answer the phone now 25 years later

+1000 on the get a product

SND · Mar 14, 2017

At some point the right timing usually shows up, but if not then I guess you gotta make it happen eventually. I was pretty darn lucky with how it all happened for me.

How to go full time?

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