I have been meaning to make a "new shop thread" for several years.
It won't be as good as wheelieking71's thread, as loooong as ewlsey's, or the many others that were influential or inspirational to me over the years.
But it is mine... so here it goes.
I started my company as a hobby when I was a kid. After I graduated college I realized I wasn't going to make it in front of a desk and make a living at anything I wanted to do. I went back to school and got an associates degree in a trade, worked in a small shop for about 18 months and then started an apprenticeship. During the apprenticeship I was working 70+ hrs a week and would go home and work a few hours and weekends. Finished the apprenticeship, got kicked square in the balls by the employer, and turned my two weeks in. Went to work for another company developing their machining department with hopes to build it into a bigger department. I developed their CAM and machining, trained a new guy with no experience, developed a pretty good system and implemented new tooling. I enjoyed working their and liked the work, however from the beginning I was VERY upfront with the owner that I intended to build my business and would someday leave to work full time for myself. He was sad to see me go...
In June of 2016 I reported to my new job:
It won't be as good as wheelieking71's thread, as loooong as ewlsey's, or the many others that were influential or inspirational to me over the years.
But it is mine... so here it goes.
I started my company as a hobby when I was a kid. After I graduated college I realized I wasn't going to make it in front of a desk and make a living at anything I wanted to do. I went back to school and got an associates degree in a trade, worked in a small shop for about 18 months and then started an apprenticeship. During the apprenticeship I was working 70+ hrs a week and would go home and work a few hours and weekends. Finished the apprenticeship, got kicked square in the balls by the employer, and turned my two weeks in. Went to work for another company developing their machining department with hopes to build it into a bigger department. I developed their CAM and machining, trained a new guy with no experience, developed a pretty good system and implemented new tooling. I enjoyed working their and liked the work, however from the beginning I was VERY upfront with the owner that I intended to build my business and would someday leave to work full time for myself. He was sad to see me go...
In June of 2016 I reported to my new job: