Business Startup

Ask away!

A huge difference to consider is if you plan to make this your full income source from the beginning or if you work at it part time to accumulate the funds and repeat clients in order to switch to making it your full income source.

I have always had multiple income sources, even when I had several co-workers, so I can't provide any help on the sink or swim model.

I guess it also depends on what type of buisnesses you're looking to start?ÿ

@vertman It would be a 1-man survey shop to begin with.

@holy-cow It would be a full income, sink or swim attempt.

as somebody who is- right now- complicating my life tenfold in this very way, i may not be the best person to ask.?ÿ but i was in your spot 3 years ago.?ÿ whattya wanna know?

I did sink-or-swim, but a key distinction is that I had ratholed a substantial nest egg in the years prior, so I could have easily weathered a year or more with no net income and not had to panic.?ÿ At the time I had no dependents and no significant other, so I could have lived on beans and rice indefinitely.?ÿ As it turned out, I didn't have to.?ÿ 🙂

You will need a positive attitude; a good work ethic; and drive to keep going, no matter what.

I worked for a big engineering firm, 4 offices, with a small survey department; for 12 years. The money was good but the office politics I could've done without. So I went to work for myself in 2002. (I was licensed in 2000) It wasn't long and I was offered a job with a smaller engineering and survey firm. I took it and ended up working for 5 different firms like that until 2006. I started on a shoe-string; @luke-co-pls loaned me a set-4, a peanut prism and pole, and I was on my way. Like @jim-frame , I had a nest egg but I didn't want to touch it. The great recession hit and I was forced to fake my way through it. Around 20013, things started to pick back up and I was able to get back on track. Fast forward to today; I just bought my office from another surveyor that retired and I have a partnership with another survey firm and we share office expenses.

So like I said; a positive attitude is key. Success is going past the point of giving up...

I started squirreling away equipment and all the things a proper shop needs long before I got licensed. This allowed my to absorb a good portion of the expense of starting a business before it was even a reality, but I knew where I was headed. This allowed me on day one to put myself out there and let the work start to flow in.

Do be afraid to pick up the phone just to chat with some of the established "old timers" in your area. In my case they were just happy to hear from someone younger who was going to carry on the surveying torch. Most of these folks in my neck of the woods were in their 60's when I started. Now they have either passed away or retired, and I've ended up with some good files (non-recording state) & clients because of it .

@bstrand

I started my own business in February 2020 working out of my home office, offering only engineering services & machine control models after having purchased items personally for about 2 years straight between bonuses & tax returns - a decent desktop workstation for CAD, a gaming laptop for CAD that works out in the field too when need be, small 24" HP plotter, Trimble RTS with DC, couple dozen books (prep for the survey license which came to fruition this past fall on the first try thankfully) & a drafting table. I've been able to completely reimburse myself and pay myself some too but I do all this part time still as it is more than enough work to keep me busy until 1am a couple nights a week & working some on the weekends.

?ÿ

But, with all that said, I don't think I could make it my family's main income stream just yet either since still hold a gov job & I don't advertise but rather just go by word of mouth amongst the local developers who I have worked with at a previous job in land development. I love being self-employed part time with doing various land development designs, permitting & construction staking for a select group of clients currently. But Bookkeeping is a large part of the "headache" to me even though I have help with that from my wife with the books & prepping for taxes (start a good system early & keep track of all expenses both personal & thru the business). Proposals are up to me to write too (not a bad thing but I'm still trying to determine how best to estimate my time vs how much work I actually do). You'll never be quite as productive as you might've hoped haha. So keep all that in mind

@lakehouse21

yes mentorship is key from those who have done it before. I can't tell you how many guys in their 60s & 70s have helped me out with advice these past few years?ÿ?ÿ

I decided to give it a go in 2019. Like lakehouse21, I had squirreled away a lot of the small things I would need to get going. I bought an old Focus 10 and a used 5800 GPS set up and put up a listing on Google maps just to see what would happen. I still had a full time job at the time. I started getting calls about a month later. Definitely not enough to keep the family afloat so I took a couple of remote drafting gigs to hold us over. The second year, the number of jobs we took in doubled and we're hoping to double again this year. We just picked up our first couple of good commercial clients in January. Still doing part time work for a couple of guys but now I do it under the business and get a bit more money for it. I would highly recommend putting a listing on Google and Apple maps to get the ball rolling with private clients. Also Google Ads express has very affordable prices for internet advertising. So does Facebook. If folks don't know you exist, you can't get started. Good luck to you.?ÿ

I'm very open to discussing anything regarding starting a new business. I've made just about every mistake there is over the last 18 years... I have a lot of "do as I say, not as I did" type advice.

I'd like to add, being a good surveyor has very little to do with running a successful business. Two distinctly different skill sets.

Regarding squirreling away things for future use...

I'd recommend, instead, squirreling away the cash, and not purchase a non-performing asset. If you think you'd spend the cash otherwise, buy a 1 year CD, or something that would give you a tiny bit of pain to cash in.

Here's a few reasons this is better:
1) When you do make the purchase you'll have new gear, not last year's (or last decade's) model.
2) You may not have to have any cash outlay for equipment when you start since vendors have lease purchase plans.
3) Having the cash on hand will you look better in the eyes of your banker.
4) You'll need the cash for other things. No doubt about it. Unforeseen things will come up and you'll wish you have the cash handy.