Tough decision. Better or best, just can't tell which is which. Believe me when I say being able to get away is worth its weight in gold. Much tougher to do when you answer to someone else. But, knowing exactly when the money will be in your bank account is very, very nice also.
We all can second guess what WE might do but that's as far as it goes.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
James Fleming, post: 324526, member: 136 wrote:
- The atmosphere. I like working around people and I like working with other surveyors and having people to bounce ideas off of.
- The future. The size of our operation lets me hire, mentor, and bring along future surveyors. I have a couple of LSITs who are going to be sitting for their PS in a couple of years and a couple of party chiefs that are getting ready to sit for their LSIT. The lack of mentoring of future surveyors is, to me, the main downfall of growth of solo firms.
If I didn't see myself working here (if not this office, at least this firm) until retirement and, more importantly, thought that management saw me working here until retirement I wouldn't have made the change.
I could not agree any more with your post James. Especially the couple I quoted you on above. After many years of running my own firm, I took a position that was offered to me mainly for the two bullet points shown above. But your last sentence is the idea that ultimately made the decision for me.
Jimmy - good luck with the choice. I'm sure you'll make the right call. Just make sure that you negotiate a day off to attend part of the KAPS conference each year if you go to work for the company!
Jimmy, if you are working 60-70 hrs a week are you not making a lot of money? How much of that is overhead? I am in the process of writing business plan for going solo. It seems like having that much work would be great. The scariest thing for me is having no work. In figuring my business plan out I calculate I will need to be 30% billable to make the same money as a solo operator as iI do at the engineering company I work for. That is 12 billable hours a week. Am I total missing something here? How often do you put in that many hours? Part of allure of going solo for me is setting my own schedule. I know you have to make hay when the sun shines but damn thats a lot of hours. Sorry about changing the subject but thinking about this stuff might help in your decision. Maybe your rates are too low?
VRMTSRVY, post: 325804, member: 7295 wrote: In figuring my business plan out I calculate I will need to be 30% billable to make the same money as a solo operator as iI do at the engineering company I work for. That is 12 billable hours a week. Am I total missing something here?
When figuring "the same money," make sure you account for the costs that a sole proprietor bears that an employee doesn't. The big ones that come to mind are the employer-equivalent share of self-employment tax (currently 7.65% of the first $117k of net profit, plus 2.9% of any net in excess of $117k), and the employer's share of health insurance coverage (if any).
VRMTSRVY, post: 325804, member: 7295 wrote: Jimmy, if you are working 60-70 hrs a week are you not making a lot of money? How much of that is overhead? I am in the process of writing business plan for going solo. It seems like having that much work would be great. The scariest thing for me is having no work. In figuring my business plan out I calculate I will need to be 30% billable to make the same money as a solo operator as iI do at the engineering company I work for. That is 12 billable hours a week. Am I total missing something here? How often do you put in that many hours? Part of allure of going solo for me is setting my own schedule. I know you have to make hay when the sun shines but damn thats a lot of hours. Sorry about changing the subject but thinking about this stuff might help in your decision. Maybe your rates are too low?
VRMTSRVY,
I work a lot of hours, but I live about an hour outside of town. That adds 2 hours to my day. The loading and unloading of the ATV/UTV, loading, unloading the truck, etc., when totally solo, are all on me. I don't have a garage I can park the truck in, so all the equipment in the cab gets unloaded every night, and I unload the ATV/UTV every night, and it goes into the shed. Long story. I don't work that many hours every week, but some weeks I do.
Being solo, you have to do everything. Calcs, research, plotting deeds, returning phone calls, talking to potential clients, drafting, all take time. Scheduling, invoicing, have to be done as well. I research and propose on several jobs a week that I don't get a call back on.
I am not the best time manger, so some of that is my fault, but as Jim mentioned, a sole proprietor deals with a lot of extra expenses. I carry full insurance, E&O, general liability, inland marine, commercial insurance, worker's comp, etc.. My hourly rates are in line with what the medium size firms charge in my area, and my lump sum/fixed fee jobs are based upon those rates. I do subcontract work for some the larger/mid-size firms in the area, and I won't be known as a low baller. It just hurts the profession.
The hard part of the business in my area is a few of the smaller firms don't charge enough for the small lot surveys. When the construction staking is not plentiful, the smaller surveys are a large part of my business, and sometimes, they take longer than expected. I charge the top end of what my market will bear, and I don't get many of the lot/small boundaries that I provide proposals on, because I won't race to the bottom on fees.
I have pretty decent billings for a small solo shop, and my business loans are almost paid for. Once they are, the overhead will be reduced, and profit will increase. I started my business with both robotics and rtk gps, so I was able to compete on larger jobs right out of the gate.
Thanks for the reply.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I appreciate the advice.
Sorry if I came across rude when I said your rates might be low. I am taking all this information and applying it to my own situation which is preparing to go solo. If I had as much work as you do I wouldn't even consider taking a job with a firm. Maybe if work was light but you are in the situation I hope to be in soon.
If you don't mind me asking,
How much money did you borrow to start up?
How much cash did you have saved?
How many clients / jobs did you have lined up?
thanks
VRMTSRVY, post: 325821, member: 7295 wrote: If you don't mind me asking,
How much money did you borrow to start up?
How much cash did you have saved?
How many clients / jobs did you have lined up?
thanks
For me, in 1998-1999 I borrowed way too much too fast got about $250,000 in debt real fast started with ZERO cash and a couple clients but really started cold. I dug out of that debt in a few years. Then for many years cash was always pretty tight. now things are rolling along nicely.
VRMTSRVY, post: 325821, member: 7295 wrote: If you don't mind me asking,
How much money did you borrow to start up?
How much cash did you have saved?
How many clients / jobs did you have lined up?
I didn't borrow anything, but I had about $40k saved (this was in 1993). I didn't have any clients, and starting out cold meant starting out slow. I was single with no dependents at the time, so I used about $25k to get going and lived off the rest until enough started coming in to pay the bills.
VRMTSRVY, post: 325820, member: 7295 wrote: Sorry if I came across rude when I said your rates might be low. I am taking all this information and applying it to my own situation which is preparing to go solo. If I had as much work as you do I wouldn't even consider taking a job with a firm. Maybe if work was light but you are in the situation I hope to be in soon.
No offense taken.
The cash flow ups and downs are what are difficult to manage at times, at least for me. The last two winters here have been SLOW, and I mean SLOW for me. I had to buy a truck last year a little sooner than expected.
Our local economy looks better this year than it has the past few years also, and that helps. It can be a roller coaster sometimes. When it's good, it's good. When it's slow, and the money is tight, it is not fun.
I am too small to compete for many government contracts, DOT work, etc. I remember Bruce Small telling me to find your niche, and be the best you can be in your area.
There's a MAJOR area of concern here that I do not see being fully addressed. It's called "Benefits". As solo operator, how good is your health insurance. Wife or kids get really sick, will your operation be wiped out? Does your solo operation provide a 401K program? Paid vacation? Any benefits for your family other than you being underfoot when things are slow? What sense of security does your solo operation provide ? That's something to think about.
IF your work is torrential, you are hiring additionl crews right and left and are now looking for some office help, go for it. If NOT, take a serious look at what you are being teased witrh and set your demands HIGH.
