Do it. ?ÿJump. ?ÿGo!
A...six figure pay, stress free job, stay at home mom with two kids.
IMHO, start buying used equipment now and store in your garage. If and when the firm you work for asks you to leave due to lack of work, that's the time to think about going solo.
I have been a PE since the 1980's and went back for survey education at age 54. Without a degree most surveyors are considered competent licensed technicians. The degree does make it more professional. Penn State does not provide a good opportunity for licensed practitioners to get their degree. Other schools do. At NJIT a fair number of the students were licensed practitioners working to become more professional. I fully understand the opportunity cost, which is why I recommend getting the degree while still working. There is payback on the degree when tendering a business plan for a line of credit loan.
If you were a resident in the New York Metropolitan area, NJIT would offer you in state tuition rates. I could drive the 60 miles to Newark for evening classes, much easier than driving 85 miles during the day. Too much opportunity cost in that.
Paul in PA
Yeah, I wish Penn State would offer non-traditional program delivery. It would be good for the stability of the program, and much more accessible for mid-career surveyors.
You mentioned LLCs as being slow to pay. I just had a client become an LLC in the middle of a pretty big project. I'm suspucious they are running low on assets and maybe protecting themselves against future Dept collectors.
This whole thread sounds just like me and my thought processes....
“A...six figure pay, stress free job, stay at home mom with two kids.”
You are describing my situation, except we have 3 kids.
Don't do it. Wait til your children are grown. Meanwhile concentrate on being the best $100K+ surveyor there is, the one who always survives the layoffs and always has a $120K+ offer letter in his pocket.
You have to really love surveying, providing a service to people and working alone. No one will be looking over your shoulder to keep you on task and no one will be reviewing your work to correct mistakes.?ÿ You will have to develop surveying procedures different from your corporate crews,?ÿ that will keep you from returning to the field to collect missed data, detect errors before disbursing the survey and a charging and billing procedure that works for you. You don't want to run an accounting firm, but a profitable surveying business. Health Insurance is will be your largest expense, or at least it is for me, larger than equipment, vehicle and mortgage combined.?ÿ You might want to try doing fieldwork on Saturdays and draw at night during the week to see if that is really what you want to do. Good Luck. PS Start your kids at T-ball, ballet or soccer ASAP, you will probably need all of the scholarship help you can get, just saying.?ÿ
Don??t wait. ?ÿIt??s like having children, if you wait until you are ready, you will never do it.
Not a solo operator - I have a business partner. So I've mitigated some of the risk.
The other things I did to mitigate risk was to wait until our kids were out of the house, have the house was mostly paid for, and my wife provided medical insurance.
If you do this - you damn well better have a backup plan for providing for your family should you be unable to provide for them. You can't control luck.
You have a wife and children that you love and that depend on you for housing, medical care, food, clothing, and a decent quality of life. DON'T put their well-being AT-RISK!
You don't want your family out on the street or without access to medical care if you break some body part or if you get sick (even a relatively minor sickness can prevent you from working for weeks and cost tens of thousands of dollars). Do you have family nearby that would be willing to take care of everyone if you had some bad luck? There's no FMLA for entrepreneurs.
Unless you have multiple years of living expenses in a bank account or AAA security OR a strong support network in the community that can catch you and your family if something unlucky happens: DON'T do it now.
You can do it later when you have enough saved to carry your family through the kids graduations (hopefully college) - just don't expose your family to that risk now.
Respectfully,
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Wow. ?ÿSo much fear.
From the Small Business Administration: ?ÿAccording to the Small?ÿBusiness?ÿAssociation (SBA), ?ÿ30% of?ÿnew businesses fail?ÿduring the first two years of being open, 50% during the first five years and 66% during the first 10.
Caution is advised.
How will one ever succeed if one is afraid to fail?
Fifteen to twenty years ago there was a report published by some department of the Federal government. The report listed probably a hundred, maybe more, different types of businesses, and listed all of them according to the first year success rate. Land surveying was at the top, listed number 1 in the nation. According to the report nearly all new start up survey companies made it through the first year in business. I believe the success rate was in the high 90's (percent).
Make of it what you will.
No one can make the decision but you. Having been on my own for decades I couldn't imagine being someone's hired help.
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Make the move/decision, start up the office and before long you will have made a place for you. An object at rest tends to remain at rest, and an object in motion tends to remain in motion. Once you get your business going it will become like the object in motion.
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Answer the phone, return calls, pray often for guidance, be up front with folks, treat them as you would like to be treated, be honest, don't let you mouth overload your butt, meet your obligations, produce a good product, and do not do anything stupid. After a time you won't even have to think about it, the phone will just ring and work will find its way to your door. Your business will then be an object in motion.
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It's been so long since I actually worried about whether work would come in, that I honestly can not remember the last time I worried.
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Every one of us on here who are self employed had a beginning. The longer you put it off the greater the likelihood you will never do it.?ÿ If you don't like being on your own you can always find a job somewhere else. Just remember, when you work for someone else you will only be there as long as they want you there. Case in point my former girlfriend took a high level job and moved half way across the country. Within 6 months she was let go. The company downsized. Last in was first out. So how much real security do you really have when working at the pleasure of someone else??ÿ Life has risks. No matter what your choice.
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Good luck!
This has been a great thread with plenty of information, caution and encouragement. ?ÿAnyone thinking of going this direction has much to chew on.
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One more bit of advice. ?ÿWhen a licensed surveyor is doing his/her specialty a high hourly rate is appropriate. ?ÿWhen that same person is drafting the appropriate hourly rate shrinks. ?ÿWhen clerical duties are needed the rate shrinks further. ?ÿIs it better to pay someone else to handle those items for you or do them yourself at the reduced rates? ?ÿSimilarly, do you farm out the bookkeeping and tax issues to a professional or take your own time for that? ?ÿDo you like doing these business things as much as your surveying work. ?ÿWhen you are doing grunt work by yourself out at the job site are you really worth more than a decent helper would be paid to do it for you? ?ÿYou are the only one who can answer these questions. ?ÿThose answers may change over time. ?ÿThen what do you do?
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I detest final drafting but I make myself do it to my standards. ?ÿMany times everything will be done but that and collecting the final payment. ?ÿStill I will put it off until I have no choice but to get it done. ?ÿSometimes I think I should fire myself, then hire me back for half wages.
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I'm not know as a fearful person. But I won't risk my family's well being.
I love my wife and children - exposing them to the very real risks of starting up a solo survey business is not love - it's reckless.
If you have the support infrastructure and financial resources, then go for it - just don't make their well being dependent on the success of a solo operator business.
That is not fear - it's clear-headed thinking.
I had my own business for 15 years. I always tell my friends that are start a new business: You only have to work a half a day, you get to pick which 12 hours which includes Saturday and Sunday!!!
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