A lot of thought provoking responses. Thanks for the info guys, i may be more conflicted than ever after reading some of these ?????ÿ
There is something else everyone operating a solo business must understand and come to terms with. ?ÿWhen you are employed elsewhere you have means to be paid for a full day's wages despite being gone for a few hours whether it be a doctor visit, running home to meet briefly with the plumber or picking up a sick child from school. ?ÿThat does not happen for the solo operator, ethically speaking. ?ÿYou simply find a way to put in those extra hours later. ?ÿBut, when we do too much of such skipping out we start turning down or losing business.
On the other hand, we are the ones deciding what we will and won't do. ?ÿAttending daytime sporting events for our descendants, for example, is great. ?ÿBeing able to cover things for family members stuck with strict employers is great.....most of the time. ?ÿThere are plenty of such examples. ?ÿBut, they come at a price. ?ÿMake sure they are worth the price. ?ÿFor example, changing your own oil in all vehicles may give you piece of mind but you pass up $100 of billable time to save the $30 charge at Walmart each time. ?ÿHiring others to do things for you is frequently far less expensive than doing them yourself.
Another issue is the "gotta get rich syndrome" that drives you to work every hour you aren't sleeping. ?ÿ80 and 100 hour weeks may fill the bank account but you will pay elsewhere for such behavior. ?ÿDivorces and major medical issues can be extremely expensive. ?ÿWe are the ones who must control our working hours.
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Does anyone remember Dan Beardslee's book on running a survey company??ÿ?ÿ I haven't seen my copy in years but remember it was a great source of information when I went solo... I wonder if the CD is still kicking around somewhere. ?ÿ ?ÿ
Yes, you are correct, Andy, Dan's book is an excellent source of information to anyone starting a new survey business. I have a copy of the CD. I got it from Mark Plog's website; I just did a quick search and it looks like they may be down sizing...
http://www.lsrp.com/geodatum.html
Does anyone know where you can get a pdf or hardcopy of the book, sounds like its out of print?
Like I said, I got mine through Geodatum.com; your best bet would be to try to contact them.
I saw Dan mentioned on THIS WEBSITE you might try contacting him through the contact information there.?ÿ
https://www.amazon.com/Business-Management-Handbook-Land-Surveyors/dp/0980059631
Looks like Amazon might have it...
Dan used to post, but he dropped off the on-line radar a decade ago. I just checked the state website and he is still registered, address listed as East Wenatchee, WA. Somebody aught to call him and ask how he is doing. And about the book.
It was distributed as a password protected pdf. I must have that CD around here somewhere.?ÿ
Bergeron's A Pocket Guide to Business for Engineers and Surveyors ?ÿ is also good, in a similar vein.?ÿ
Googling shows that a Dan Beardsee is serving on the Douglas County, WA Planning Commission. Probably our guy. He recorded a survey in Douglas County as recently as 2017. The company he worked for is called Erlandsen. They are in Chelan, Wa.?ÿ
They are in Chelan, Wa.
All in all, not a bad place to be ???? ?ÿ
I truly admire a lot of your guys' ambition!?ÿ I remember coming out of survey college 20 years ago all full of piss and vinegar and ready to take on the survey world.?ÿ It didn't take long to figure out that I didn't want any part of the headaches of running a survey business.?ÿ I realized I'd make a better employee than a business man.?ÿ These days I have it great at a large construction firm managing our layout crews, laser scanning and flying drones.?ÿ I get paid way more than I ever did, the bennies are phenomenal and the culture here is unlike anything I've experienced.?ÿ You know what makes me happiest though??ÿ I get to work my 8-9 hours, go home and pick up my 4 & 6 year old boys from after-school care.?ÿ I'm coaching their baseball and soccer teams.?ÿ We go fishing some evenings.?ÿ?ÿWe've been on trips to east and west coast, and from Florida to Michigan and places in between.?ÿ ?ÿI wouldn't trade getting to spend all this time with them for anything.?ÿ I've been offered six-figures lately to manage/run survey departments around here and I don't want anything to do with it because I know what time and stress is involved in it.?ÿ I enjoy having a healthy mind and body. ?ÿMy wife makes the six figures which also makes things easier for me to be choosy.?ÿ She's the ambitious one that will be a VP at her company someday.?ÿ
You only get so much time with your kids. (I grew up seeing my dad twice a year from the age of 5) ?ÿI've seen the stress of the business bust up marriages.?ÿ No thanks. It's just more important to me than my career at this point.?ÿ Just my .02.
?ÿOnly you know whether or not you have what it takes to be a leader instead of a follower. If you feel you can do it then do it. It's definitely a risk worth taking. I did, with 2 kids and a stay at home wife. No salary the first 16 months until the business started making money. After the first 3 years I have been in the 38% tax bracket ever since. ?????ÿ
It's a love-hate relationship!
Mark Plog!?ÿ?ÿ Now there's a blast from the past.?ÿ I really admired his business style.?ÿ?ÿ I think we spoke on the phone a few times and he was about to start a new venture.?ÿ?ÿ
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I think their main office is in East Wenatchee...
and they have a third office in Brewster
Dan isn't shown among their websites staff photos. So I'm presuming that he is not there anymore.
Yes, I think retired from there, about a decade ago
thanks for that link, did manage to contact the man himself but no luck there, out of print and no digital copies available. Only hope is to find someone whose read it and is far enough along in their business they don't need it anymore.
