I started this business in 1998. Went quickly to two offices and six employees and a lot of debt. Have made an on purpose choice to stay solo since about 2005.
I sub work out on a 1099 type basis here and there when I get swamped. I am still not very excited about adding employees anytime soon, or maybe ever.
But, Uncle P's recent description of his (successful) operation as viewed by a young man, as well as my extremely busy workload, plus my conversation with my wife here on our beach vacation about being financially able to spend more time on a beach, all has me thinking out loud here about ways to accomplish these goals and take care of the many good clients and make money.
I am not getting any younger (still only 45). I do need to think about long term plans, etc.
Your thoughts?
You have two choices (I know of) to make money and have freedom. You have to put money or people to work for you. A better option is to do both.
45 is not very old at all. It is far enough up there you might want to get started soon. The economy is ripe to support new ventures, especially for those with successful experience.
Good luck, Tom
Be very careful in who you hire...and that's all I'm gonna say about that.
Brad, I feel your pain. I regularly team up with other solo surveyors, and we either swap out work on a daily/project basis, or just 1099 each other at the end of the year. It works pretty good for us. Chris Billingsley, a fellow poster here, and I work together on a regular basis.
I am on the brink of needing someone at least 3/4 time, but don't have the cash flow to put someone on that needs that regular paycheck. My future son-in-law is showing a huge interest in the surveying profession. He will be a senior in high school next school year, so I am going to work with him some this summer and gauge his true interest.
I have to agree with Joe, if you hire someone, you have to be very, very careful who you hire. I have an image that I try to portray for my company, and that is professional, both in appearance, and behavior.
Brad Ott, post: 323120, member: 197 wrote: I started this business in 1998. Went quickly to two offices and six employees and a lot of debt. Have made an on purpose choice to stay solo since about 2005.
I sub work out on a 1099 type basis here and there when I get swamped. I am still not very excited about adding employees anytime soon, or maybe ever.
But, Uncle P's recent description of his (successful) operation as viewed by a young man, as well as my extremely busy workload, plus my conversation with my wife here on our beach vacation about being financially able to spend more time on a beach, all has me thinking out loud here about ways to accomplish these goals and take care of the many good clients and make money.
I am not getting any younger (still only 45). I do need to think about long term plans, etc.
Your thoughts?
Jimmy Cleveland, post: 323161, member: 91 wrote: Brad, I feel your pain. I regularly team up with other solo surveyors, and we either swap out work on a daily/project basis, or just 1099 each other at the end of the year. It works pretty good for us. Chris Billingsley, a fellow poster here, and I work together on a regular basis.
I am on the brink of needing someone at least 3/4 time, but don't have the cash flow to put someone on that needs that regular paycheck. My future son-in-law is showing a huge interest in the surveying profession. He will be a senior in high school next school year, so I am going to work with him some this summer and gauge his true interest.
I have to agree with Joe, if you hire someone, you have to be very, very careful who you hire. I have an image that I try to portray for my company, and that is professional, both in appearance, and behavior.
Thanks Jimmy. That sounds promising for you with the future SIL. My 18 year old has expressed some interest, my 15 year old no way, and my 12 year old still likes to help. If any of them actually decide to get involved I plan to send them off to one of the larger firms for a couple years first.
Find a surveyor with whom your work zones do not overlap "much" and share an employee.
We have been doing that with equipment and employees, and love the arrangement.
We work through the problems that come up....
I don't want a full time employee, although most of the time we could use one.
My intent two years ago- which is likely a fantasy, one I've already deviated from- was that scaling up would entail bringing on another solo guy. Supplying him with a truck, equipment, and a workload that he/she is entirely responsible for. But its been awfully difficult to find one of those guys to this point.
flyin solo, post: 327693, member: 8089 wrote: My intent two years ago- which is likely a fantasy, one I've already deviated from- was that scaling up would entail bringing on another solo guy. Supplying him with a truck, equipment, and a workload that he/she is entirely responsible for. But its been awfully difficult to find one of those guys to this point.
Why would someone like that work for someone else rather than for themselves?
C. Billingsley (Chris) and I each work as solo surveyors and own our own businesses. We regularly team up on jobs that are too big for one guy to do by themselves, or team up for safety reasons, or maybe even for time constraints.
There have been several time we have been on the same job, running two robots knocking the job out in half the time. If you have someone you trust and can depend on, it can be a good thing. The only issue Chris and I have ran into is when we both get busy!
Seb, post: 327950, member: 7509 wrote: Why would someone like that work for someone else rather than for themselves?
in my experience, there are plenty of people out there who'd rather devote all their energy to surveying, as opposed to experiencing all the additional joys and excitement of running a business. i'd fall into that category... if somebody had offered me that exact scenario a few years ago i'd probably have jumped on it. as is, i'm spending my Saturday morning doing payroll and the weekly books before I head out to stake a building this afternoon.
You won't get big projects that will pay for your beach vacation if you stay solo.