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Did you meet your business or career goals for 2021?
david-kendall replied 2 years, 3 months ago 29 Members · 35 Replies
Did you see the ‘Squid Games’?
That. I’m still in the game and coming up on the next round.
WillyI proposed (hoped) to live through it.
Made it.
Yes on the goal… Business has increased to the point I’m looking to make my engineering & surveying business a full time thing in 2022. I did not make the decision lightly and have prayed on it with my wife since I passed the PLS back in the fall of 2020. Just feel like I’m not getting any younger and I want to live my dream of being self-employed as an engineer & surveyor. I plan to stay small (just me) & work out of my home office for the first couple years – pick which projects I take on. I can barely keep up as it is right now and I am beyond grateful for this predicament
Personal goals, I’ll give myself a B+
I don’t bother with professional goals any more. I used to be in a high volume/stress field, and worried about things too much. Now, things chug along, no major highs or lows, and I’m just fine with that
I am meeting my goal of retirement (kinda). As of the first of the year, I will no longer have a field crew. Then I just have to wait out the current projects to finish up. I will reach out to other surveyors in the area to finish up any field work left. I hope I can find some of those $500 surveys out there! ????
- Posted by: @jph
That’s too bad. Is that unique to you, or is it typical for NZ as a whole?
Sadly, despite actually being given an increase this year, I’m still not keeping up with inflation.
Let alone the sky-rocketing house and land prices.
I have been going backwards for quite sometime now.
Yes, I think that would be typical of any salaried worker here.
- Posted by: @mightymoe
At this point if I’m still above ground it’s a great year!! ????
My late father always answered the question “how are you?” With “Vertical!” Classic surveyor answer.
hard to answer. career goals- no. business goals? hell, i didn’t know i had any.
here’s what i know: i’ve never worked so much in my life as i have this year, and i’ve always been accused of being a workaholic. i’m actively learning how to be a business person, as that skillset has never been needed much in the past; i’ve always been the hired assassin. a year ago i had two part time guys and worked off my dining room table. now i have 10 employees, an office, own half a dozen trucks, a TON more overhead, will finish the year billing 5X what i did last year, have work lined up through at least march at a bill rate i recently raised by 30%, and my taxes for the year are paid. have a great crew of people who are all seemingly happy and well paid.
i’m threadbare. feels like i’ve been trying to break a stallion since about march. wish it would slow down some so i could take, like, three days in a row off. but i ain’t complaining. a little anxious about how i’d have held it together if it hadn’t been so busy, but whatever. spent a lot of money, but i don’t think i wasted a lot of money. so i reckon when considered in that light: for not having any business goals i guess they were met.
(an aside: don’t recommend giving your office manager a bonus of a paid trip to NYC on the week before christmas. as if this typical EOY stuff isn’t fun enough, i’m answering phones, doing bank deposits, and running payroll this week.)
At my age waking up is satisfactory goal. That and pissin’ off everyone here. ????
I’m all set on career goals, no more tests, no more licenses. I am content there.
Business-wise: Worked about that same as last year about 50 per week (trying to work less but that never works). Overall profits we’re up from last year but still below our profit margin goals of 30+%.
Left a job I hated and landed in one I love. Left a living location with lots to be frustrated about (insane political leaders passing stupid laws while not enforcing the ones we had) and am now living in an area I’ve dreamed of moving to for decades.
Am officially retired from the old job. The new job is one several others had passed on either because of the location (which I don’t get) or because a good deal of the work was going to be correcting the poor work of a predecessor and catching up on a huge backlog of active projects.
I’m making almost the same as I was in CA, enjoy the full support of my employers and look forward to coming to work each day. First time in years that I feel like I’m working for people with integrity. My immediate past supervisor, IMO, was the antithesis of integrity and I absolutely hated working there even though the work itself was all boundary, which is my favorite area of practice. Leadership makes all the difference.
Have made a huge dent in the backlog in spite of having about 1/3 the staff that existed to create the backlog. have an excellent team working for me (looking to add 1 or 2 chiefs, preferably with decent CAD skills) and a very enjoyable working atmosphere.
So, yeah, I’ve met or exceeded career goals, and am making good progress toward business goals.
Well, 2022 is off to a good start so far. I found out today that I was elected to the American Association for Geodetic Surveying Board of Directors. It is a three year term ascending to Director in 2025 in the fourth year. I know that member John Hamilton served as the Director in the past. I was honored to be asked to consider running, and surprised to actually be elected. My educational credentials fall far short, but I guess 45 years of experience, most of the past 20 in leadership roles, counted for something. I look forward to the opportunity to stay active and contribute after I retire from my “day job” later this year.
Great for you, Evan. Sounds like you have relocated out of California, something I also dream of. It sounds like you found a great fit for you. I wondered why you had been quiet for so long, but now I understand.
All the best to you. Guess I won’t be seeing you at the DS Post Office from time to time anymore?
Scott
- Posted by: @eapls2708
Left a job I hated and landed in one I love.
Nice move, congratulations! Your mentoring presence will be sorely missed back here in CA but I wish you all the best…..
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